Wednesday, December 2, 2015

Who Qualifies for a Work Permit in the United States?

Citizens of foreign countries living in the US are not allowed to work in America if they have not received specific permission as per the conditions of their visa or have applied separately for a work permit and received it.

What is a work permit?

A work permit is essentially a photo identity card that is issued by the USCIS or US Citizenship and Immigration Services. This permit is also known as EAD or Employment Authorization Document. The holder of this card can show it to potential employers to establish their right to be employed in the US. 

From the textbooks written by immigration lawyers, every holder of a green card is automatically qualified to work in the country. All they have to do is to show the card to employers. Immigrants who will eventually become citizens of the US are allowed to seek genuine employment, and can show their naturalization certificate or US passport to employers. All foreign nationals possessing work-based visas, as sponsored by their US employers, become eligible to work. 

This is situation is complex. This is about as complicated as the tax code in America which says a lot. This was not designed for you to be able to master all at once. In fact, without years of reading and legal training, you are not going to fully understand this process. Unless you want to waste time and set yourself up for failure, you need an immigration lawyer and some of the best can be found right here: https://usattorneys.com/.  

Eligibility for a work permit

As per immigration attorneys, several categories of other people are able to apply for a "work permit" from the USCIS, if they want to obtain employment. Such categories include asylum seekers, K-1 fiancé visa holders, those with pending applications for a green card, spouses of diverse visa holders, those with TPS or Temporary Protected Status, or DED meaning Deferred Enforced Departure, and F-1 students who are undergoing financial difficulties or looking for OPT or optional practical training, to name a few.

For the most part, there are several categories. If you need a full list of all these categories, you can obtain them the instructions that are a part of the USCIS Form I-765, also known as the work permit application form. However, these permits are not permitted for tourists with B-1 visas or otherwise undocumented immigrants.


On no account will the USCIS grant these categories accord permission to be employed in the US. And if they do so it is an illegal act to do, both for them as well as to the employers hiring them, according to immigration lawyers.

Applying for a work permit

If you seek employment in America (most industries are not hiring unless it is in tech or engineering), you need to apply for an EAD, for which you will need to file USCIS Form I-765, along with documentation proving that you are indeed in a category of persons who are permitted to apply for the work permits, as well as attach photographs and pay the specified fee. Certain categories are not required to pay any fee.

The application must be submitted to the USCIS by mail. You may need to wait a few weeks to receive a reply. As the process of applying for a work permit can be complex, it is wise and logical to hire the services of an immigration lawyer to make sure your paperwork is in order and there are no errors that could jeopardize your chances of obtaining a work permit.

Immigration lawyers do not come cheap. But if that job pays $80k a year and you are only making $25k a year in your home country your decision becomes really transparent. The sunny aspect of this process is that finding legal help is simple and very cheap (press right here to determine for yourself). The Internet is ubiquitous (unless you are in Cuba or North Korea) but the knowledge of professional legal immigration assistance is not (it can only be found if you speak to a legal professional). 

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