The EAD card is valid for a specific period of time and must be renewed every two years. Dropbox ? On or before the week of March 13, we will send these applicants an email and/or text notification instructing them to sign into their USCIS online account and obtain a corrected, printable receipt notice. what time line we can expect to use premium processing option? If approved, USCIS sends an approval notice to the applicant. No, H4 cannot start working without first getting the EAD card in hand. USCIS to process H1B, H4, EAD together starting Jan 25, 2023. H-4 visas are issued to dependent spouses and children who accompany H-1B, H-2A, H-2B, and H-3 visa holders to the United States. 2023 AM22Tech| The details would be shared once they officially announce it. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) district office in New York City. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. The H4 EAD is a work permit that allows the spouses of H1B visa holders to work in the United States. The H4 EAD is a work permit that allows the spouses of H1B visa holders to work in the United States. Looking for U.S. government information and services? The H4 EAD will get automatic extensions if you file the i765 renewal/extension application before the current EAD card expires and their H4 i94 is still valid. If H4 i94 ends earlier than a 540-day period, then the auto-extension period will also end. The NLR does not wish, nor does it intend, to solicit the business of anyone or to refer anyone to an attorney or other professional. On or before the week of March 20, we will send these applicants an email or text notification instructing them to sign into their USCIS online account. Another way is to travel outside the US and then get a new H4 visa stamp and re-enter the US to get a new H4 i94. Attention Los Angeles Retail Businesses: Fair Work Week Ordinance HHS Finalizes Payment Rates and Policies for the 2024 Medicare Courts Weigh Future of Prop. Join us for our weekly, Managers and Executive Transferees (EB-1C), Outstanding Researcher/ Professor (EB-1B), Motions to Reopen/Reconsider (MTR) and Appeals, Reentry Permits (Form I-131) and Expedited Processing, Visas for Entrepreneurs and Startup Companies, USCIS Agrees to Improve Work Authorization Process (EAD) for H-4 and L-2 Spouses, broader pending EAD 180-day work authorization rule from 2017. As of now waiting for Perm, will file I140 in premium. WASHINGTON U.S. Its only applicable if the H4 and/or EAD are applied with H1B at the same time. The H4 EAD application is filed with USCIS. During Trumps government, USCIS added the H4 biometric requirement and started processing the H4 and EAD separately. Also, pleasesubscribe to our free weekly newsletterto ensure that you obtain this and related immigration-related news and announcements. Given the difficulties and the very low success rate in expediting H-4/EADs, this approach resulted in many H-4 EAD spouses being unable to continue to work while waiting for the H-4/EAD renewals. H-4 EAD holders, for instance, are still limited to an automatic extension only until their existing H-4 I-94 expires, and since H-4 status renewal processing times are also incredibly long. Similar to the H-4 provisions, the length of the auto-extension will be limited to the earlier of the following: (a) the end of the L-2 status, as determined by I-94 record/card, (b) the approval or denial of the EAD application; OR (c) 180 days from the current EAD expiration date. While welcomed by many, the settlement in Edakunni v. Mayorkas involved a change in policy that it appears should never have happened. 2023, Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C., All Rights Reserved. The rule is classified as a major rule. These type of rules generally require a 60-day implementation delay from the date of publication. Any idea when OMB will process this request. There is an automatic H4 EAD extension but only up to H4 i94 validity. There is no mention of Biometrics in the regulation, there are some waivers for Biometrics for some time, after that we do not know. The cost of the H4 EAD (i765 filing fee) is $410, and it can take up to 90 days to process. January 2023 Update: H-4/EAD applications are now to be bundled and approved concurrently with an H-1B petition when filed together (link). Has been granted H1B status under sections 106 (a) and (b . If you are eligible for the 540-day automatic EAD extension, any USCIS receipt notice for your Form I-765-- together with your expired EAD-- will serve as acceptable proof of employment authorization and EAD validity during the automatic extension period. CMS Updates Guidance and Survey Process for Home Dialysis Services in Revised Texas PUC Registration Requirements and Texas Legislative FDA Cautions Industry on the Food Safety Risks of Transferring Genes Florida Enacts Sweeping Tort Reform Legislation, Raising Barriers to Legal Food Talk Episode 20: Whats Popping? The H-4 visa is issued to spouses of H-1B visa holders that allows them to apply for employment authorisation (EAD) to legally work in the US. To present acceptable proof of the automatic extension of employment authorization and/or EAD validity, you can show your Form I-797C receipt notice that refers to the 180-day extension, along with your qualifying EAD (and also your unexpired Form I-94, if you are an H-4, E, or L-2 dependent spouse, including E-1S, E-2S, E-3S and L-2S class of admission codes). Attorney Advertising Notice: Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Blogitivity Media FZ LLC, Ajman Media City UAE. The Shergill case was filed on behalf of L-2 and H-4 plaintiffs who sought reauthorization (or extensions) of employment. Get all 3 approved in 15 days using premium. See the below screenshot for both H4 and H4 EAD premium processing details. There is no definitive answer to this question as it depends on a number of factors, including the specific H4 EAD program the applicant is applying for and the specific job they are applying for. You would be able to use this new L2 i94 for I-9 legal employment verification with your employer. The status should be L2 all the time on the most recent i94 to make use of this facility. We will also send corrected paper receipt notices by mail. No, they said that they will start implementing it for new filing starting Jan 25. ALERT:Certain TPS beneficiaries and applicants who electronically filed Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, did not receive a receipt notice or their receipt notice did not include language about the 540-day automatic Employment Authorization Document (EAD) extension. The fee for H4 EAD cannot exceed $1,500 USD as per Congress. I write about globalization, business, technology and immigration. As per the regulation published in Federal Register, DHS Plans to implement H4 and H4 EAD premium processing by FY 2025. Big changes announced by USCIS. Some states have laws and ethical rules regarding solicitation and advertisement practices by attorneys and/or other professionals. To answer your question, you are talking about H4 COS, which will be considered together only if you file H1B extension and then spouses H4 COS at the same time in same package. RedBus2US.com 2010 - 2023, All Rights Reserved. Big changes announced by USCIS. Additional information on filing a STEM OPT extension application is available on the Optional Practical Training Extension for STEM Students (STEM OPT) page. You would be able to start working as soon as you enter the US with L2 status. The H4 EAD case lies with the OBM now for final review. 2. The text of the rule is not yet available. Under the settlement, USCIS has agreed to allow continued work authorization for certain H-4 EAD applicants based on a pending application. Based on a series of policy changes since that time, USCIS unbundled adjudication and required additional biometrics to be taken from the dependents, causing processing delays to compound for spouses and children of foreign nationals employed in the United States. (See this article.). Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. The National Law Review is a free to use, no-log in database of legal and business articles. The H4 EAD is a work permit that allows the spouses of H1B visa holders to work in the United States. After that, I could file concurrently for H1B, H4 extension and H4 EAD under premium processing per the new policy. This approach should allow claiming the automatic pending H-4 EAD work authorization (assuming all conditions are met). These two changes will bring a sea change in the current USCIS policy which forces almost all EAD workers to lose their job or spend thousands of dollars in filing individual lawsuits to force the government to do their job on time. The agencys insistence on obtaining new biometrics prior to adjudication of the H-4 extension is a pretext. FCC NPRM Comments Due in less than a month! While the H4 and H4 EAD can be applied for at the same time, they are two separate things and each has its own requirements and does not get approved together. H4 EAD premium processing is a service offered by USCIS that allows applicants to have their applications processed within 15 days. If you are eligible for the automatic extension, this receipt notice, together with your expired EAD (and your unexpired Form I-94, if you are an H-4, E, or L-2 dependent spouse, including E-1S, E-2S, E-3S and L-2S class of admission codes) will serve as acceptable proof of employment authorization and/or EAD validity during the up to 540-day automatic extension period. I dont see anything anywhere. NOTE: Individuals with a TPS-based EAD may receive an automatic extension of their EAD: NOTE: F-1 students who have a pending STEM optional practical training (OPT) extension application are not eligible for thetemporary increaseof the automatic extension period under thetemporary final rulepublished on May 4, 2022. Input your search keywords and press Enter. Darrin Foster and Oogies Deleveraging Through the LMA Intercreditor Distressed Disposal: How Top Five Labor Law Developments for March 2023, Misclassification Concerns in Staffing Relationships. Automatic L2 EAD based on L1 status, H4 EAD automatic extension for 540 days or until H4 i94 is valid. USCIS could have resolved all these issues by just reverting to the old policy of processing EAD within 90 days. In a legal settlement USCIS has agreed to reinstate its procedure to "bundle" and review concurrently spouses' H-4/EAD and L-2/EAD applications when such applications are filed concurrently with an underlying I-129 petition seeking H-1B (or L-1) for the primary worker. Statement in compliance with Texas Rules of Professional Conduct. Also involved in the settlement was Jesse Bless on behalf of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) and Kripa Upadhyay of Karr Tuttle Campbell. Pending initial application for TPS where USCIS determines applicant is prima facie eligible for TPS and can receive an EAD as a temporary treatment benefit. Returning to previous policies by way of the settlement, processing times for H-4, L-2, and EAD applications will be reduced to as little as fifteen days, with premium processing. As per our estimate, only about a small percentage of H4 EADs will get the benefit of auto extension as most file H4 extension and EAD renewal at the same time. How much time will it take to make it a law? If you have already exhausted 180 days of auto-extension and H4 EAD is still pending but you have longer H4 i94, you can resume working from May 4, 2022, as you will get an auto extension up to 540 days. Please comment on this one. DHS settled a class-action lawsuit launched by AILA on behalf of immigrant spouses last summer. The EAD will allow the holder to work in the United States for a specific period of time. The news articles may not understand the nitty-gritty of H4 and H4 EAD and hence are claiming big changes for H1B and H4. Once implemented by the agency, L-2 spouses will no longer have to apply for work authorization and need an employment authorization document as proof in order to work in the United States, said Jesse Bless, then-director of litigation at the American Immigration Lawyers Association, in a November 2021 interview. However, Form I-797C receipt notices that refer to an up to 180-day automatic extension will still meet the regulatory requirements for completing Form I-9, including if your 180-day automatic extension expired prior to May 4, 2022. What does that mean? If you file separately, then this rule wont apply. 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