Employment Authorization

What role do immigrants play in American business and the American workforce? Immigrants work in a range of skilled positions in the U.S. and start businesses that boost the American economy. Learn more about immigrant entrepreneurship and workforce participation.

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All Employment Authorization Content

Publication Date: 
August 3, 2021
Immigration law is highly complex. Determining which non-citizens are “lawfully” or “unlawfully” present and whether they should be allowed to stay in the United States are complex matters which...
Publication Date: 
July 18, 2018
This fact sheet provides an overview of how USCIS calculates processing times and the concerns over the accuracy of these estimates.
Faced with increasing reports from immigration lawyers of Employment Authorization Documents adjudication delays, the Council and several partners filed this lawsuit against USCIS and DHS.
The Council and partners filed a nationwide class action lawsuit to ensure timely renewal of work authorizations documents for asylum seekers.
October 6, 2020

This document provides a summary of the Department of Homeland Security's September 25, 2020, Proposed Rule, "...

September 15, 2020
This new rule will increase the total number of people who are required to submit biometric data from 3.9 million currently to 6.07 million—an increase of more than 60%.
July 29, 2020

The American Immigration Council submitted a written statement to the House Committee on Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship for a July 29, 2020 hearing on "Oversight of U....

May 12, 2020

The Council and the law firm WilmerHale filed a petition with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) challenging the requirement that asylum seekers...

November 12, 2019

Under current U.S. immigration law, the immigration service must make a decision on work permit applications filed by asylum seekers within 30 days of their application. The Trump administration...

July 16, 2019
The statement highlights the Council’s concerns regarding systemic U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services delays in responding to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests.
The complaint, co-filed with the Northwest Immigrants Rights Project, Gibbs Houston Pauw, and the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute, was submitted on behalf of a class of untold numbers of asylum applicants wrongfully denied work authorization due to unlawful agency policies and practices. The settlement agreed to by the parties was approved by the Court and applies to the entire class.
Publication Date: 
March 1, 2021
This Frequently Asked Questions document addresses the status of the case and explains options for first time asylum seekers applying for employment authorization.
Publication Date: 
October 4, 2019
This practice advisory summarizes the most common grounds raised by the government in motions to dismiss federal court agency adjudication delay lawsuits and outlines arguments that can be made in response.
Publication Date: 
February 5, 2014
The American Immigration Council’s Practice Advisory, Employment Authorization and Asylum: Strategies to Avoid Stopping the Asylum Clock, has been updated to reflect extensive changes to the manner in which the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) determine an asylum applicant’s eligibility for an Employment Authorization Document (EAD).
April 15, 2024

Thousands of immigrant workers with pending work permit renewals, and their employers, breathed a sigh of relief last week. On April 8, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a...

March 29, 2024

A recent analysis by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) found that the number of petitions by, or on behalf of, foreign-born workers in the fields of science, technology,...

September 29, 2023

On September 20, 2023, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced measures to accelerate the processing of some work permits and to extend their validity period for particular categories...

April 5, 2023

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is opening a new service center to try to fix some of its most egregious backlogs. The agency reportedly has already reassigned 150 employees –...

November 12, 2021

U.S. workers are losing their jobs due to bureaucratic delays at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), despite an economy desperate for workers. Asylum seekers wanting to renew their...

April 29, 2021

When President Biden took office, he inherited a legal immigration system that was teetering on the brink of collapse. Delays within U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) have reached...

July 15, 2020

Update: On August 3, 2020, a federal court in Ohio granted a temporary restraining order requiring USCIS to print a work permit within 7 days for all individuals who had been approved for one. The...

June 24, 2020

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will finalize a new regulation on June 26 which will strip most asylum seekers of the right to seek work authorization. The rule imposes sweeping new...

March 25, 2020

The coronavirus outbreak has significantly disrupted the operations of government agencies around the country, including U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). USCIS is the agency that...

November 7, 2019

The Trump administration is proposing a new rule that would delay work authorization for people seeking asylum in the United States. The move is drawing opposition from advocates across the...

July 11, 2024
As the “Citizenship Capital” of the United States, Harris County, Houston hosted its largest-ever oath ceremony to naturalize thousands of new U.S. citizens.
July 2, 2024
New data analysis by the American Immigration Council found that migrant farm workers are playing a key role in feeding Americans, even as they are increasingly vulnerable to extreme heat.
November 16, 2023
The American Immigration Council and over 100 business organizations, including chambers of commerce and trade associations, want Congress to remove the present obstacle to asylum applicants acquiring work permits swiftly.
December 23, 2021
A federal court denied preliminary relief in a lawsuit challenging USCIS's extreme delays and failure to process work permit renewals for asylum seekers. The judge declined to order USCIS to process work permit renewal applications within the 180-day automatic extension of employment authorization.
November 11, 2021
Five workers in the United States filed a nationwide class action lawsuit today challenging unlawful log-jam and extreme delays at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services that have resulted in the government’s failure to process the work authorization renewals for asylum seekers.
October 22, 2020
The proposal would negatively impact American colleges and universities and foreign students seeking a higher education degree in the United States and have long-term effects for the legal immigration system.
August 2, 2018
A judge ordered last week that United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) must adjudicate work authorization applications for asylum seekers within the prescribed 30-day deadline.
July 19, 2017
U.S. District Court Judge James Robert granted a motion to certify a nationwide class in Northwest Immigrant Rights Project v. USCIS, recognizing that USCIS must adjudicate asylum seekers’ employment authorization applications within 30 days if they are submitted in a timely manner.
June 10, 2015

Washington D.C.– Last Friday, three immigrants and two immigration service providers filed a nationwide class action lawsuit against U.S.

May 26, 2015

Washington D.C.– Last Friday, three immigrants and two immigration service providers filed a nationwide class action lawsuit against U.S.

July 11, 2024
As the “Citizenship Capital” of the United States, Harris County, Houston hosted its largest-ever oath ceremony to naturalize thousands of new U.S. citizens.
July 2, 2024
New data analysis by the American Immigration Council found that migrant farm workers are playing a key role in feeding Americans, even as they are increasingly vulnerable to extreme heat.
Faced with increasing reports from immigration lawyers of Employment Authorization Documents adjudication delays, the Council and several partners filed this lawsuit against USCIS and DHS.
April 15, 2024

Thousands of immigrant workers with pending work permit renewals, and their employers, breathed a sigh of relief last week. On April 8, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a...

March 29, 2024

A recent analysis by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) found that the number of petitions by, or on behalf of, foreign-born workers in the fields of science, technology,...

Publication Date: 
March 7, 2024
The American Immigration Council appeared before Congress to discuss the need for Congress to overhaul the asylum system.
November 16, 2023
The American Immigration Council and over 100 business organizations, including chambers of commerce and trade associations, want Congress to remove the present obstacle to asylum applicants acquiring work permits swiftly.
September 29, 2023

On September 20, 2023, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced measures to accelerate the processing of some work permits and to extend their validity period for particular categories...

Publication Date: 
September 20, 2023
The American Immigration Council appeared before Congress to address the economic contributions of immigrants in the U.S. and the American economic system.
April 5, 2023

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is opening a new service center to try to fix some of its most egregious backlogs. The agency reportedly has already reassigned 150 employees –...

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