How to Get Work Authorization in the US: Form I-765

To get work authorization in the US, you file Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. If approved, USCIS issues a plastic Employment Authorization Document (EAD) that proves your right to work. The general filing fee is $470 online or $520 by mail, though some categories pay more and some pay nothing.¹ The steps are the same for most applicants: identify your eligibility category, gather supporting documents, submit the application with the correct fee, and wait for the card. One thing has changed sharply in 2025, and it affects timing more than anything else: most renewal applicants no longer get an automatic extension while their new card is being processed.

Do You Actually Need to File I-765?

Not everyone with a right to work in the US has to apply for an EAD. Federal regulations at 8 CFR 274a.12 divide applicants into three groups: people authorized to work because of their immigration status (like refugees), people whose visas tie them to a specific employer (like H-1B workers), and people who must apply separately.² Only the third group needs Form I-765.

One notable boundary: since November 2021, L-2 and E-2 dependent spouses have been considered work-authorized based on status alone. If your Form I-94 shows an L-2S or E-2S class of admission, that document itself proves your work authorization for Form I-9 purposes, and you don’t need an EAD.³ You can still file if you want a standalone card, but it is optional.

Identify Your Eligibility Category

Every I-765 applicant enters a category code in Part 2, Item 27. Getting this wrong is one of the fastest ways to get a denial, so match your situation carefully. The most common categories:

Pending adjustment of status, (c)(9): filed alongside or after Form I-485.⁴
Pending asylum applicant, (c)(8): you can file after your asylum application has been pending for 150 days, but USCIS cannot approve it until 180 days have passed, and applicant-caused delays stop the clock.⁵
F-1 students on Optional Practical Training: up to 12 months, with a 24-month STEM extension for qualifying degrees.⁶
Temporary Protected Status recipients: for the duration of the country’s designation.
DACA recipients, (c)(33): only renewals are currently being processed, because courts have blocked initial DACA grants.⁷
Refugees, (a)(3): authorized to work on arrival, but the EAD is the physical proof.

For STEM OPT, the employer must be enrolled in E-Verify, and you file up to 90 days before your current OPT expires and within 60 days of your school official’s SEVIS recommendation.⁸

Gather the Form and Supporting Documents

Download Form I-765 directly from the USCIS website and check the edition date at the bottom of each page. Starting March 5, 2026, USCIS will only accept the 08/21/25 edition.⁴ Mixing pages from different editions or submitting an outdated version will get your package rejected before anyone reviews it.

The form asks for your full legal name and any other names used, mailing address, USCIS account or Alien Registration Number if you have one, and your eligibility code. You also indicate whether the filing is an initial application, a renewal, or a replacement.⁹

Plan to include:

Two passport-style color photos, 2-by-2 inches, unmounted and unretouched, with a white or off-white background. Digitally enhanced photos will delay the case and may require an in-person identity check.⁹
A copy of your Form I-94, printable from the CBP website.
A government-issued photo ID, typically your passport.
Category-specific evidence: an I-485 receipt notice, an asylum receipt, an OPT recommendation from your DSO, or similar proof of the underlying status.

Any document not in English needs a certified English translation. Certified translation of a birth certificate or comparable document typically runs $25 to $50, with variation by provider and length.

Fees and Fee Waivers

The general fee is $520 by mail and $470 online.¹ Initial EAD applications for asylum seekers, TPS recipients, and parolees cost $560, while TPS and parole renewals cost $280.¹⁰ Some applicants pay no fee: for example, if you file I-765 with an adjustment-of-status application, the cost is bundled into the I-485.

If you can’t afford the fee, you can request a waiver on Form I-912. You may qualify if household income is at or below 150 percent of the Federal Poverty Guidelines, if you or a family member receives a means-tested public benefit, or if you can document extreme financial hardship such as unexpected medical costs.¹¹ Fee waivers are not available for DACA-related applications.¹² Send the wrong amount or an incomplete waiver, and the entire package comes back unprocessed.

File Online or by Mail

Filing through a USCIS online account lets you upload documents, pay by card, and get an immediate electronic receipt. For paper filing, the completed form and supporting documents go to a specific USCIS Lockbox facility whose address depends on your eligibility category and where you live. Check the current filing address on the USCIS I-765 page every time; it changes.

Paper filers can pay by check or money order made out to “U.S. Department of Homeland Security,” or include Form G-1450 to authorize a credit or debit card payment.¹³ Form G-1650 allows a direct bank draft. Place the payment form on top of the package. A declined card or a bounced check means the whole filing is rejected.

After You File

USCIS mails a Form I-797C, Notice of Action, once it accepts the application and processes the fee.¹⁴ The 13-character receipt number on that notice lets you track the case online. Hold onto that notice; it’s your proof that the application is pending.

You may be scheduled for a biometrics appointment at an Application Support Center for fingerprints, a photograph, and a signature. If USCIS already collected biometrics from you within the last three years, it may reuse them and skip the appointment.¹⁵ Missing an appointment without rescheduling can cause the application to be treated as abandoned.

Processing times vary widely by category and service center, and posted estimates on the USCIS site often understate the real wait. During that wait, you cannot legally work unless you hold a separate valid EAD or qualify for one of the narrow remaining automatic extensions.

If you move while the case is pending, notify USCIS within 10 days through your online account.¹⁶ USPS mail forwarding does not apply to USCIS mail. A missed address update is one of the most common reasons approved cards never reach the applicant.

Do Not Start Working Before the Card Arrives

Federal law bars most people who have worked without authorization from adjusting to permanent resident status inside the United States. The statute makes adjustment unavailable to anyone who “continues in or accepts unauthorized employment” before filing.¹⁷ Leaving the country and coming back does not cure the bar. Immediate relatives of US citizens are exempt, but for most other categories even a short stretch of unauthorized work can permanently block a green card through adjustment. A pending I-765 is not permission to work. Only the approved EAD card, or a valid automatic extension, is.

Faster Processing Options

Premium processing for I-765 exists, but only for certain F-1 student categories (OPT and STEM OPT).¹⁸ Eligible filers submit Form I-907 alongside Form I-765 and pay an additional $1,780 fee, effective March 1, 2026.¹⁹ Most other I-765 applicants cannot use premium processing at all.

If you don’t qualify but face something urgent, you can request an expedite through the USCIS Contact Center. USCIS considers severe financial loss, emergencies, and humanitarian reasons. Needing to work is not enough on its own. You need documentation of concrete harm, such as evidence that a medical practice would have to lay off staff or that you would lose critical public benefits.²⁰ Most requests are denied.

Getting a Social Security Number With Your EAD

Form I-765 includes a section where you can request a Social Security number at the same time. If you check the box, USCIS forwards your data to the Social Security Administration after approval, and SSA mails the card separately to the address on your application.²¹ Expect the card within about 14 days after your EAD arrives; if it doesn’t, contact a Social Security office directly. This spares you a separate SSA visit.

Using the EAD on the Job

When you’re hired, your employer completes Form I-9 to verify identity and work authorization. The EAD (Form I-766) is a List A document, meaning it satisfies both requirements by itself.²² You do not need to show a second document, and employers cannot legally demand a specific document like a green card or passport instead. Once the card expires, your employer can no longer accept it, even if a renewal is pending, unless you have documentation of an automatic extension.

Renewing Before the Card Expires

USCIS recommends filing the renewal at least 90 days before your current card expires, and no more than 180 days before.⁴ File too late and you risk a gap; file too early and USCIS may reject it.

The bigger issue is what happens if the renewal isn’t decided in time. For applications filed on or after October 30, 2025, DHS ended the automatic extension of up to 540 days that most renewal applicants had relied on.²³ Narrow exceptions remain for TPS-related employment documentation and extensions provided by statute, but the broad safety net is gone.²⁴

In practical terms, if you file a renewal in 2026 and USCIS takes eight months to process it, you may face months without work authorization after your current card expires. File as early in the 180-day window as you can, and request an expedite if you have documented urgent harm. Applicants who filed before October 30, 2025, keep the up-to-540-day automatic extension they filed under.

If Your Application Is Denied

A denial notice explains the reason and whether an appeal or motion is available. Form I-290B is used to ask USCIS to reopen (with new evidence) or reconsider (arguing the law was applied incorrectly) the decision.²⁵ The deadline is generally 30 days from the decision, or 33 days if it was mailed.²⁶

For many denials, the fastest fix is a fresh application. Common reasons include the wrong eligibility code, missing evidence, or an outdated form edition. If the issue was documentary rather than a fundamental eligibility problem, refiling with the corrected materials is often quicker than the motion process. The time your first application was pending does not count as unauthorized employment, but you cannot work while preparing the new filing unless you already hold separate valid authorization.

1
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. G-1055 Fee Schedule
2
eCFR. 8 CFR 274a.12 – Classes of Aliens Authorized to Accept Employment
3
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Employment Authorization for Certain H-4, E, and L Nonimmigrant Dependent Spouses
4
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-765, Application for Employment Authorization
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Optional Practical Training (OPT) for F-1 Students
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8
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Optional Practical Training Extension for STEM Students (STEM OPT)
9
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10
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12
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form I-912, Instructions for Request for Fee Waiver
13
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Pay With a Credit Card by Mail
14
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form I-797C, Notice of Action
15
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Chapter 2 – Biometrics Collection
16
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. How to Change Your Address
17
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1255 – Adjustment of Status of Nonimmigrant to That of Person Admitted for Permanent Residence
18
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22
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23
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. DHS Ends Automatic Extension of Employment Authorization
24
eCFR. 8 CFR 274a.13 – Application for Employment Authorization
25
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Questions and Answers: Appeals and Motions
26
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Chapter 4 – Motions to Reopen and Reconsider