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Automatic EAD renewal extension extended to qualifying H-4, E and L spouses

Validated finding · five-country-2010-20260922-v118-evidence-presentation-fix

CountryUnited States
Operative dateNovember 12, 2021
CategoryDependent-spouse employment authorization
Policy toolAutomatic renewal extension
Affected groupH-4, e and l dependent spouses with timely ead renewals and unexpired corresponding nonimmigrant status

Policy effect

From November 12, 2021, qualifying H-4, E and L dependent spouses received automatic extensions of existing employment authorization and EADs when they properly filed renewal applications before their EADs expired and held unexpired Forms I-94 showing the relevant status. The extension ended at the earliest of the I-94 end date, approval or denial of the renewal, or 180 days after the previous EAD expired. For Form I-9, the evidence was the unexpired I-94, the timely-renewal Form I-797C and the expired EAD in the corresponding A17, A18 or C26 category.

Conditions and exceptions

Validated condition or limit: From November 12, 2021, qualifying H-4, E and L dependent spouses received automatic extensions of existing employment authorization and EADs when they properly filed renewal applications before their EADs expired and held unexpired Forms I-94 showing the relevant status.; The extension ended at the earliest of the I-94 end date, approval or denial of the renewal, or 180 days after the previous EAD expired.

Official source excerpt

Quoted verbatim from the official source below. Ellipses indicate omitted text.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Office of the Director Camp Springs, MD 20588-0009 November 12, 2021 PA-2021-25 Policy Alert SUBJECT: Employment Authorization for Certain H-4, E, and L Nonimmigrant Dependent Spouses Purpose U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is issuing policy guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual to address automatic extension of employment authorization for certain H-4, E, and L nonimmigrant dependent spouses. USCIS is also rescinding the 2002 Legacy Immigration and Naturalization Service memorandum entitled, “Guidance on Employment Authorization for E … and L Nonimmigrant Spouses, and for Determinations on the Requisite Employment Abroad for L Blanket Petition” (2002 INS memorandum). 1 Background The regulations at 8 CFR 274a.13(d) provide that employment authorization, Employment Authorization Documents (Form I-766 or EAD), or both, may be automatically extended in certain circumstances. After considering public comments received in response to the Identifying Barriers Across USCIS Benefits and Services; Request for Public Input, 2 USCIS is updating its interpretation and implementation of 8 CFR 274a.13(d) to provide that certain H-4, E, or … L dependent spouses will qualify for the automatic extension provided under this regulatory provision if certain conditions are met. Accordingly, a document combination to include an unexpired Form I-94, Form I-797C (Notice of Action) showing a timely-filed EAD renewal application, and facially expired EAD may be acceptable to evidence unexpired employment authorization for Employment Eligibility Verification (Form I-9) purposes. In addition, USCIS is also clarifying that it will consider E and L dependent spouses to be employment authorized incident to their valid E or L nonimmigrant status. … s can be distinguished from E and L dependent children on the face of the document. Once these changes are made, the revised Form I-94 containing a notation indicating that the bearer is an E or L dependent spouse will be acceptable as evidence of employment authorization under List C of Form I-9. This guidance, contained in Volume 10 of the Policy Manual, is effective immediately. The guidance contained in the Policy Manual is controlling and supersedes any related prior guidance. Policy Highlights • Provides that certain H-4, E, or L dependent spouses qualify for automatic extension of their … existing employment authorization and accompanying EAD if they properly filed an application to renew their H-4, E, or L-based EAD before it expires, and they have an unexpired Form I-94 showing their status as an H-4, E, or L nonimmigrant, as applicable. • Provides that the automatic extension of the EAD will continue until the earlier of: the end date on Form I-94 showing valid status, the approval or denial of the EAD renewal application, or 180 days from the date of expiration of the previous EAD. • Provides that the following combination of documents evidence the automatic extension of t … he previous EAD, and are acceptable to present to employers for Form I-9 purposes: Form I-94 indicating the unexpired nonimmigrant status (H-4, E, or L), Form I-797C for a timely-filed EAD renewal application (Form I-765) stating “Class requested” as “(a)(17),” “(a)(18),” or “(c)(26),” and the facially expired EAD issued under the same category (that is, indicating Category A17, A18, or C26). • Provides that E and L dependent spouses are employment authorized incident to their status and therefore they are no longer required to request employment authorization by filing Form I-765 but may cont …
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration ServicesUSCIS Policy Alert PA-2021-25: Employment Authorization for Certain H-4, E, and L Nonimmigrant Dependent SpousesOpen official source
Retrieved from https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/policy-manual-updates/20211112-EmploymentAuthorization.pdf

Review method

Two separate automated exact-claim source reviews

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Other United States changes operative in 2021