Council and WilmerHale File Administrative Challenge to Burdensome Records Requirement for Employment Authorization

The Council and the law firm WilmerHale filed a petition with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) challenging the requirement that asylum seekers provide a wide range of criminal records when applying for an employment authorization document (EAD). U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services revised the EAD application form and instructions so that asylum seekers must now “submit documentation of any arrests and/or convictions,” including “certified copies of all arrest reports, court dispositions, sentencing documents, and any other relevant documents.” Under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA), the OMB was required to approve this collection of information.

The petition argues that this records requirement violates the PRA because it is onerous, duplicative, and wholly unnecessary. It asks the OMB to relieve the petitioners of the requirement to product these records and to withdraw approval of the records requirement.