Employment Authorization / EAD (Form I-765)

Employment Authorization / EAD (Form I-765)

USCIS sets the filing fee for Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, at $520 by mail or $470 online, with some categories (such as DACA and refugees) fee-exempt. The form requests an Employment Authorization Document (EAD) that allows legal work in the U.S. under specific eligibility categories.

Download the official form

USCIS publishes Form I-765 as a free PDF. Always download the current version directly from USCIS — third-party copies may be outdated.

• Download Form I-765 (PDF) — official USCIS source
• Download Instructions for Form I-765 (PDF) — read before filling out the form
• File Form I-765 online with USCIS (where supported)

What is it for?

Request an Employment Authorization Document (EAD) that allows legal work in the US under specific eligibility categories.

Who needs it?

People with DACA, TPS, pending asylum, adjustment of status (I-485 pending), H-4 spouses, refugees, and other designated categories.

Processing time

Typical range (USCIS, as of 2026-05-26): varies widely by eligibility category — from about 1 month (some pending-asylum EADs) to ~19.5 months — so check the live table below for your specific category. Initial EADs typically take longer than renewals.

⚠️ Times change weekly and vary by service center. For current time and your specific case:

• Check current times at USCIS
• Check YOUR case status at USCIS (you need your receipt number)

Fee

$520 (paper) or $470 (online) — fees can change. Some categories (DACA, refugees) are fee-exempt.

How to file

Online (myUSCIS) for most categories. By mail (lockbox) for cases not accepted online.

Required documents

• Completed Form I-765 (specify correct category code)
• Two recent passport-style photos
• Copy of previous EAD if renewing
• Evidence of eligibility per your category
• Fee payment (check, money order, card via G-1450)

Current USCIS processing times

USCIS publishes the time in which 80% of cases complete, per form, category, and office. The table below renders from our automatically maintained copy of the official data — always verify against the live system before relying on a deadline.

Frequently asked questions

When can I apply for an EAD?

Depends on your category. DACA: file alongside I-821D. Asylum: 150 days after filing asylum application. I-485 adjustment: with the application or after. Each category has specific rules.

How long is the EAD valid?

Generally 2 years for DACA and many other categories. Status-based EADs (TPS, asylum) last only as long as the underlying status.

Can I work before I receive the EAD?

No, unless you have other valid work authorization (H-1B visa, green card, etc.). Working without authorization has serious immigration consequences.

What happens if I lose my EAD?

File I-765 with reason code ‘Replacement’. USCIS will issue a new EAD with the same expiration date.

Does my EAD give me legal immigration status?

No. The EAD only authorizes work. Your immigration status depends on the category under which you obtained the EAD (DACA, TPS, pending asylum, etc.). EAD is NOT residency or citizenship.

The category codes that matter most

Everything on the I-765 flows from the eligibility category. The codes Hispanic immigrant filers use most:

The fee column changes more often than any other fact on this page — asylum- and TPS-related EAD fees were restructured by the 2025 reconciliation law, so confirm against the current USCIS fee chart for your exact code before paying.

The (c)(8) decision clock — restored July 21, 2026

If you are waiting on a first work permit based on a pending asylum case, two deadlines in 8 CFR 208.7 govern the wait, and USCIS restored one of them on July 21, 2026.

• USCIS has 30 days to decide. Once the I-765 is filed under category (c)(8), the regulation gives USCIS 30 days from the filing date of the work-permit application to grant or deny it.
• But nothing issues before day 180. No EAD may be issued to an asylum applicant until the 180-day period following the filing of the asylum application has expired (for asylum applications filed on or after April 1, 1997). The 30-day clock cannot beat that floor.
• A rejected asylum application takes the work permit with it. As corrected, the rule now covers asylum applications that are rejected as well as denied. A (c)(8) application filed after the asylum application was rejected or denied is itself rejected; one still pending when that happens is denied. This is the path by which the Annual Asylum Fee reaches your work permit — DHS’s rule provides that failure to pay the AAF results in rejection of the pending Form I-589, and the (c)(8) EAD falls with it.

Why it changed. The April 29, 2026 interim final rule that codified the H.R.1 (OBBBA) fees reformatted 8 CFR 208.7(a)(1) and, DHS says, inadvertently dropped the sentence carrying the 30-day timeframe. The correcting amendment published July 21, 2026 restores it as a new paragraph (a)(1)(v) and makes it applicable as of May 29, 2026 — the original rule’s own effective date — so DHS’s position is that no gap ever took effect.

⚠️ A regulatory deadline is not an observed processing time. The 30 days is what the regulation directs USCIS to do; it is not a promise about any individual case, and published (c)(8) processing times routinely run longer. Use the live table above for the current figure.

A separate proposed rule (published February 23, 2026; comment period closed April 24, 2026) would replace this 30-day timeframe with 180 days for applications received on or after the effective date of a future final rule. USCIS says it is still reviewing comments and has not finalized anything — see asylum work-permit (EAD) rule.

Auto-extensions after the October 2025 rule — category by category

The October 30, 2025 rule eliminated the automatic 540-day extension for renewals filed after that date — but what that means differs by category:

• DACA (c)(33): never had the auto-extension; the grace period is your own filing timing. File at day 150 of the 150–120 window.
• TPS: country-specific Federal Register notices can still extend EAD validity independently of the I-765 — check the current notice for your country, because a notice extension can keep an expired-looking card valid.
• Asylum (c)(8) and adjustment (c)(9): renewals filed on or before October 29, 2025 kept the up-to-540-day extension; later renewals get none — your work authorization ends the day the card expires, even with a pending renewal.

Practical rule for every category now: file the renewal 180 days out (the earliest USCIS accepts), and calendar it the day your current card arrives.

The SSN checkbox most first-timers miss

Items 13–17 of the I-765 let you apply for a Social Security number and card in the same filing — no separate SSA office visit. Check “yes” to both the SSN application and the disclosure consent, and the card arrives by mail within a couple of weeks of EAD approval. If you skipped it, you apply at an SSA office with the EAD as proof of work authorization; see the SSA procedures pages.

The SSN this produces is the permanent one — if you’ve been filing taxes with an ITIN, plan the ITIN-to-SSN transition so your credit history and tax records follow you.

Why I-765s get rejected at intake

Rejections (the package returned unprocessed) are mostly self-inflicted and avoidable:

1. Wrong or missing category code — the single biggest cause. The code must match your evidence exactly.
2. Fee mismatch — paying the old fee after a change, or one combined check where USCIS expects per-form payments.
3. Wrong filing location — direct filing addresses vary by category and change; check the form’s filing-address page the same week you mail.
4. Missing signature — typed names don’t count on paper filings. And for filings submitted on or after July 10, 2026, a signature defect found after USCIS accepts the package can end in an outright denial with the filing fee kept, not just a returned package — see the DHS signature rule.
5. Photo spec failures — two identical passport-style photos, taken within 30 days, name and A-number penciled on the back.

A rejection costs you the mail time plus re-assembly — for categories with timing rules (the asylum 150-day clock, DACA’s window), that lost month can matter. Online filing eliminates causes 2–4 outright for the categories that support it.

While you wait: tracking and escalation

Median processing is about 11 months but the spread is enormous (1–20 months by category and service center). Three things to do during the wait:

• Track the case with your receipt number, and sign up for case alerts in a USCIS online account — see how case tracking works.
• Outside normal processing time? Submit an e-request; if work authorization has lapsed or will lapse imminently, call the Contact Center and ask for an expedite based on severe financial loss — documented job-loss letters help.
• Moving? File the AR-11 address change immediately; EAD cards returned as undeliverable take months to re-issue.

Related information

• Other USCIS forms
• Federal and state procedures
• Consulates of your country in the USA

Last verified: 2026-07-21. General information — not legal advice. Fees, requirements, and times change frequently. Always verify at USCIS.gov before filing.

Related procedural information

• Consulate of your country in the US — passport renewal, consular ID, document apostille
• ITIN — file federal taxes without SSN — required regardless of immigration status
• USCIS form library — federal immigration forms (I-130, I-485, N-400, etc.)
• Find an immigration attorney — pro bono lists + AILA + BIA-recognized
• Know Your Rights — ICE encounters — constitutional protections