A work permit lets you hold a job in the United States for a limited time and only because of some other immigration situation you are already in; a Green Card makes you a lawful permanent resident with the right to live and work here indefinitely. That is the core of the work permit vs Green Card comparison, and almost every other difference — how long the document lasts, where you can work, whether you can travel, what happens when it expires — flows from it.
What Each Document Actually Is
A work permit’s formal name is an Employment Authorization Document, or EAD. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issues it as proof you are allowed to work for a limited period.1U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Employment Authorization It does not stand on its own. It exists because you have a pending asylum application, a pending Green Card application, refugee status, a student visa with practical training authorization, or some similar underlying basis. When that underlying status changes or expires, the EAD typically goes with it.
An EAD does not make you a permanent resident, and holding one creates no direct path to citizenship. If you use it to get a Social Security number, the card you receive will be printed with the legend “VALID FOR WORK ONLY WITH DHS AUTHORIZATION,” so any future employer sees that your work authorization is temporary.2Social Security Administration. Types of Social Security Cards
A Green Card, officially the Permanent Resident Card, means you have been granted Lawful Permanent Resident status. You can live anywhere in the country, work for almost any employer, travel internationally and return, and access government benefits on the same terms as most citizens.3U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Rights and Responsibilities of a Green Card Holder (Permanent Resident) Green Card holders receive an unrestricted Social Security card, the same type issued to U.S. citizens, with no employment limitation printed on it.2Social Security Administration. Types of Social Security Cards
How Long Each One Lasts
As of December 2025, USCIS reduced the maximum EAD validity period from five years to 18 months for most major categories, including refugees, asylees, and people with pending adjustment-of-status applications. For parolees and Temporary Protected Status holders, an EAD is now valid for one year or the remaining duration of their authorized status, whichever is shorter.4U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Reduced Validity Periods for Newly Issued Employment Authorization Documents Every EAD must be renewed before it expires, and renewal depends on your underlying immigration status still being valid.
A Green Card for an unconditional permanent resident is valid for ten years, and you renew the physical card by filing Form I-90. The key difference from an EAD is what happens at expiration. When your Green Card expires, your permanent resident status does not. You remain a lawful permanent resident even with an expired card, and a pending I-90 receipt notice combined with the expired card serves as evidence of your status and work authorization for up to 36 months while USCIS processes the renewal.5U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Replace Your Green Card6U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Extends Green Card Validity Extension to 36 Months for Green Card Renewals
Conditional Green Cards Are the Exception
Not every Green Card lasts ten years. If you obtained permanent residence through marriage and were married for less than two years at the time USCIS approved your case, you receive a conditional Green Card valid for only two years. You cannot simply renew it. Within 90 days before it expires, you must file Form I-751 to petition for removal of the conditions. If you fail to file, you lose your permanent resident status and become removable from the United States.7U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Conditional Permanent Residence Mark the deadline the day you receive the card.
Where You Can Work
A Green Card lets you work for virtually any employer in the country without restriction. The only exceptions are certain federal jobs that require U.S. citizenship for security clearance purposes.3U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Rights and Responsibilities of a Green Card Holder (Permanent Resident)
An EAD authorizes employment more broadly than most individual visa categories. You are not locked to a single employer the way an H-1B worker typically is. But your ability to work still depends entirely on the underlying immigration status remaining valid. If that status expires or is revoked, the EAD becomes worthless regardless of the printed expiration date.8U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Employment Authorization Document Working without valid authorization carries steep immigration consequences, including a bar on later adjusting status to become a permanent resident.9U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Chapter 6 – Unauthorized Employment
Travel and Re-Entry
Green Card holders can travel internationally and return to the United States freely, though the freedom has limits. Trips of more than six months can disrupt the continuous-residence clock needed for naturalization, and USCIS may treat an absence of a year or more as evidence that you have abandoned your permanent resident status. Even shorter absences can raise abandonment concerns if you have not maintained U.S. ties such as a home, employment, filed tax returns, and bank accounts.10U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. International Travel as a Permanent Resident
EAD holders face a stricter rule. If you have a pending Green Card application and leave the country without first obtaining an advance parole travel document, you may be denied re-entry, and USCIS may treat your departure as abandonment of the pending application. You must apply for advance parole before you leave. There is no way to fix this after the fact.11U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Travel Documents Even with an advance parole document in hand, a Customs and Border Protection officer at the port of entry makes the final decision about whether to admit you.12U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Advance Parole, Reentry Permit, and Refugee Travel Documentation for Returning Aliens Residing in the U.S
How an EAD Fits Into the Green Card Process
For many people, the EAD is not an alternative to a Green Card but a bridge to one. When you file Form I-485 (the adjustment-of-status application) to become a permanent resident, you can simultaneously file Form I-765 for an EAD and Form I-131 for advance parole. This concurrent filing lets you work and travel legally while the often-lengthy Green Card case is processed.13U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Concurrent Filing of Form I-485
USCIS often issues a single card that serves as both an EAD and an advance parole document, commonly called a “combo card.” It looks like a standard EAD but includes the text “Serves as I-512 Advance Parole,” combining work authorization and travel permission into one document. You receive a combo card when you file Forms I-765 and I-131 together with or after your I-485.14U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS to Issue Employment Authorization and Advance Parole Card for Adjustment of Status Applicants
Automatic EAD Extensions Have Ended
Until October 2025, USCIS automatically extended expiring EADs for up to 540 days while a timely-filed renewal application was pending. That policy ended on October 30, 2025. If you file an EAD renewal on or after that date, you generally will not receive an automatic extension of your work authorization while USCIS processes the renewal. The only exception is TPS-based EADs, which may receive an automatic extension of one year or the remaining TPS duration, whichever is shorter.15U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Automatic Employment Authorization Document (EAD) Extension
This is a real change in how you should plan. File your renewal as early as you can, and expect the real possibility of a gap. Employers are required to reverify your eligibility to work, and if your EAD expires before the renewal is approved, you may need to stop working until the new card arrives. A Green Card holder in the same situation just keeps working, because the underlying status has not expired.
Filing Fees
Starting January 1, 2026, USCIS adjusted fees for inflation. For standalone EAD applications, the initial filing fee is $560 for categories including asylum, parole, and TPS applicants. Renewal EADs in the parole and TPS categories cost $280.16U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Announces FY 2026 Inflation Increase for Certain Immigration-Related Fees
If you are filing an EAD as part of a concurrent I-485 adjustment-of-status package, the EAD and advance parole fees may be bundled into the I-485 filing fee rather than charged separately. Fee structures vary by category and can change, so check the USCIS fee schedule for your specific situation before filing. Fee waivers are available for Form I-765 in most categories, though applicants in the DACA category are excluded from fee waiver eligibility.17U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Chapter 4 – Fee Waivers and Fee Exemptions
Green Card applicants should also budget for costs beyond the government fees. A medical exam performed by a USCIS-designated civil surgeon typically runs $150 to $400, not counting required vaccinations. Foreign-language supporting documents such as birth or marriage certificates need certified English translations, which generally cost $20 to $25 per page.
Obligations That Apply Either Way
Whether you hold an EAD or a Green Card, federal law requires every non-citizen age 18 and older to carry their registration document at all times. For Green Card holders that means the physical card; for EAD holders it means the EAD. Failure to carry the document is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $100, up to 30 days in jail, or both.18Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1304 – Forms for Registration and Fingerprinting
You must also notify USCIS of any address change within 10 days by filing Form AR-11. Failing to report a move can result in fines, imprisonment, or removal from the United States. If you are in immigration court proceedings, filing an AR-11 with USCIS does not update your address with the immigration court; you must notify the court separately.19U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form AR-11, Alien’s Change of Address Card
One right that neither an EAD nor a Green Card gives you is the right to vote in federal elections. Voting as a non-citizen, even unintentionally, can result in removal proceedings and a deportation order. The law does not require that you intended to break the rule. The act itself is enough.