EMPLOYMENT AUTHORIZATION DOCUMENTS IN ADJUSTMENT CASES TO BE VALID FOR TWO YEARS

I'm going through the ten page transcript from yesterday's DHS press briefing on the new executive order and found this little nugget:

Secretary Chertoff: I'm also pleased to announce that we will be extending the validity period of the employment authorization documents that we issue to individuals who are waiting adjustment of status to lawful permit residence or as its colloquially phrased, the green card.

 

Currently, adjustment applications are granted employment authorization documents with only a one year maximum validity. Beginning later this month, we'll start issuing these documents with a two-year validity period for aliens who are waiting adjustment of status if their application is expected to be pending for more than a year.

 

This, again, is eliminating a persistent source of frustration for workers who are here, who have a pending adjustment application but have to go and renew their employment documents every single year. It's going to cut the paperwork there.

I'll have a more complete summary of the remarks posted here shortly.

Comments

[SOA]

Could you please verify whether they will issue a 2 year EAD for the renewal application only received after the end of June or they will issue it starting the end of June to the application received before the end of June as well?

[Alan]

This means they expect the take much more time than expected to clear the backlog they have. Bitter sweet kind of a feeling.

[yave begnet]

lol, AlexSD.

But this would be a big help to my clients. An ICE officer recently told a client of mine to get a work permit because otherwise, he would be working unlawfully. She didn't seem to realize that, in his current situation, he didn't qualify for a work permit. The enforcement agencies expect everyone to be work authorized, but the rules seem structured to trip people up and make them ineligible. Exh. A: the ever-loving asylum clock. Then you have unauthorized employment as a ground of inadmissibility and the whole system starts to devour itself in implosive splendor.

[AlexSD]

Heh... I like the unambiguity of the 'expected to be pending' part.