I-765, Application for Employment Authorization

On Jan. 8, we adjusted the filing location for certain foreign students filing Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization. Please review our Direct Filing Addresses for Form I-765 page to see where you should file your application.

Alert: On Sept. 29, 2020, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in Immigration Legal Resource Center et al., v. Wolf, et al., 20-cv-05883-JWS, preliminarily enjoined DHS from implementing or enforcing any part of the USCIS Fee Schedule and Changes to Certain Other Immigration Benefit Request Requirements rule.

While the rule is preliminarily enjoined, we will continue to:

  • Accept USCIS forms with the current editions and current fees; and
  • Use the regulations and guidance currently in place to adjudicate applications and petitions. This includes accepting and adjudicating fee waiver requests as provided under Adjudicator's Field Manual (AFM) Chapters 10.9 (PDF, 2.87 MB) and 10.10 (PDF, 2.87 MB).

For more information, please refer to the Federal Register Notice, dated Jan. 29, 2021.

Alert: USCIS is implementing the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland’s Sept. 11 preliminary injunction in Casa de Maryland Inc. et. al. v. Chad Wolf et. al.

This preliminary injunction provides limited injunctive relief to members of two organizations, CASA de Maryland (CASA) and the Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project (ASAP), in the application of the Removal of 30-day Processing Provision for Asylum Applicant-Related Form I-765 Employment Authorization Applications Rule and the Asylum Application, Interview, and Employment Authorization for Applicants Rule to Form I-589s and Form I-765s filed by asylum applicants who are also members of CASA or ASAP. 

Please see the section on our Form I-765 webpage, Preliminary Injunction Impacting CASA and ASAP members.

Alert: Applicants for Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) Long-Term Resident Status: You must submit Form I-955 with your Form I-765. You may only apply for CNMI long-term resident status until Aug. 17, 2020. 

Certain aliens who are in the United States may file Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, to request employment authorization and an Employment Authorization Document (EAD). Other aliens whose immigration status authorizes them to work in the United States without restrictions may also use Form I-765 to apply to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) for an EAD that shows such authorization.

Preliminary Injunction Impacting CASA and ASAP Members

The U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland’s Sept. 11 preliminary injunction in Casa de Maryland Inc. et. al. v. Chad Wolf et. al. provides limited injunctive relief to members of two organizations, CASA de Maryland (CASA) and the Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project (ASAP), who file Form I-589 or Form I-765 as asylum applicants. Specifically, the court preliminarily enjoined enforcement of the following regulatory changes in the Removal of 30-day Processing Provision for Asylum Applicant-Related Form I-765 Employment Authorization Applications Rule and the Asylum Application, Interview, and Employment Authorization for Applicants Rule for CASA and ASAP members:

  • Removal of the 30-day adjudicatory period for Form I-765 based on an underlying asylum application;
  • The requirement to submit biometric information as part of the filing of a Form I-765 based on an asylum application;
  • The 365-day waiting period for Employment Authorization Document (EAD) eligibility based on an underlying asylum application;
  • The bar on EAD eligibility for asylum applicants subject to the one-year filing bar for asylum, applicable to a Form I-765 based on an asylum application filed on or after Aug. 25, 2020;
  • The discretionary review rule, providing that the agency has discretion as to whether to grant a Form I-765 based on an asylum application; and
  • Removal of the rule deeming a Form I-589, Application for Asylum and for Withholding of Removal, complete if USCIS does not reject it within 30 days of receipt.

If you are a member of CASA or ASAP, you may refile your Form I-765 without the biometric services fee under the preliminary injunction order issued in Casa de Maryland Inc. et. al. v. Chad Wolf et. al. To file your Form I-765 without the biometric services fee, you must include documentary evidence of your membership in CASA or ASAP in the form of:

(1) a copy of your membership card or

(2) a letter from either organization certifying your membership.

Children under 21 may instead submit proof of their parent’s membership along with documentary evidence establishing the parent-child relationship, such as a copy of the child’s birth certificate.

Please place the evidence of your CASA or ASAP membership immediately behind your Form I-765.

If you submit a properly completed Form I-765 with evidence of your CASA or ASAP membership, we will accept your application without the biometric services fee. Further, we will not require you to attend a biometric services appointment in conjunction with your Form I-765 application. However, we will still require you to attend a biometric services appointment in conjunction with your Form I-589, Application for Asylum and for Withholding of Removal, if you have not already. Finally, we will adjudicate your Form I-765 application in accordance with the preliminary injunction order issued in Casa de Maryland Inc. et. al. v. Chad Wolf et. al.

NOTE: If you are not a member of CASA or ASAP, you must include the biometric services fee or a fee waiver request as required in the form instructions when you file Form I-765.

 

What This Form Can Help You Do

Forms and Document Downloads

Form Details

Edition Date

08/25/20. You can find the edition date at the bottom of the page on the form and instructions.

Dates are listed in mm/dd/yy format.

Where to File

The filing address depends on your reason for applying and the eligibility category you entered in Question 27. Please check the filing locations for Form I-765 for a list of addresses. If you file at a Lockbox, read our filing tips. 

Don’t forget to sign your form! We will reject and return any unsigned form.

Filing Fee
$410.

You may be exempt from paying the filing fee. See the form instructions for more information. 

You must pay an $85 biometric services fee if you are filing with one of the following eligibility categories:  

  • (c)(8) An applicant with a pending asylum application requesting an initial or renewal EAD;
  • (c)(33) Requesting consideration of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA);
  • (c)(35) A beneficiary of an approved employment-based immigrant petition and you are facing compelling circumstances;
  • (c)(36) A spouse or unmarried dependent child of a beneficiary of an employment-based immigrant petition who is facing compelling circumstances; or
  • (c)(37) An applicant for Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) long-term resident status.

Note to (c)(33) and (c)(37) filers: There is no fee waiver for your Form I-765 base fee ($410) or biometric fee ($85). 

There is no biometric services fee for any other eligibility category. 

You may pay the fee with a money order, personal check or cashier’s check.  When filing at a USCIS Lockbox facility, you may also pay by credit card using Form G-1450, Authorization for Credit Card Transactions. If you pay by check, you must make your check payable to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Service centers are not able to process credit card payments. 

When you send a payment, you agree to pay for a government service. Filing and biometric services fees are final and non-refundable, regardless of any action we take on your application, petition, or request, or if you withdraw your request. Use our Fee Calculator to help determine your fee.

Checklist of Required Initial Evidence (for informational purposes only)

View the checklist of required initial evidence.

Special Instructions

Replacing a Card That Has Incorrect Information

  • If the card we issued to you contains incorrect information that is not due to our error, you must use the filing locations for Form I-765 associated with your eligibility category. 
  • If the card we issued to you contains incorrect information that is due to our error, you must submit a letter explaining the error and evidence to show what the correct information should be, along with the card containing the error, to the service center or National Benefits Center that approved your most recent Form I-765. Your I-765 approval notice will indicate which location approved your application.

Note to LRIF Applicants: If you are filing Form I-765 as an adjustment of status applicant based on Liberian Refugee Immigration Fairness (LRIF), you should write “(c)(9)” as your eligibility category in Part 2, Item Number 27 on your Form I-765. See the LRIF page for more information on adjustment of status based on LRIF.

Note: To be considered for DACA, you must file:

  • Form I-821D, Consideration of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals;
  • Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization;
  • Form I-765 Worksheet; and
  • The correct fee.

Note to U Petitioners: If you are a principal U nonimmigrant petitioner, you are authorized to work based on your status. After we approve the underlying petition for U nonimmigrant status, we will issue you an EAD. This means you will not to file Form I-765.

If you are a derivative family member residing inside the United States, you are also authorized to work based on your status. After we approve the underlying petition for derivative U nonimmigrant status, we will not issue you an EAD. This means you will need to file Form I-765.

We can only issue EADs for principals and derivatives after we approve the underlying U nonimmigrant status petition, regardless of when you file Form I-765.

If the statutory cap is reached in a fiscal year and we use the waiting list process described at 8 CFR 214.14(d)(2), petitioners for U nonimmigrant status and derivatives in the United States can apply for employment authorization using Form I-765 based on deferred action. We can only approve an application for employment authorization based on deferred action after DHS has deferred action in your case, regardless of when you file Form I-765.

Note to Asylum Applicants: If you are an asylum applicant, please refer to the Asylum webpage for background, including information about the effect of applicant-caused delays on your Form I-765 adjudication.

E-Notification: To receive a text message and/or email when we accept your Form I-765, complete Form G-1145, E-Notification of Application/Petition Acceptance, and attach it to the front of the first application in the package.

Related Links

DACA

Asylum

Optional Checklists

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