H-4 EAD: Eligibility, Form I-765 Filing, Fee, Renewals and Automatic Extension Rules

Certain H-4 dependent spouses of H-1B nonimmigrants can file Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, if the H-1B nonimmigrant:

Is the principal beneficiary of an approved Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker; or

Has been granted H-1B status under sections 106(a) and (b) of the American Competitiveness in the Twenty-first Century Act of 2000 as amended by the 21st Century Department of Justice Appropriations Authorization Act (AC21).

You are eligible if you are the H-4 dependent spouse of an H-1B nonimmigrant if your H-1B nonimmigrant spouse:

Is the principal beneficiary of an approved Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers; or

Has been granted H-1B status under sections 106(a) and (b) of AC21. Under AC21, H-1B nonimmigrants seeking employment-based lawful permanent residence may be eligible to work and remain in the United States beyond the six-year H-1B period of admission limitation.

(iv) H-4 dependents. The spouse and children of an H nonimmigrant, if they are accompanying or following to join such H nonimmigrant in the United States, may be admitted, if otherwise admissible, as H-4 nonimmigrants for the same period of admission or extension as the principal spouse or parent. H-4 nonimmigrant status does not confer eligibility for employment authorization incident to status. An H-4 nonimmigrant spouse of an H-1B nonimmigrant may be eligible for employment authorization only if the H-1B nonimmigrant is the beneficiary of an approved Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker, or successor form, or the H-1B nonimmigrant's period of stay in H-1B status is authorized in the United States under sections 106(a) and (b) of the American Competitiveness in the Twenty-first Century Act of 2000 (AC21), Public Law 106-313, as amended by the 21st Century Department of Justice Appropriations Authorization Act, Public Law 107-273 (2002). To request employment authorization, an eligible H-4 nonimmigrant spouse must file an Application for Employment Authorization, or a successor form, in accordance with 8 CFR 274a.13 and the form instructions. An Application for Employment Authorization must be accompanied by documentary evidence establishing eligibility, including evidence of the spousal relationship and that the principal H-1B is the beneficiary of an approved Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker or has been provided H-1B status under sections 106(a) and (b) of AC21, as amended by the 21st Century Department of Justice Appropriations Authorization Act, the H-1B beneficiary is currently in H-1B status, and the H-4 nonimmigrant spouse is currently in H-4 status.

(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.

(26) An H-4 nonimmigrant spouse of an H-1B nonimmigrant described as eligible for employment authorization in 8 CFR 214.2(h)(9)(iv).

You must file Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, to request employment authorization as an H-4 dependent spouse. You must receive an Employment Authorization Document (EAD/Form I-766) from USCIS before you may begin working. Use the newest version of Form I-765 to prevent delays or the need for USCIS to issue you a request for evidence.

7. Spouse of an H-1B Nonimmigrant--(c)(26). File Form I-765 along with documentation of your current H-4 admission or extension of stay. You must also submit documentation establishing either your spouse is the beneficiary of an approved Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker, or your spouse received H-1B status based on the American Competitiveness in the Twenty-First Century Act (AC21) sections 106(a) and (b). For your convenience, you may file Form I-765 with Form I-539. However, we will not process your Form I-765, until after we have adjudicated your Form I-539. You may also file Form I-765 at the same time as your Form I-539 and your H1-B spouse’s Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker. Please see the USCIS website at www.uscis.gov/I-765 for the most current information on where to file this benefit request.

If you are filing Form I-765 together with Form I-485, you must specify your eligibility category as (c)(9), not as (c)(26), and pay the Form I-485 filing fee. Follow the Form I-485 filing instructions to avoid processing delays.

If you file a Form I-765 together with a Form I-485 at the filing address for Form I-765 category (c)(26), USCIS will reject your Form I-485 and any corresponding fees. Additionally, if you included the fees for both forms on the same check or money order, USCIS may also reject your Form I-765 for category (c)(26).

(a)(12) – Temporary Protected Status granted

(c)(3)(A) – F-1 student, pre-completion Optional Practical Training (OPT);

(c)(3)(B) – F-1 student, post-completion OPT;

(c)(3)(C) – F-1 student, 24-month extension of OPT for science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) students;

(c)(8) – Application for Employment Authorization Based on Pending Form I-589, Application for Asylum or for Withholding of Removal, and Applicants for Pending Asylum under the ABC Settlement Agreement;

(c)(11) – Paroled for urgent humanitarian or significant public benefit purposes;

(c)(19) – Certain pending TPS applicants who USCIS has determined are prima facie eligible for TPS and who may then receive an EAD as a “temporary treatment benefit” under 8 C.F.R. 244.10(a); or

(c)(33) – Consideration of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) You must have a pending or approved Form I-821D to file Form I-765.

You can file online for these categories:

(a)(12) – Temporary Protected Status granted;

(c)(8) – Application for employment authorization based on pending Form I-589, Application for Asylum or for Withholding of Removal, and applicants for pending asylum under the ABC Settlement Agreement;

(c)(9) - Certain family-based and employment-based applicants pending adjustment of status under Section 245 of the Immigration and Nationality Act;

(c)(11) – Paroled for urgent humanitarian or significant public benefit purposes; or

(c)(19) – Certain pending TPS applicants whom USCIS has determined are prima facie eligible for TPS and who may then receive an EAD as a “temporary treatment benefit” under 8 C.F.R. 244.10(a).

Note: If you are filing Form I-765 for a (c)(9) Pending Adjustment of Status category that is fee exempt, do not submit your application through the PDF filing option at this time. If you file Form I-765 for the (c)(9) category, you must pay a fee or submit a fee waiver request. If you are fee-exempt and proceed with paying the fee and submitting your application through the PDF filing option, we will not issue you a refund. If you are filing under a fee-exempt category, you should mail a paper Form I-765 to the address on the Direct Filing Addresses for Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization webpage to receive the fee exemption.

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.

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.

You will not be authorized to work until USCIS approves your Form I-765. Once your employment authorization is approved, the expiration date on your Employment Authorization Document (Form I-766 EAD) should be the same date as the expiration date on your most recent Form I-94 indicating your H-4 nonimmigrant status. Generally, you are only authorized to work through the expiration date on your EAD. If you are still eligible for employment authorization after that date, you should file for a renewal EAD by submitting another Form I-765. You cannot file for a renewal EAD more than 180 days before your original EAD expires

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

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

(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.

C. Summary of the Major Provisions of the Regulatory Action This final rule adopts the IFR as final, without any changes, after careful consideration of the comments received.

DATES: This final rule is effective on October 14, 2026.

Note that EADs for H-4 nonimmigrants who timely filed renewal EAD applications before October 30, 2025, were automatically extended if they had an unexpired Form I-94, Arrival Departure Record, showing valid H-4 nonimmigrant status. See 8 CFR 274a.13(d)(1)(iii); 90 FR at 48804. Even under the rules prior to the IFR, however, an H-4 nonimmigrant spouse eligible for employment authorization under 8 CFR 274a.12(c)(26) was not eligible for an automatic extension of employment authorization if their renewal application was dependent upon the adjudication of an application to extend their H-4 nonimmigrant status. See 8 CFR 274a.13(d)(1)(iii) (Jan. 1, 2025).

Response: This rule does not change the underlying eligibility of H-4, L-2, or other employment-based dependents to apply for employment authorization and/or EAD. This final rule also does not alter the eligibility of employment-based adjustment applicants to seek EADs while their Form I-485 applications are pending. For nonimmigrants whose employment authorization is incident to status and not necessarily evidenced by an EAD (for example, certain L-2 spouses with appropriate notation on their Form I-94), that authorization continues for so long as the underlying nonimmigrant status remains valid, irrespective of any separate EAD. For those whose employment authorization is granted under 8 CFR 274a.12(c), renewal of that authorization remains discretionary and time limited.

Refer to your receipt notice to find your form, category, and office. For more information about case processing times and reading your receipt notice, visit the More Information About Case Processing Times page.

We display case processing times for select forms and locations to let you know how long it generally takes to process benefit requests and when you can contact us with questions about your case. We update case processing times on the website monthly with the latest available data.

Processing time is defined as the number of days (or months) that have elapsed between the date USCIS received an application, petition, or request and the date USCIS completed the application, petition, or request (that is, approved or denied it) in a given six-month period.

Processing times are provided as a reference point for how long we have taken to complete most cases.