When USCIS denies your I-485, your Employment Authorization Document doesn’t stop working the same day, but its legal foundation is gone and it can be revoked at any time. What happens to your EAD after an I-485 denial depends on how quickly USCIS acts, whether you held an independent work-authorized status alongside the pending application, and what you do in the roughly 30 days that follow the denial notice.
Your EAD Is on Borrowed Time
The EAD tied to a pending adjustment application is issued under 8 CFR 274a.12(c)(9), which authorizes employment while the I-485 is pending.1eCFR. 8 CFR 274a.12 – Classes of Aliens Authorized to Accept Employment Once the I-485 is denied, that “pending” basis no longer exists. The card in your wallet does not self-destruct on the date of the denial, but USCIS can revoke it, and its Policy Manual lists denial of the underlying I-485 as a specific circumstance in which revocation is warranted.2U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 10, Part A, Chapter 4 – Adjudication Revocation generally requires a Notice of Intent to Revoke before it takes formal effect.
The practical problem is that continuing to work on an EAD whose foundation has collapsed is risky. If USCIS revokes retroactively, the employment during that window can be treated as unauthorized work, which creates immigration consequences of its own. Treat the denial as the signal to stop relying on the c(9) EAD, and if you hold another work-authorized status, move to it immediately.
The 30-Day Window: Motion to Reopen or Reconsider
You have 30 days from the date of the denial to file Form I-290B with USCIS.3eCFR. 8 CFR 103.5 – Reopening or Reconsideration Two different motions live on that form. A motion to reopen introduces new facts and documentary evidence that were not available or submitted before. A motion to reconsider argues that USCIS applied the law or its own policy incorrectly to the evidence already on file. The denial notice itself identifies the specific grounds and is where the choice between the two motions starts.
The filing fee is $800.4eCFR. 8 CFR Part 106 – USCIS Fee Schedule A fee waiver is available only if the underlying benefit request was itself fee-exempt or had its fee waived,5U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 1, Part B, Chapter 4 – Fee Waivers and Fee Exemptions which rules it out for most adjustment applicants. The 30-day deadline can be excused if you show the delay was reasonable and beyond your control, but that is not something to plan around.
Filing a motion does not restore your EAD or give you interim work authorization. If USCIS grants the motion and reinstates the I-485, you may become eligible to apply for a new EAD, but motion processing commonly runs six months or longer, and the timing is unpredictable.
Refiling a New I-485 Instead
If the denial was caused by something you can now fix, such as a missing medical exam, a police certificate, or a document establishing a bona fide marriage, refiling a new I-485 may be a cleaner path than a motion. The underlying immigrant petition still needs to be approved, and you need to be eligible for adjustment at the time of the new filing.
Refiling will not rescue a case that runs into INA 245(c). Those bars block adjustment for people who worked without authorization, failed to maintain lawful status (unless they qualify as immediate relatives of U.S. citizens), or entered without inspection. Filing a new I-485 when one of these bars applies produces another denial and can trigger removal proceedings under current policy.
Falling Back to H-1B or Another Dual-Intent Status
If you filed the I-485 while holding H-1B or L-1 status and you maintained that status throughout, you are in a much better position than someone who dropped their nonimmigrant status to rely on the EAD. H-1B and L-1 both allow dual intent, meaning you can pursue a green card without giving up the nonimmigrant status. If the I-485 is denied but your H-1B has not expired, you can keep working for your sponsoring employer under that H-1B.6U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. FAQs for Individuals in H-1B Nonimmigrant Status
The catch: this only works if you stayed with the H-1B employer and did not switch to EAD-based employment. Using the EAD to change jobs or work for a different employer effectively abandons the H-1B, and there is no clean way back after the denial. Nonimmigrant visas that do not allow dual intent are a harder question, because filing the I-485 may already have signaled immigrant intent inconsistent with the visa’s terms.
Unlawful Presence Starts Accruing
While the I-485 was pending, you were generally protected from accruing unlawful presence even if your underlying nonimmigrant status had expired. That protection ends on the date of denial. From that day forward, if you do not hold another valid status, unlawful presence accumulates.
The consequences run through 8 USC 1182. More than 180 days but less than one year of unlawful presence triggers a three-year bar on reentry if you depart the U.S. One year or more triggers a ten-year bar.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1182 – Inadmissible Aliens USCIS confirms these bars apply when you seek readmission after departure.8U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Unlawful Presence and Inadmissibility The 180-day threshold is what makes the first few weeks after a denial the most consequential window in the whole process.
Notice to Appear Risk
USCIS does not issue a Notice to Appear after every denial. Under current policy, NTAs are targeted at cases involving criminal history, fraud or misrepresentation, national security concerns, and specific statutory categories such as denied I-751 petitions or terminated refugee status.9U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Issuance of Notices to Appear (NTAs) in Cases Involving Inadmissible and Deportable Aliens The same policy also directs USCIS to issue an NTA when, after denial, the applicant is not lawfully present in the United States. So if you have no underlying status behind the denied I-485, the risk of removal proceedings is real. USCIS retains case-by-case discretion, which means the outcome is not perfectly predictable.
Traveling Abroad Is Dangerous
Advance Parole was tied to the pending I-485. Once the application is denied, the basis for the Advance Parole is gone, and trying to use it to reenter is problematic.10U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Advance Parole Leaving the country without another valid visa can mean you cannot get back in.
Unlawful presence makes this worse. The three-year and ten-year bars are triggered by departure, not by continued presence. Staying may add to the unlawful presence total, but leaving activates the bar you have already accrued.8U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Unlawful Presence and Inadmissibility The exception, again, is dual-intent visa holders. If your H-1B is current and you have a valid unexpired visa stamp, you can travel and return on that basis. If the stamp has expired but the H-1B status is intact, you would need to get a new stamp at a consulate before returning, and consular processing carries its own risks.
Your Employer Has to Act
Employers face civil fines and potential criminal penalties for knowingly employing someone without valid work authorization under the Immigration Reform and Control Act.11U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Penalties When your EAD is revoked, your employer has to reverify your work authorization using Form I-9 Supplement B within a reasonable timeframe.12E-Verify. EAD Revocation Guidance For E-Verify Employers If you cannot produce proof of current work authorization, your employer cannot legally continue employing you, regardless of how they feel about the situation. That makes an early conversation with HR unavoidable, particularly if you can point them to a valid H-1B or another status that lets the reverification succeed.
What Happens to Family Members on the Application
Spouses and children who filed as derivatives on your I-485 draw their status from yours. When the principal application is denied, their applications typically fail with it. Their EADs face the same revocation risk, and they start accruing unlawful presence on the same clock unless they hold independent status.
Some dependents have options the principal does not. An H-4 spouse can revert to H-4 status if the H-1B principal’s status is still valid. A child who has aged out of derivative eligibility may qualify under the Child Status Protection Act. A dependent with their own basis for a green card, through employment for instance, may be able to file a separate I-485 that does not depend on the denied case. Each family member needs a separate look.