Criteria To Apply For Employment Authorization Document

EAD - employment authorization document

Employment Authorization document is the work permit is granted by USCIS which give the holder of it the legal right to work in the USA. The rights it possess and grants are similar to the green card but having minor variation. The work limit generally is given for maximum one year. Every candidate’s EAD has the expiry date mentioned on it. Thus Employment Letter for OPT/EAD candidates is necessary to start out the work.

When an international student is granted F1 visa to take up the further graduation in the United States of America they are granted some work permit. But before they could start working there is the requirement of the work authorization letter. When the current status of visa holder denies the work permission then EAD is the document which grants the permission to work and earn to the candidates having no legal work status. All those who have pending applications must wait for the approval of EAD before starting the work.

The candidates who are in the USA for a temporary time period need to file form-i765 for the EAD, which is issued for the specific time in order to give work permit. Information on EAD is basic like name, birth date, sex, and immigrant country, country of birth, photo, alien registration, card number, restrictive terms and conditions, and dates of validity. The form of I-765 has to be filled online and submitted to USCIS.

Issues related to Employment Authorization Document are Renewal and Replacing EAD. The EAD Renewal can be filed only before the 120 days before the expiration of the work authorization. When somebody’s EAD is lost or stolen then he/she can file for the replacement of EAD. The Replacement can be done in the case of incorrect information.

All the non-immigrants from the wide range of category are eligible for the EAD. Applying for EAD is most popular among the OPT jobs in USA, students on OPT do not have work access because they are on F1 status which does not give them legal right to work. Having EAD opens the door of work opportunity for the certain period of time. OPT gives platform for the students to apply for the EAD and allows a person to work for some time. OPT has restrictions, like you can only work in your field of study, and you cannot have more than 90 cumulative days of unemployment or you will lose your OPT.  The OPT candidates have to apply before the completion of their graduation. Those have EAD work permit and are working no more are considered on the F status. Without the employment letter for OPT/EAD, those on F1 status are not permitted to work in any condition.

APPLYING FOR OPT  EAD (Employment Authorization document) :

Each time the candidate applies for EAD it requires a separate application form, fees and set of documents providing the information of the person. The documents include fee payment receipt, form-I-765, form I-94 and 2 photographs. If the person already has EAD and is applying for another then it is mandatory to attach the copy of the last EAD. For some candidates it is necessary to show the economic status in the respective category. Some other kinds of documents also need to be submitted if inquired for. It usually takes 3 months to process an EAD application.

To check the status of the EAD application the OPT students should contact the USCIS office that received where the candidate has sent the application. The staff will inquire about some information and then after will provide with the progress of the form.

After having been enrolled full-time in an approved school for at least nine months, alien students are eligible to apply for an EAD. F-1 students offered off-campus employment under the sponsorship of a qualifying international organization. F-1 student seeking off-campus employment due to severe economic can also apply for EAD. F1 student who has filed I-485 is also eligible to apply for the EAD and work under F1 opt jobs.

Once the candidate has paid the required deposits, his I20 form would be forwarded to the registrar. After the higher authority has completely reviewed application and documents and found the application satisfactory, then the personal details of the candidate would be entered in the SEVIS and after that they would print and then mail it to the candidate.


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If ever the candidate’s EAD application gets denied then he would be receiving letter which will have the detailed explanation and reasoning behind the rejection of the application. In such cases there is no argument that can be kept in front of the higher authority. But if the decision is not favorable then appeal can be submitted to reopen the application. The candidate has the right to voice up for the reconsideration of the application. This step can be taken only if the candidate has strong and new facts to state that are to be provided in the reopened proceeding and must be accompanied by affidavits or other documentary evidence.

The candidate should have the proof the denial was done based on the wrong application and the flaws found were incorrect and inappropriate. There has to be evidence with the candidate which unveils the wrong allegations. Only after the clear investigation process, the employment letter for OTP/EAD is granted.

OPT student’s generally get confused with Labor Certification being same as the EAD. Both terms are different from each other having their respective governance. LC is issued by DOL which is prerequisite for the petition filers. For the LC the applicant needs a beneficiary whereas for the EAD the candidate is both applicant and beneficial. The EAD is not employer-specific; the holder of an EAD can work for any employer in the United States.

For the Students on the OPT EAD it is suggested to find employers willing to sponsor for the green card to have citizenship.

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