If your green card application is pending, you can get a work permit by filing Form I-765 under eligibility category (c)(9). The filing fee is $520 on paper or $470 online, with a reduced $260 fee in some situations and no fee at all if your Form I-485 was filed before April 1, 2024. The resulting Employment Authorization Document, or EAD, lets you work for any U.S. employer while USCIS decides your adjustment of status application.
Who Qualifies Under Category (c)(9)
Category (c)(9) covers anyone with a pending Form I-485. You can file Form I-765 at the same time as your I-485 or separately at any point while the adjustment application is still active. If you file separately, include a copy of your I-485 receipt notice or other proof the application is pending.1U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form I-765, Instructions for Application for Employment Authorization
Your eligibility rests on two things staying alive: the underlying immigrant petition (an I-140 for employment-based cases, or the family-based visa petition) and the I-485 itself. If either is withdrawn or denied, the legal basis for your EAD disappears.
One point trips up a lot of applicants. Filing the I-485 does not by itself authorize you to work. You must wait until USCIS actually approves the EAD before you take a job. Working without authorization can permanently bar you from adjusting status, and that bar can apply to unauthorized work done either before or after the I-485 was filed.2U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 7, Part B, Chapter 6 – Unauthorized Employment
What It Costs
USCIS changed its fee structure on April 1, 2024, and the change matters here. Applicants who filed the I-485 and paid the adjustment filing fee before that date had EAD applications bundled into the I-485 cost. Those applicants remain fee-exempt for I-765 filings tied to that same pending I-485.3U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. 2024 Final Fee Rule
For I-485s filed on or after April 1, 2024, a separate EAD fee applies:
- $520 for paper filing
- $470 for online filing
- $260 reduced fee when the I-765 is filed in connection with an I-485 that was submitted with the full filing fee on or after April 1, 20243U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. 2024 Final Fee Rule
If you are fee-exempt because your I-485 predates April 2024, do not use the online PDF upload option. USCIS will charge a fee through that portal and will not refund it. Fee-exempt filers should mail a paper Form I-765.4U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Forms Available to File Online
Fee Waivers
If you cannot afford the fee, you can request a waiver on Form I-912. You qualify if you receive a federal means-tested benefit such as Medicaid or SNAP, or if your household income is at or below 150 percent of the Federal Poverty Guidelines.5U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Instructions for Request for Fee Waiver Submit the waiver request with your I-765. If USCIS receives the package without either the correct payment or a valid waiver, the whole thing gets rejected.
Replacement Card Fees
A lost, stolen, or damaged EAD requires a new Form I-765 and the standard filing fee. The one exception: no fee is required if the card was never delivered due to a USCIS or postal error, or if it contains incorrect information caused by USCIS.6U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Application for Employment Authorization
Documents to Gather Before You File
Form I-765 asks for your full legal name, current mailing address, date and country of birth, and your Alien Registration Number (A-Number), the seven- to nine-digit number DHS assigns to noncitizens. You can find it on a previous EAD or approval notice.7U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. A-Number/Alien Registration Number/Alien Number Select eligibility category (c)(9) on the form.
You also need:
- Two identical passport-style color photos, taken recently, on thin glossy paper with a white or off-white background.1U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form I-765, Instructions for Application for Employment Authorization
- A copy of your previous EAD, front and back. If you have never had one, submit a copy of a government-issued photo ID such as a passport, a birth certificate paired with photo ID, or a national ID document with your photo.
- A copy of your Form I-797C receipt notice showing USCIS received your I-485.
Requesting a Social Security Number on the Same Form
Form I-765 includes a section for requesting an original or replacement Social Security number and card. If you complete it, USCIS shares your data with the Social Security Administration, which mails the card to you separately without a trip to a Social Security office.8Social Security Administration. Enumeration Beyond Entry Fill in every field, because the SSA uses your name, date of birth, parents’ names, country of birth, and sex to process the request. The card should arrive within 14 days of your EAD. If it doesn’t, contact your local Social Security office.
How to Submit Form I-765
If you owe a filing fee under (c)(9), you can file Form I-765 as a PDF upload through a USCIS online account, or mail the paper form to the USCIS Lockbox address in the filing instructions.4U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Forms Available to File Online Fee-exempt applicants must file on paper.
USCIS no longer accepts personal checks, business checks, money orders, or cashier’s checks for paper filings unless you qualify for a narrow exemption, such as having no access to banking services.9U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. G-1450, Authorization for Credit Card Transactions For paper filings, pay with a credit, debit, or prepaid card using Form G-1450, or by direct bank transfer using Form G-1650.10U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Filing Fees
What Happens After You File
USCIS will mail a receipt notice (Form I-797C) with a tracking number for online case status checks. Most applicants get it within a few weeks. USCIS may then schedule a biometrics appointment at an Application Support Center to collect fingerprints and a photograph for background screening. Processing times for the card itself vary by service center and workload, and the USCIS processing times page has the current estimates.
Once approved, your EAD is mailed to the address on your application. The card is standalone proof of work authorization and any U.S. employer can accept it as a List A document for Form I-9.
Keep Your Address Current
Federal law requires noncitizens to report a change of address to USCIS within 10 days of moving.11U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. How to Change Your Address USCIS will not forward mail, and a Postal Service forwarding request does not update the USCIS system. If your EAD gets mailed to an old address, replacing it will cost time and money.
The Enterprise Change of Address tool in your USCIS online account is the easiest route. Enter the receipt number for each pending application so the change applies to all of them. You can also file a paper Form AR-11 by mail, though USCIS notes this does not automatically update pending cases.
Renewing Your EAD
EADs have fixed expiration dates. To renew, file a new Form I-765 well before the current card runs out.
The rules here changed in late 2025. For renewals filed before October 30, 2025, a timely filing triggered an automatic extension of work authorization for up to 540 days while USCIS processed the renewal. USCIS eliminated that automatic extension for renewal applications filed on or after October 30, 2025.12Federal Register. Removal of the Automatic Extension of Employment Authorization Documents Receipt notices issued on or after that date no longer serve as proof of continued work authorization.
The practical effect is that a gap in work authorization is now possible if USCIS takes longer to adjudicate your renewal than the time remaining on your current card. You cannot legally work during that gap, and your employer cannot continue employing you. Filing early gives USCIS the most runway, but it does not guarantee continuous coverage. If expiration is close and the renewal is still pending, an expedite request may be your best option.
Asking USCIS to Expedite
USCIS accepts expedite requests for pending EAD applications, but simply needing to work is not enough on its own. You have to show an additional compelling factor:13U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Expedite Requests
- Severe financial loss to you personally, which can include job loss combined with the loss of critical public benefits or health coverage.
- Severe financial loss to a company, where the business risks failing, losing a critical contract, or laying off other employees.
- Urgent humanitarian reasons such as medical emergencies or safety concerns.
Request an expedite by calling the USCIS Contact Center at 800-375-5283 or by using the secure messaging feature in your USCIS online account. Have documentation ready to upload. USCIS will not approve an expedite based on a phone call alone.
What the EAD Does Not Cover
The EAD authorizes work. It does not authorize international travel. If you leave the United States while your I-485 is pending without an approved advance parole document (Form I-131), USCIS generally treats the green card application as abandoned, and you lose the application and the filing fee.14U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. While Your Green Card Application Is Pending with USCIS USCIS previously issued combo cards that combined the EAD and advance parole, but that ended in 2022; they are now separate filings. An emergency travel process exists for genuine emergencies through the Contact Center.15U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Emergency Travel
Changing employers is also a separate question. Employment-based adjustment applicants can port to a new job under INA Section 204(j) if the I-140 is approved (or pending and later approved) in the first, second, or third preference category, the I-485 has been pending at least 180 days, the new position is in the same or a similar occupational classification, and Form I-485 Supplement J is filed to confirm the new job.16U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual – Job Portability after Adjustment Filing and Other AC21 Provisions National interest waiver and extraordinary ability applicants do not need Supplement J, but must continue working in their area of expertise. Family-based applicants are not tied to a specific employer and can change jobs freely as long as they hold a valid EAD.