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I-765Work permit (employment authorization document, EAD)

For people in the United States who need USCIS permission to work, or a card that proves it.

At a glance

How you apply
File Form I-765 with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) on paper or, where USCIS offers online filing for your request, online through a USCIS account
Checked Oct 18, 2026[1,2]
What you get
If approved, an Employment Authorization Document (EAD, Form I-766), valid for a specific period and subject to the terms and conditions noted on it
Checked Oct 18, 2026[3]
Who must apply
People in a category listed in 8 CFR 274a.12(c) must apply before they can work, for example F-1 students seeking Optional Practical Training (OPT), asylum applicants, and people with a pending green card application (Form I-485) who do not already have other permission to work. Some people who may work because of their status, such as refugees, must also apply for an EAD as proof if they want to work
Checked Oct 18, 2026[4]
Filing fee
$520 on paper or $470 online in general; $260 if your I-485 was filed with a fee on or after April 1, 2024, and is still pending; $0 in many categories; some categories also owe a separate fee required by Public Law 119-21 (Form G-1055, edition 10/07/26)
Checked Oct 18, 2026[2]
Renewing
USCIS says to file at least 90 days before your EAD expires and generally recommends filing up to 180 days before. A renewal filed on or after Oct. 30, 2025, generally does not automatically extend your current EAD (a law or a Temporary Protected Status notice can provide otherwise)
Checked Oct 18, 2026[1,3]

What Form I-765 is

Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, is how certain people in the United States ask U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) for an Employment Authorization Document (EAD), which USCIS also calls a work permit. People whose immigration status already lets them work without restrictions may also use the form to get an EAD that shows it.[1]

The regulation on who may work (8 CFR 274a.12) sets out three main groups. Group (a) may work in any location and any type of job because of their status; some in this group, such as refugees, must still apply for an EAD as proof if they want to work. Group (b) may work only for a specific employer (H-1B and L-1 workers, for example, only for the petitioner through which they got their status), and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) does not issue them an EAD. Group (c) must apply for work authorization and, once authorized, may work subject to any restrictions in the regulations or on the card.[4]

Who applies: common group (c) categories

Some of the most common categories. For others, see the Form I-765 instructions.

  • (c)(3) F-1 students: pre-completion practical training, up to 12 months of post-completion Optional Practical Training (OPT), or a 24-month OPT extension in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields. The STEM extension requires a degree on the STEM Designated Degree Program List, an employer enrolled in and using E-Verify, and an initial post-completion OPT grant based on that STEM degree. If your current 12-month post-completion OPT is based on a non-STEM degree, you may be able to use a previous STEM degree instead, if both degrees are from currently accredited, SEVP-certified U.S. schools, you have not already received a STEM extension based on that previous degree, and the training is directly related to it; that previous degree must also have been conferred within the 10 years before your school's Designated School Official (DSO) recommends you for the extension. OPT must be directly related to your major, and pre-completion OPT is deducted from the post-completion OPT still available at the same education level (part-time pre-completion OPT counts at half).[4,7,8,9]
  • (c)(8) Asylum applicants: you filed a complete application for asylum or withholding of removal, it has not been decided, and the 150-day waiting period has passed; or your application has been recommended for approval but not yet granted. Aggravated felons are not eligible.[4,10]
  • (c)(9) Green card applicants: you have filed Form I-485 to adjust status to permanent resident. File the I-765 together with the I-485, or later with a copy of your I-485 receipt notice or other proof that the I-485 is pending.[1,4]
  • (c)(11) Parolees: you were paroled into the United States temporarily for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit. Entrepreneur parolees and their spouses fall under other categories. File with evidence that your parole is current.[1,4]
  • (c)(26) H-4 spouses of H-1B workers, but only if the H-1B worker is the principal beneficiary of an approved Form I-140 or has been granted H-1B status under sections 106(a) and (b) of the American Competitiveness in the Twenty-first Century Act (AC21).[4,11]
  • (c)(35) Compelling circumstances: you are the principal beneficiary of an approved employment-based first, second or third preference (EB-1, EB-2 or EB-3) petition; for a first request, you are in E-3, H-1B, H-1B1, O-1 or L-1 status; an immigrant visa is not yet available for your priority date on the day you file; and USCIS decides, at its discretion, that you show compelling circumstances. It is granted only in 1-year increments, and a conviction for any felony or for two or more misdemeanors makes you ineligible.[4,12]

When to file

When to file, by category, from USCIS's Form I-765, OPT and H-4 EAD pages. For other categories, see the Form I-765 instructions.
CategoryWhen to file
(c)(3)(A) Pre-completion OPTAfter your designated school official (DSO) enters the OPT recommendation in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS); you can file up to 90 days before you complete one full academic year of enrollment, but the work cannot start before you complete that year
(c)(3)(B) Post-completion OPTUp to 90 days before and no later than 60 days after your program end date, and within 30 days after your DSO enters the OPT recommendation in SEVIS
(c)(3)(C) STEM OPT extensionUp to 90 days before your current OPT expires, and within 60 days after your DSO enters the recommendation in SEVIS
(c)(8) Asylum applicantNot until 150 days after you filed your complete asylum application (Form I-589); USCIS cannot issue the EAD until 180 days have passed, and delays you request or cause are not counted. With a Recommended Approval notice from the asylum office, right away
(c)(26) H-4 spouseOn its own if you are in H-4 status and do not need to extend it; or together with your Form I-539, with or without your H-1B spouse's Form I-129 (USCIS decides the I-765 only after the I-539 and, if filed together, the I-129). A renewal cannot be filed more than 180 days before your current EAD expires
(c)(36) Spouse or child of a (c)(35) applicantYou may file it with your spouse's or parent's (c)(35) application
Checked Oct 18, 2026[1,7,11]

Documents and filing basics

Basics that apply to most filings. Your category may need more; see the Form I-765 instructions.

  • Sign the form; USCIS rejects unsigned forms. USCIS currently accepts the 08/21/25 edition of Form I-765 and, under a Sept. 14, 2026, court order, is not accepting the 09/15/26 edition. On a paper form, every page must come from the same edition, with the edition date and page numbers visible at the bottom; missing pages or pages from another edition can get the form rejected.[1]
  • Photos must be unmounted and unretouched, meaning not edited or digitally enhanced. Mounted or retouched photos delay processing and may lead USCIS to require you to appear at an Application Support Center to verify your identity.[1,7]
  • Proof of your category. For example: for (c)(9), if you do not file the I-765 together with the I-485, a copy of your I-485 receipt notice or other proof that it is pending; for a first (c)(8) EAD, a copy of your asylum application and evidence that it was filed; in categories where economic necessity is a factor, such as deferred action under (c)(14) or (c)(33), information about your assets, income and expenses.[1,3,4]
  • Where to mail it: the address depends on your reason for applying and the category you enter in Question 27, so check USCIS's current filing-locations page for Form I-765. USCIS changed those filing locations on Oct. 7, 2026.[1]

Fees

USCIS fees for Form I-765, from Form G-1055, edition 10/07/26, and 8 CFR 106.2. The fee depends on your category and on whether you request a first, renewal or replacement EAD; check the current G-1055 before you pay.
SituationFee
General filing for a first, renewal or replacement EAD, unless a row below applies$520 paper / $470 online
You filed Form I-485 with a fee on or after April 1, 2024, and it is still pending$260 paper or online
You have a pending I-485 that you filed on or after July 30, 2007, and before April 1, 2024, and you paid its fee$0
Replacement because the card has wrong information due to a USCIS error, or because you never received it due to a U.S. Postal Service (USPS) or USCIS error$0
First EAD as a (c)(8) asylum applicant with a pending Form I-589, including derivatives, when you are not filing under the special ABC procedures (for American Baptist Churches settlement class members)$0 filing fee, plus the Pub. L. 119-21 fee
First EAD under (a)(12) or (c)(19) Temporary Protected Status (TPS), (c)(11) parole (most parole categories) or (c)(8) under the special ABC procedures; renewal EAD under (a)(12), (c)(19), (c)(11) (most parole categories) or (c)(8)$520 paper / $470 online, plus the Pub. L. 119-21 fee
Fee-exempt for a first or renewal EAD, among others: refugees (a)(3); people granted withholding of removal (a)(10); T-1 and U nonimmigrants (a)(16), (a)(19), (a)(20); Taiwanese dependents of Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office (TECRO) E-1 employees (c)(2); (c)(9) applicants adjusting as special immigrant juveniles, T or U nonimmigrants, Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) self-petitioners or special immigrant Iraqis or Afghans; (c)(40) T applicants with a bona fide application; current or former U.S. armed forces service members (not their family members unless they also served). Asylees (a)(5) pay $0 for a first EAD$0
Premium processing (Form I-907), OPT and STEM OPT categories only$1,780, paid separately on top of the filing fee
Checked Oct 18, 2026[2,5,13]

Where the table says “plus the Pub. L. 119-21 fee”, you also owe a fee set by Public Law 119-21. You pay it separately from the filing fee, it cannot be waived, and you still owe it when your filing fee is $0 or waived. These fees adjust each year: USCIS's Form I-765 page says new inflation-adjusted amounts apply to requests postmarked on or after Oct. 16, 2026, and that requests without the proper fee will be rejected, so check the amount on uscis.gov before you pay.[1,2]

Some applicants may qualify for a waiver of the USCIS filing fee with Form I-912. For most applications you cannot request a fee waiver online: you file the paper Form I-912 (or a written request) together with the paper form. A fee waiver never covers the Pub. L. 119-21 fee.[2]

Premium processing (OPT and STEM OPT only)

Premium processing (Form I-907) is available only to F-1 students filing for OPT: categories (c)(3)(A), (c)(3)(B) and (c)(3)(C). Within 30 business days, USCIS issues an approval, a denial, a Request for Evidence (RFE) or a Notice of Intent to Deny (NOID); if it does not, it refunds the premium fee and keeps processing the case, unless it has opened a fraud or misrepresentation investigation. The clock starts when USCIS has the form, the fees and every prerequisite for a decision; an RFE or NOID stops it, and a new 30-business-day period starts when USCIS receives your response.[5,6]

After you file

  1. File

    File on paper at the address for your category or, where USCIS offers online filing for your request, online through your USCIS account. You can file the I-765 together with the application it depends on (for example, an I-485 or I-539) only where the form instructions or USCIS's website allow it.[1,2,3]

  2. Decision

    USCIS decides. If it approves, you receive an EAD valid for a specific period that USCIS sets; an H-4 spouse's EAD, for example, should end on the same date as the most recent Form I-94 showing H-4 status. If it denies, USCIS explains the reasons in writing.[3,4,11]

  3. Card in the mail

    After approval, USCIS says the card should be produced within 2 weeks and mailed by U.S. Postal Service (USPS) Priority Mail. Allow 30 days from approval before contacting USCIS; Case Status Online shows the USPS tracking number. If your mailing address changes after you file, update it with USCIS and USPS as soon as possible, or the card could get lost and you may need to reapply and pay the fee again.[1]

Processing time (Form I-765)

The panel shows USCIS's published figures for Form I-765. They are not a promise for any single case; check the figure for your own category with the USCIS tool linked there.

USCIS published processing time

Official

Median from USCIS's quarterly report

  • I-765 · FY2021 Q4 · all offices5 months

Half of the cases USCIS completed in that quarter took this long or less, from receipt to decision. Half took longer. The report does not say whether premium-processing cases are included. It is a different measure from the processing-times tool, so the two are not compared.

For the current figure for your form and office, check USCIS directly: USCIS processing times

Official

Source: All USCIS Application and Petition Form Types (Fiscal Year 2021, 4th Quarter, July 1 - September 30, 2021) · Retrieved Sep 27, 2026

Renewals and when an EAD ends

A renewal filed on or after Oct. 30, 2025, does not automatically extend your EAD while USCIS decides it, unless a law or a Federal Register notice for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) provides otherwise. Under the earlier rule, a renewal properly filed before that date, before the card expired, in the same category and in a category that qualified extends the EAD for up to 540 days after its expiration date, or until USCIS denies the renewal if that comes first. If your permission to work does not come from your status, it is extended along with the card.[3]

Under the rule for renewals filed on or after Oct. 30, 2025, when the card runs out: if your category is in group (a), the EAD expires the day after its end validity date unless a law provides otherwise, but your permission to work lasts until your status or circumstance expires or ends. If your category is in group (c), the EAD expires and your permission to work ends the day after the end validity date on the card; for TPS applicants, the TPS rules govern instead.[3]

Timing: USCIS says to file a renewal at least 90 days before the expiration date and generally recommends filing up to 180 days before; it generally does not backdate or postdate a renewal EAD to line up with the end of your current card. For a (c)(8) asylum EAD, the regulation says the renewal must be received 90 days before expiration for the authorization to be renewed before it expires.[1,10]

Some categories have their own rule. If you are in valid F-1 status, filed your STEM OPT extension on time, and your post-completion OPT EAD expires while it is pending, you may keep working from that expiration date until USCIS decides the application, for no more than 180 days. During that time, the expired EAD together with the Form I-20 your DSO endorsed recommending the extension counts as unexpired.[4,7]

Spouses and children

Family members apply under their own category. Two examples:

The spouse or minor child of a J-1 exchange visitor (J-2) must apply for work authorization under category (c)(5).[4]

The spouse and children of a (c)(35) applicant may apply under (c)(36) if they are in nonimmigrant status when the principal applies, as long as the principal's (c)(35) authorization is granted and has not been terminated or revoked. They can file at the same time as the principal but cannot be approved until the principal is, and their EAD cannot last longer than the principal's.[4,12]

Common mistakes

  • Starting work before the card arrives in a category that needs one. H-4 spouses must receive the EAD before they begin working, and F-1 students may not start OPT until USCIS approves the I-765 and they receive the EAD.[7,11]
  • An H-4 spouse filing the I-765 together with an I-485 under category (c)(26). With an I-485, the category must be (c)(9) and the I-485 fee must be paid. If the package goes to the (c)(26) filing address, USCIS will reject the I-485 and its fees, and may also reject the I-765 if both fees are on the same check or money order.[11]
  • Filing an asylum-based I-765 too early. USCIS may reject a (c)(8) I-765 filed before the 150-day waiting period has passed, unless you have a Recommended Approval notice from the asylum office.[1]

Recent policy changes

Recent policy changes

Official

Updates

Ask WELIVEINUSA Visa

Ask WELIVEINUSA Visa

Answers come from our sourced database and your own timeline, sorted into fact, public data, inference and unknown. No AI model is used in this version, so questions outside what we cover get an honest "not covered".

Questions people ask

I have a green card. Do I need an EAD to work?

No. Permanent residents are authorized to work, and the green card (Form I-551) is the evidence. An expiration date on the green card means only that the card must be renewed, not that your permission to work has ended.[4]

I am in H-1B or L-1 status. Do I need an EAD?

Not to work for the petitioner through which you got your status: these statuses let you work only for that petitioner, and DHS does not issue an EAD for them. You may still qualify for an EAD in a group (c) category, such as (c)(35) or, once you file an I-485, (c)(9). If you are the H-4 spouse of an H-1B worker, different rules apply; see the H-4 page.[4,12]

I filed Form I-485. Can I work while it is pending?

Filing the I-485 lets you apply for an EAD under category (c)(9), together with the I-485 or later. Under the regulation, while a properly filed I-485 is pending you need not file an I-765 to keep working if you were granted employment authorization before you filed the I-485 and it does not expire while the I-485 is pending, or if you otherwise have USCIS permission to work. An immigration attorney can check how this applies to your status.[1,4]

I applied for asylum. When can I get a work permit?

You can apply once 150 days have passed since you filed your complete asylum application, and USCIS cannot issue the EAD until 180 days have passed (the “180-day Asylum EAD Clock”); delays you request or cause do not count toward that time. If the asylum office sends you a Recommended Approval notice, you can apply right away with a copy of it. Aggravated felons cannot get this EAD; it also cannot be granted if you missed a scheduled asylum interview or immigration court hearing, unless you show the failure to appear was due to exceptional circumstances.[1,10]

My EAD never arrived, or it has a mistake on it. Do I pay again?

It depends on whose error it was. If the card has wrong information because of a USCIS error, you do not file a new I-765 or pay a fee; follow the “Replacement for Card Error” instructions on USCIS's filing-locations page. If the error was not USCIS's, you file a new I-765 with the fee at the address for your category. If the card was never delivered, USCIS may reissue it, and you generally do not pay a new fee when the non-delivery was due to a USCIS or USPS error.[1,2]

Related categories

Content last reviewed: Oct 18, 2026 · General information, not legal advice.

Sources

  1. 1.I-765, Application for Employment Authorization - USCISUSCIS · Form / instructions · Checked Oct 18, 2026
  2. 2.Fee Schedule (Form G-1055) - USCISUSCIS · Form / instructions · Checked Oct 12, 2026
  3. 3.8 CFR 274a.13eCFR (Office of the Federal Register) · Regulation · Checked Oct 18, 2026
  4. 4.8 CFR 274a.12 - Classes of aliens authorized to accept employmenteCFR (Office of the Federal Register) · Regulation · Checked Sep 27, 2026
  5. 5.8 CFR 106.4 - Premium processing serviceeCFR (Office of the Federal Register) · Regulation · Checked Sep 27, 2026
  6. 6.How Do I Request Premium Processing? - USCISUSCIS · Agency page · Checked Sep 27, 2026
  7. 7.Optional Practical Training (OPT) for F-1 Students - USCISUSCIS · Agency page · Checked Oct 18, 2026
  8. 8.Optional Practical Training Extension for STEM Students (STEM OPT) - USCISUSCIS · Agency page · Checked Oct 18, 2026
  9. 9.8 CFR 214.2(f)(5)(vii) - F-1 cap-gap extensioneCFR (Office of the Federal Register) · Regulation · Checked Sep 27, 2026
  10. 10.8 CFR 208.7eCFR (Office of the Federal Register) · Regulation · Checked Oct 18, 2026
  11. 11.Employment Authorization for Certain H-4 Dependent Spouses - USCISUSCIS · Agency page · Checked Sep 27, 2026
  12. 12.8 CFR 204.5 - Petitions for employment-based immigrantseCFR (Office of the Federal Register) · Regulation · Checked Sep 27, 2026
  13. 13.8 CFR 106.2 - USCIS feeseCFR (Office of the Federal Register) · Regulation · Checked Sep 27, 2026