As ILBSG previously reported, as the result of federal litigation, USCIS has agreed to grant automatic 180-day extensions for H-4, E, and L dependent spouse visa holders who timely file the employment authorization document (EAD) extensions. USCIS officially released a policy alert outlining these changes, effective November 12, 2021.

In order to qualify for the automatic 180-day extension for H-4, E, and L dependent spouses, the EAD renewal must be filed before the expiration of the current EAD. In addition, the dependent spouse must have an unexpired I-94 showing their H-4, E, or L dependent status remains valid. If timely filed, the automatic EAD extension will continue for 180 days OR until the I-94 expiration date, if sooner than 180 days. If the EAD renewal is denied, the 180-day extension terminates at that time.

What this means is that if you currently have a pending EAD in one of these categories, as long as your I-94 is still valid and unexpired, your EAD has been automatically extended for 180 days or until your I-94 expiration date, if sooner. This means you can resume working while your EAD renewal is pending, as long as you complete I-9 verification with your employer.

For I-9 purposes, H-4, E, and L dependent spouses may present to employers a copy of their I-94, showing unexpired H-4, E, or L dependent spouse status, the I-797 receipt showing the EAD renewal application was timely filed and that the class requested is either (a)(17), (a)(18), or (c)(26), and a copy of the previous EAD, showing the renewal category is the same as the previously approved category. For example, for an H-4 EAD, your renewal receipt would need to show (c)(26), the same category that appears on your previous H-4 EAD card, in order for your employer to complete your I-9 verification.

Finally, USCIS has updated its policy that E and L dependent spouses are employment authorized incident to their status and no longer need to request employment authorization by filing Form I-765 in order to work. If an EAD is desired, E and L dependent spouses may continue to file I-765 applications, but this will no longer be required for work authorization for these dependent spouses. However, until USCIS can implement changes to the I-94 to distinguish E and L spouses from E and L children, E and L spouses will still need to rely upon an EAD as evidence of employment authorization for I-9 purposes. ILBSG is closely monitoring this development – we will update our clients as soon as the I-94 system is updated to reflect these policy changes.

If you have any questions about the automatic EAD extensions or any immigration-related issues, please reach out to us at ILBSG today. We put our expertise and experience to work for you to make sure you get the right advice.

EAD Employment Authorization E visa H-4 visa l visa