USCIS Changes Policy on Service Requests for EAD Applications Pending Beyond 75 Days

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently confirmed that it no longer automatically accepts service requests from applicants whose I-765 applications for employment authorization have been pending for more than seventy-five (75) days. The USCIS informed the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) that this change was implemented after the USCIS launched its updated processing times website, with a new method of determining adjudication processing times. The USCIS now only accepts a service request to report that an application for an employment authorization document (EAD) is pending beyond standard processing times if it has been pending longer than the relevant timeframe posted on the USCIS website.

Conclusion

It is better to be safe than sorry as the cost of not having work authorization can be steep if one loses not just a few weeks or months of salary, but the job itself due to a delay in filing the EAD application or the EAD extension. Given the long adjudication delays on I-765 applications, those seeking to apply for a new EAD, or renew an existing EAD, should do so as early as possible. Generally, a renewal application can be filed up to six months before the current EAD expires.

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