If you are a healthcare worker or a childcare worker who has a valid immigration status and has an initial Application for Employment Authorization (Form I-765), that has been pending for over 90 days, you can request expedited processing. USCIS had previously announced this flexibility for qualifying healthcare and childcare workers with a pending employment authorization document (EAD) renewal application, whose EAD is expiring within 30 days or has already expired. USCIS is now extending this flexibility to include initial EAD applications that have been pending for over 90 days for healthcare and childcare workers.
Do you Qualify?
To determine whether you are a qualifying healthcare worker, see this DHS advisory memorandum (“Healthcare / Public Health” section, pages 7-9) (PDF). To determine whether you are a qualifying childcare worker, see the U.S. Department of Labor’s Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) code 39-9011, which includes workers who “attend to children at schools, businesses, private households, and childcare institutions” and “perform a variety of tasks, such as dressing, feeding, bathing, and overseeing play.” (Note that this definition does not include preschool teachers or teaching assistants.)
Next Steps
Call the USCIS Contact Center at 800-375-5283 (TTY 800-767-1833) to request expedited processing of your EAD application based on your circumstance as a healthcare worker or a childcare worker with an EAD application that meets the above criteria.
Additional information
Be prepared to provide evidence of your profession or current or immediate prospective employment as a healthcare worker or a childcare worker (such as an Employment Verification Letter, recent earnings statement, or pay stubs) and current valid immigration status. If the evidence you provide is not sufficient, USCIS may not accommodate your request for expedited processing of your Form I-765.
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