Process and timing

Employment authorization document

Also called EAD, Form I-766, work permit.

An employment authorization document, Form I-766, is the card USCIS issues on an approved Form I-765 to prove that its holder may work in the United States for a stated period, and an EB-5 investor needs one only while a Form I-485 is pending, because a green card is itself evidence of work authorization.

What it decides

8 CFR 274a.12(c)(9) puts anyone with a pending Form I-485 in the class that must ask USCIS for permission to work, so an EB-5 investor who filed I-526E and I-485 together may apply, and unlike H-1B or L-1 work authorization, which USCIS describes as incident to status with a specific employer, an EAD is not tied to one employer. It is not automatic on filing: work may begin only once the I-765 is approved. The fee is $260, paper or online, while an I-485 filed with a fee on or after 1 April 2024 is still pending, against $520 paper and $470 online generally. Renewal is where the risk now sits. The interim final rule at 90 FR 48799, published and effective 30 October 2025, removed the automatic extension, and 8 CFR 274a.13(d) is now headed Renewal application filed before October 30, 2025, so a card that expires while a later renewal is pending simply ends work authorization. USCIS advises filing once the card is within 180 days of expiry.

Governed by 8 CFR 274a.12(c)(9); 8 CFR 274a.13(d), whose heading is now Renewal application filed before October 30, 2025; 90 FR 48799, Removal of the Automatic Extension of Employment Authorization Documents, published and effective 30 October 2025; USCIS, Employment Authorization Document, last updated 30 October 2025, which carries the Form I-766 definition, the pending I-485 category, the point that a green card is its own evidence of work authorization and the 180 day renewal advice, but not the end of automatic extensions; Form G-1055, edition 05/29/26, Appendix C, for the $260, $520 and $470 figures.

Where this is explained properly

Pages here that go into employment authorization document rather than mentioning it.

Related terms

Adjustment of statusAdjustment of status is the process under 8 U.S.C. 1255 by which someone already in the United States becomes a permanent resident without leaving, on Form I-485, instead of collecting an immigrant visa at a consulate abroad. An EB-5 investor who adjusts is granted conditional permanent residence for two years, the same status a consular applicant receives on admission.
Concurrent filingConcurrent filing is submitting Form I-485 together with Form I-526 or I-526E, or while the petition is still pending, instead of waiting for the petition to be approved. 8 U.S.C. 1255(n) permits it whenever approval of the petition would make a visa immediately available to the investor.
Form I-485Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, is the application by which someone already inside the United States becomes a permanent resident without going abroad for a consular interview; an EB-5 investor who files it receives the same two year conditional residence a consular applicant gets on admission.
Form I-765Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, is the request for an Employment Authorization Document, filed by an EB-5 investor and each derivative under eligibility category (c)(9) once Form I-485 has been filed, so the family may work while the adjustment application is pending.
Advance paroleAdvance parole is the travel document that lets someone with a pending Form I-485 leave the United States and be paroled back in without the departure being treated as abandonment of that adjustment application.

Checked against primary sources on 10 August 2026. Back to the glossary