Commonly referred to as an EAD Card, the Employment Authorization Document is issued by the USCIS to individuals who have been granted permission to work in the United States. Foreign nationals in a number of different immigration statuses may be eligible to apply for employment authorization.
What happened: On January 17th, 2025 the 5th Circuit Court once again ruled against DACA, but kept renewals open–for now. This ruling is part of ongoing, deliberate attacks to undermine immigrant communities, limit opportunities, and enable mass deportation.
If you are currently a DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) recipient and are married to a U.S. citizen or green card holder, you may be eligible for a marriage-based green card of your own. This guide can help you understand your options, based on the most common situations.
In some cases, an employer already will know that an employee has DACA protection. It may have looked at the code on their employment authorization document (EAD) when they were hired. You should be aware that you can work as long as your EAD card remains valid.
C33. • An alien who has been granted Deferred Action for Childhood. Arrivals (DACA)
You are not eligible for the up to 540-day automatic extension. Applicants must renew their EAD under the same classification to be eligible. Does your Form I-797C, Notice of Action, have a "Received Date" on or after ?
An EAD issued to a DACA beneficiary will bear category code C33. 2 Certain EADs, depending on the category code, may be extended while a renewal application is pending. 3 Under previous iterations of the program, DACA beneficiaries were not eligible for such extensions, and the new regulation does not change that.
With DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals), you are able to get a two-year employment authorization document (EAD) and legally work without sponsorship. TPS (Temporary Protected Status) recipients can also get an EAD.
Call the USCIS Contact Center at 800-375-5283 (TTY 800-767-1833) to request expedited processing based on your position as a healthcare worker or a childcare worker with an EAD application that meets the above criteria.
In these cases, the immigrant petition must include a signed Form ETA-9089, Application for Permanent Employment Certification, approved by DOL, or, for labor certification applications filed on or after June 1, 2023, using DOL's Foreign Labor Application Gateway (FLAG) system, an approved and signed Form ETA-9089, ...