The Asylum Work Permit: How to Get EAD While on Asylum in the U.S.

If you’ve entered the U.S. to protect yourself from political instability or other disturbances in your home country, you can apply for asylum within one year of your arrival. However, you need to wait until you are provided with asylum to qualify for a work permit.

Although U.S. immigration rules can be complicated, we are here to help. In this article, we will take a closer look at how asylum applicants can get a work permit in the U.S.

Can Asylum Applicants Get a Work Permit?

A few years back, asylum applicants were automatically qualified to gain a work permit. An EAD, or employment authorization document, was provided automatically. However, this no longer holds true. But that doesn’t mean asylum applicants can’t get a work permit. It is just that they can only get a work permit in certain conditions.

When Can Asylum Applicants Apply for an EAD?

Upon Winning Asylum

Once you have been granted asylum, you can apply for a U.S. work permit almost instantly. But asylum approval might take some time—months or even years.

Once you have submitted your application for asylum, your case will be heard by the USCIS Asylum Office within a few weeks. You are more than lucky if you are granted asylum within that time. More often than not, deserving asylum applicants do not get asylum that soon.

Your case will then be referred to the immigration court system, which might take another few weeks or months. The final decision will be made by an immigration judge (IJ). If you are granted asylum, you will be able to apply for a work permit. However, if the judge is not convinced, you will be denied asylum.

But that is not the end of the road. You can then appeal to the Board of Immigration Appeals, which more often than not will agree with the immigration judge’s decision.

Next, you can try to get your case heard in federal court, and ultimately the Supreme Court. However, by this time, it is likely that several years have already gone by without getting a work permit.

Upon Spending 150 Days Without a Decision

If you have not heard a decision on the status of your asylum from either the IJ or USCIS (the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services), you should be able to obtain work authorization if 150 days have passed after filing the application.

How to Apply For an Asylum Work Permit

You can apply for a work permit and obtain an EAD in a few simple steps:

• In order to get an EAD, the first step involves accessing Form I-765. You can download it online from www.uscis.gov, or have the form mailed to you by calling 800-375-5283.
• Make sure you read the instructions before filling out the form.
• The form should be filled out clearly in either black or blue ink.
• It is important to honestly and precisely answer each and every question or your EAD application will be sent back to you for revision. This means you should answer every question or write N/A if the question is not applicable to you.
• In addition to submitting your EAD application, you must also submit a copy of form I-94, which is the arrival/departure record, a copy of your government-issued ID document, a copy of your last EAD (if this is applicable to you), and two passport-sized color photographs. Do not forget to write your name and Alien Registration Number on the back of your photos.

Next steps: Apply For a Green Card

Now that you have obtained a work permit, it is a good time to take your first steps toward getting permanent resident status by getting a Green Card. That said, there are three ways you can manage to get a Green Card: winning the Green Card lottery, through your family, or through your employer.

Through the green card lottery

This is the simplest and easiest method to get a Green Card. The U.S. Department of States gives out roughly 55,000 Green Cards as a part of its Diversity Visa Program every year. No matter what your home country is, you have a fair chance to win the lottery, as no country receives more than 7% of the total Green Cards.

Through a Job

Now that you have a work permit, you can apply for a Green Card through your employer. More often than not, a Green Card for a job is provided easily in the following cases:

• Investors and entrepreneurs can easily get a Green Card as they will create new jobs in the U.S.
• You are going to work for a special position in which very few American workers can do.

Through Family

If any of your immediate relatives have a Green Card, you can also acquire one through them.  You can get a Green Card if:

• You marry someone who is already a Green Card holder.
• If you are the unmarried child of a Green Card holder.

Conclusion

Although getting asylum status in the U.S. is tougher than ever, if you are lucky enough to do so, it is highly recommended that you make the most out of the opportunity and apply for a Green Card to become a permanent U.S. resident.

Frank Gogol

I’m a firm believer that information is the key to financial freedom. On the Stilt Blog, I write about the complex topics — like finance, immigration, and technology — to help immigrants make the most of their lives in the U.S. Our content and brand have been featured in Forbes, TechCrunch, VentureBeat, and more.

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