EAD Card (Form I-766): How to Apply, Renew and What Changed in 2025 and 2026

“U.S. employers must ensure all employees, regardless of citizenship or national origin, are authorized to work in the United States. Having an Employment Authorization Document (Form I-766/EAD) is one way to prove that you are authorized to work in the United States for a specific time period.”

“Employment Authorization Document (EAD): The EAD is the card (Form I-766, or any successor document) issued as evidence that the holder is authorized to work in the United States.”

“To request an EAD, you generally must file Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization. You will need to apply for an EAD if you:”

“Are authorized to work in the United States because of your immigration status or circumstances (for example, you are an asylee, refugee, or U nonimmigrant) and need evidence of that employment authorization, or”

“Are required to apply for permission to work (that is, you need to request employment authorization itself) because:”

“You have a pending Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status.”

“You have a pending Form I-589, Application for Asylum and for Withholding of Removal.”

“You have a nonimmigrant status or circumstance that allows you to be in the United States but does not allow you to work in the United States without first seeking permission from USCIS (such as an F-1 or M-1 student).”

“You do not need to apply for an EAD if you are a lawful permanent resident. Your Green Card (Form I-551, Permanent Resident Card) is evidence of your employment authorization. You also do not need to apply for an EAD if you have a nonimmigrant status that authorizes you to work for a specific employer incident to your status (for example, you are an H-1B, L-1B, O, or P nonimmigrant).”

“Certain foreign nationals 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 foreign nationals 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.”

“If you are a lawful permanent resident, a conditional permanent resident, or a nonimmigrant only authorized for employment with a specific employer under 8 CFR 274a.12(b), do not use Form I-765.”

“(a) Aliens authorized employment incident to status. Pursuant to the statutory or regulatory reference cited, the following classes of aliens are authorized to be employed in the United States without restrictions as to location or type of employment as a condition of their admission or subsequent change to one of the indicated classes. Any alien who is within a class of aliens described in paragraphs (a)(3), (a)(4), (a)(6)-(a)(8), (a)(10)-(a)(15), or (a)(20) of this section, and who seeks to be employed in the United States, must apply to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) for a document evidencing such employment authorization. USCIS may, in its discretion, determine the validity period assigned to any document issued evidencing an alien's authorization to work in the United States.”

“(b) Aliens authorized for employment with a specific employer incident to status or parole. The following classes of aliens are authorized to be employed in the United States by the specific employer and subject to any restrictions described in the section(s) of this chapter indicated as a condition of their parole or of their admission in, or subsequent change to, the designated nonimmigrant classification. An alien in one of these classes is not issued an employment authorization document by DHS:”

“(13) An alien having extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics (O-1), and an accompanying alien (O-2), under 8 CFR 214.2(o). An alien in this status may be employed only by the petitioner through whom the status was obtained. In the case of a professional O-1 athlete who is traded from one organization to another organization, employment authorization for the player will automatically continue for a period of 30 days after the acquisition by the new organization, within which time the new organization is expected to file a new petition for O nonimmigrant classification. If a new petition is not filed within 30 days, employment authorization will cease. If a new petition is filed within 30 days, the professional athlete's employment authorization will continue until the petition is adjudicated. If the new petition is denied, employment authorization will cease.”

“(c) Aliens who must apply for employment authorization. An alien within a class of aliens described in this section must apply for work authorization. If authorized, such an alien may accept employment subject to any restrictions stated in the regulations or cited on the employment authorization document. USCIS, in its discretion, may establish a specific validity period for an employment authorization document, which may include any period when an administrative appeal or judicial review of an application or petition is pending.”

“We encourage you to file your renewal application as soon as possible once your EAD is within 180 days of its expiration date to reduce the possibility of a gap in your employment authorization and/or documentation.”

“We generally recommend you file a Form I-765 to request a renewal Employment Authorization Document (EAD) up to 180 days before your current EAD expires. We generally do not backdate or postdate a renewal EAD to the end of your current EAD’s validity period.”

“Please refer to the Form I-765 instructions for information on other specific categories.”

“To renew your Employment Authorization Document, file Form I-765 at least 90 days before the expiration.”

“(d) Renewal application filed before October 30, 2025—(1) Automatic extension of Employment Authorization Documents. Except as otherwise provided in this chapter or by law, notwithstanding § 274a.14(a)(1)(i), the validity period of an expired or expiring Employment Authorization Document (Form I-766) and, for aliens who are not employment authorized incident to status, also the attendant employment authorization, will be automatically extended for an additional period not to exceed 540 days if the request for renewal meets all of the criteria listed in paragraphs (d)(1)(i) through (iii) of this section and was pending on May 4, 2022, or was properly filed on or after May 4, 2022.”

“(i) Properly filed on a form designated by USCIS and as provided by form instructions before the expiration date shown on the face of the Employment Authorization Document, or, for Temporary Protected Status-related Employment Authorization Documents (EADs), during the re-registration filing period described in the applicable Federal Register notice;”

“(ii) Based on the same employment authorization category as shown on the face of the expiring Employment Authorization Document or is for an individual approved for Temporary Protected Status whose EAD was issued pursuant to 8 CFR 274a.12(c)(19); and”

“(iii) Based on a class of aliens whose eligibility to apply for employment authorization continues notwithstanding expiration of the Employment Authorization Document and is based on an employment authorization category that does not require adjudication of an underlying application or petition before adjudication of the renewal application, including aliens described in 8 CFR 274a.12(a)(12) granted Temporary Protected Status and pending applicants for Temporary Protected Status who are issued an EAD under 8 CFR 274a.12(c)(19), as may be announced on the USCIS Web site.”

“(3) Termination. For renewal requests pending on May 4, 2022, or properly filed on or after May 4, 2022, the period authorized by paragraph (d)(1) of this section automatically terminates the earlier of up to 540 days after the expiration date of the Employment Authorization Document (Form I-766), or upon issuance of notification of a decision denying the renewal request. For renewal applications that were properly filed and adjudicated before May 4, 2022, the period authorized by paragraph (d)(1) of this section automatically terminated upon the earlier of up to 180 days after the expiration date of the Employment Authorization Document (Form I-766) or issuance of notification of a decision denying the renewal request. Nothing in paragraph (d) of this section will affect DHS's ability to otherwise terminate any employment authorization or Employment Authorization Document, or extension period for such employment or document, by written notice to the applicant, by notice to a class of aliens published in the Federal Register, or as provided by statute or regulation including 8 CFR 274a.14.”

“(4) Unexpired Employment Authorization Documents. An Employment Authorization Document (Form I-766) that has expired on its face is considered unexpired when combined with a Notice of Action (Form I-797C), which demonstrates that the requirements of paragraph (d)(1) of this section have been met.”

“(e) Renewal application filed on or after October 30, 2025. Except as otherwise provided by law, paragraph (d) of this section, or in an applicable Federal Register notice regarding procedures for renewing TPS-related employment documentation, the validity period of an expired or expiring Employment Authorization Document and, for aliens who are not employment authorized incident to status, also the attendant employment authorization, will not be automatically extended by a request for renewal. An Employment Authorization Document and, if applicable, the attendant employment authorization, will expire as follows:”

“(1) For aliens who are employment authorized incident to status pursuant to § 274a.12(a), unless otherwise provided by law, the Employment Authorization Document will expire on the day after the end validity date on the Employment Authorization Document. The employment authorization will expire or terminate upon the expiration or termination of the alien's status or circumstance.”

“(2) For aliens who are employment authorized pursuant to § 274a.12(c), the Employment Authorization Document will expire, and the attendant employment authorization will terminate, the day after the end validity date on the Employment Authorization Document, pursuant to § 274a.14, or, for TPS applicants, pursuant to section 244 of the Act and 8 CFR part 244.”

“This IFR amends DHS regulations to end the practice of automatically extending the validity of employment authorization documents (Forms I-766 or EADs) for aliens who have timely filed an application to renew their EAD in certain employment authorization categories.”

“This IFR is effective on October 30, 2025.”

“This final rule responds to comments received on the IFR and reaffirms and finalizes the provisions of the IFR.”

“This final rule is effective on October 14, 2026.”

“This final rule adopts the IFR as final, without any changes, after careful consideration of the comments received.”

“Added new 8 CFR 274a.13(e). The new provision explains that, unless otherwise provided in 8 CFR 274a.13(d), by law, or through a Federal Register notice for Temporary Protected Status (TPS)-related employment documentation, the validity period of an expired or expiring Employment Authorization Document and/or employment authorization will not be automatically extended by a renewal EAD application filed on or after October 30, 2025.”

“DHS explained in the IFR that the IFR did not impact the validity of EADs that were automatically extended prior to October 30, 2025.”

“However, on July 4, 2025, Congress passed and the President signed into law sections 100003(c) and 100012(a) of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, Public Law 119-21, 139 Stat.72 (July 4, 2025) (H.R 1), which limit the validity period of any employment authorization for aliens granted TPS under section 244 of the INA, 8 U.S.C. 1254a, to a period of one year or for the duration of the designation of TPS, whichever is shorter.”

“Aliens who file to renew their EAD on or after Oct. 30, 2025, will no longer receive an automatic extension of their EAD. There are limited exceptions to this rule, including extensions provided by law or through a Federal Register notice for TPS-related employment documentation.”

“The interim final rule does not affect EADs automatically extended before Oct. 30, 2025.”

“For example, on February 23, 2026, DHS published an NPRM proposing to modify filing and eligibility requirements for aliens with a pending asylum application requesting employment authorization and an employment authorization document (EAD). See 91 FR 8616 (Feb. 23, 2026). As of the publication of this final rule, the NPRM has not been finalized. If finalized as proposed, changes to eligibility for C08 employment authorization could significantly reduce the number of initial C08 applications and, by extension, the longer-term number of renewal applications.”

“The information on this page is out of date. However, some of the content may still be useful, so we have archived the page.”

“ALERT: DHS announced an interim final rule, effective Oct. 30, 2025, ending the practice of automatically extending the validity of EADs for aliens who apply to renew their EAD in certain employment authorization categories.”

“TPS-related EADs may only be automatically extended for up to 1 year or the duration of TPS (whichever is shorter) for EAD renewal applications pending or filed on or after July 22, 2025.”

“If you filed Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, to renew your expiring EAD, you may qualify for an up-to-540-day automatic extension of the expiration date printed on your EAD while your application is pending. You qualify for this automatic extension if:”

“In May 2022, DHS published a temporary final rule that increased the automatic EAD extension period for certain EAD renewal applicants from up to 180 days to up to 540 days. As announced in 2022, this temporary final rule was applicable to applications filed during a limited period that ended Oct. 26, 2023.”

“On Dec. 13, 2024, DHS published a final rule permanently increasing the automatic extension period for certain EAD renewal applicants from up to 180 days to up to 540 days.”

“Pursuant to the Sept. 14, 2026, order, USCIS continues to accept the 08/28/24 edition of Form I-539 and 08/21/25 edition of Form I-765 and is not accepting the 09/15/26 edition of Forms I-539 and I-765.”

“The new inflation-adjusted fees are effective Oct. 16, 2026. If you submit a request postmarked on or after Oct. 16, 2026, for a benefit that requires one of these fees, you must include the new fee for the specific benefit you are requesting. Any request postmarked on or after Oct. 16, 2026 without the proper filing fee will be rejected. See the web alert for more information.”

“The fees announced in this notice are effective on or after October 16, 2026.”

“(44) Application for Employment Authorization, Form I-765. To request employment authorization and/or an Employment Authorization Document (EAD). $520.”

“You must submit this fee separately from the filing fee.”

“This fee may not be waived.”

“NOTE: As of Feb. 5, 2026, the additional fee under Pub. L. 119-21 for (c)(11) EADs for parolees does not apply to Ms. L. Settlement Class members and their Qualifying Additional Family Members (QAFMs), pursuant to a court order issued in Ms. L. v. ICE, 18-cv-00428 (S.D. Cal.).”

“USCIS is pausing the collection of certain fees required by Pub. L. 119-21 (“HR-1”) from Ms. L. Settlement Class members and their Qualifying Additional Family Members (QAFMs) as of Feb. 5, 2026, pursuant to a decision issued in Ms. L. v. ICE, 18-cv-00428 (S.D. Cal.). The Department does not concur with this decision and is evaluating its options.”