New Requirements Affecting Form I-9 Completion for Certain Employees

Effective November 12th, 2021, USCIS automatically extended employment authorization for foreign nationals in certain employment eligibility categories who file Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, to renew their EADs may receive automatic extensions of their employment authorization and/or EAD for up to 180 days.

This includes eligible L-2 nonimmigrants who are the dependent spouses of L-1 nonimmigrants and eligible E nonimmigrants who are the dependent spouses of E-1, E-2, and E-3 nonimmigrants. USCIS also announced that automatically extended employment authorization for eligible H-4 nonimmigrants who are dependent spouses of H-1B nonimmigrants. For more information, please see the USCIS Policy Alert (PDF, 498.85 KB).

These individuals may receive an automatic extension of their Employment Authorization Document (EAD). For more information on what documentation may be presented and recorded on Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, please see the Automatic Extensions of Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) in Certain Circumstances in the Handbook for Employers (M-274).

NOTE: The November 12 Policy Alert also announced that E and L-2 dependent spouses are now considered employment authorized incident to status. At present, documentation issued by USCIS for these categories remains the same. See the Policy Alert and M-274 for more information.