What You Need To Know About The Automatic 180-day EAD Extension For H-4, E, and L Dependent Spouses

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.