USCIS Creating New Version of the EAD Card
Posted May 28, 2004
The USCIS issued a press release on May 20, 2004 announcing that it will begin issuing a new version of the Employment Authorization Document (EAD) in June 2004. The exact date is not yet certain. These new cards will have additional security features to prevent counterfeiting and fraud. The new cards will also eliminate any references to the Legacy INS.
The press release does not indicate whether persons who have older cards will be required to obtain the new one. At this time, we do not believe that the USICS will require this. The press release also indicates that EAD cards are usually valid for a one-year period. Regular MurthyDotCom and MurthyBulletin readers may recall, however, that the OMB is currently reviewing an interim final rule that would extend the validity date of some EADs, depending upon how long the I-485 is expected to be pending. We addressed this potential regulation in our March 26, 2004 MurthyBulletin article, USCIS May Extend Validity of EADs, available on MurthyDotCom. To date, the OMB has not completed its review, but we expect them to do so by early June 2004. Once OMB has finished the review, the interim final rule must be published in the Federal Register, along with an effective date.
The current production rate of EAD cards is 24,000 per week. We are confident that extending the validity dates beyond one year will reduce the need for production and give adjudicators more time to process other cases, such as I-485 applications.
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