Resources Immigration and asylum
A work permit while your asylum case is pending
When to apply, which form and category to use, what the card costs, how to renew it and what happens to it after the decision.
This is general information, not legal advice: QARAVAN has no lawyers. QARAVAN does not help anyone enter the US and cannot arrange visas, invitations, sponsorship or evacuation. For your own case, talk to a licensed immigration attorney or a representative accredited by the U.S. Department of Justice.
A work permit (Employment Authorization Document, EAD) is a plastic card from USCIS. An asylum application on its own does not let you work: the right comes only once the conditions are met.
You can apply for the card 150 days after filing for asylum, and USCIS can issue it no earlier than 180 days.
In February 2026 DHS proposed new rules: a 365-day wait instead of 150 days, and no new work-permit applications from asylum seekers while USCIS takes more than 180 days on average to decide asylum cases. As of November 3, 2026 this is only a proposal: it is not in effect, and the 150-day and 180-day rules still apply.
Start here
- Don't file form I-765 earlier than 150 days after the I-589: an early form can be rejected.
- The first card costs $570, with no fee waiver.
- Renew early: the card is valid for 18 months at most, and there is no automatic extension anymore.
Days count from the date USCIS (or the court) received your form I-589.
Day 150: you may file Form I-765
File form I-765 under category (c)(8) 150 days after the asylum application. Earlier, USCIS may reject it.
Day 180: USCIS may issue the card
USCIS can issue the card no earlier than 180 days after filing, 30 days after day 150. This is called the 180-Day Asylum EAD Clock.
Know which delays do not count
Delays you cause don't count. The clock stops if you ask to move the case to another asylum office or interview place (including after a move), ask to reschedule the interview or for more time to bring documents, miss the interview or fingerprints, don't bring a suitable interpreter, bring a large amount of evidence right before the interview so it has to be rescheduled, or don't pick up a decision you must collect in person. Send evidence to the asylum office at least 14 calendar days before the interview. If you miss the interview and can't show exceptional circumstances, you won't get a work permit based on this application.
If you received a Recommended Approval
With a Recommended Approval notice from the asylum office, you can apply for the card right away, attaching a copy.
If your case is in court or was sent to court
If USCIS referred the case to a judge, the days keep counting. The exception: if you didn't come to pick up your decision at the asylum office, the clock stops and restarts no earlier than your first hearing before a judge. In court the days count when a hearing is postponed because of the court or DHS, and stop when you asked for the delay. If your case is in court and the days are counted wrong, email your court's address for these requests with your name, A-Number and the reason: Broadway, Asylum.Clock.New.York.Broadway@usdoj.gov; Federal Plaza, asylum.clock.new.york.federal.plaza@usdoj.gov; Varick, Asylum.Clock.Varick.Street@usdoj.gov. EOIR says it answers within 25 business days; don't file a motion about the clock.
If USCIS counted the days wrong
Check the count in Case Status Online at egov.uscis.gov. If it is wrong, send an online request through USCIS e-Request (egov.uscis.gov/e-request/typo): choose “Typographical Error”, enter your I-589 receipt number, choose the form sub type “I589 - Challenge to 180-Day Asylum EAD Clock – Garcia Perez Settlement Agreement”, answer “Other – Provide Detail” to the question about the error and describe it briefly with what Case Status Online shows. USCIS says it answers within 25 business days.
Use the right edition of the form
USCIS accepts the edition dated August 21, 2025 (08/21/25). USCIS is not accepting the September 15, 2026 edition because of a court order dated September 14, 2026.
Enter category (c)(8)
This category is for people whose asylum or withholding of removal application is pending.
Choose online or paper
Online through a USCIS account, or on paper. Paper forms in this category go to one address in Dallas.
Prepare photos and your signature
Don't mount or retouch the photos. Sign the form.
Pay the fee
Without payment, the form is rejected.
Do not send it in one envelope with Form I-589 or I-485
An I-765 sent with the I-589 is rejected as too early. Don't put it in one envelope with a green card application (I-485) either.
Check the address before you mail
Paper I-765 filing addresses changed on October 7, 2026; forms postmarked by November 9, 2026 to the old addresses are still accepted.
The H.R. 1 law (Public Law 119-21) added USCIS fees in 2025 that cannot be waived.
Fees for a (c)(8) work permit (since October 16, 2026)
| Online | On paper | |
|---|---|---|
| First card | $570 | $570 |
| Renewal: regular USCIS fee | $470 | $520 |
| Renewal: H.R. 1 fee | $275 | $275 |
| Renewal: total | $745 | $795 |
| Can the fee be waived | First card: no. Renewal: you can ask to waive the regular part ($470 or $520) with Form I-912, but not the $275 | First card: no. Renewal: you can ask to waive the regular part ($470 or $520) with Form I-912, but not the $275 |
USCIS Dallas Lockbox, the mail-in processing address for category (c)(8)
Asylum applicants
Paper I-765s for people whose asylum or withholding application is pending. By regular mail: USCIS, Attn: I-765 C08, P.O. Box 650888, Dallas, TX 75265-0888. By courier (FedEx, UPS, DHL): USCIS, Attn: I-765 C08 (Box 650888), 2501 S. State Hwy. 121 Business, Suite 400, Lewisville, TX 75067-8003.
Filing online
Asylum applicants
You can file form I-765 online in your my.uscis.gov account; online renewal costs less.
Wait for the card in the mail
After approval the card is made in about 2 weeks and sent by USPS Priority Mail.
Do not rush to ask
If 30 days have passed since approval and there is no card, contact USCIS. You can track the mail with the USPS number in Case Status Online.
Keep your address current
Update your address with USCIS and the post office, or the card may get lost and you will have to apply and pay again.
Note the validity
A card in category (c)(8) is valid for 18 months at most.
File early
Best 180 days before it expires, and no later than 90.
Remember: there is no automatic extension
Since October 30, 2025, filing to renew no longer extends the old card automatically, and on October 14, 2026 the rule became final. If the card expires before the decision, you cannot work in the gap.
Pay the renewal fee
You can ask to waive the regular part of the fee with form I-912.
Your work permit after an asylum decision
| USCIS grants asylum | USCIS sends the case to a judge | USCIS denies | A judge grants asylum | A judge denies | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Your card | You can work right away; the card comes by mail (if it hasn't come in 90 days, contact the USCIS Contact Center) | The old card stays valid until it expires | The card ends right away | You can work, but to get a card you file Form I-765 under category (a)(5) | The card ends 30 days later unless you appeal to the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA); if the BIA rejects the appeal, it ends at once |
| What to do next | File form I-730 for family, and for a green card after a year | Prepare for court | Talk to a lawyer at once | File Form I-765 under category (a)(5): the first card in this category has no fee | Appeal within 30 calendar days and see a lawyer |
- Employment Authorization Document (EAD)
- The USCIS plastic card that allows you to work; you ask for it on Form I-765.
- Category (c)(8)
- The code on Form I-765 for people whose asylum or withholding of removal application is pending.
- Category (a)(5)
- The code for people who have already been granted asylum.
- 180-Day Asylum EAD Clock
- The count of days from filing an asylum application to the date USCIS may issue the card; days of delay you cause do not count.
- Recommended Approval
- A notice from the asylum office that your application is recommended for approval; with it you can apply for the card at once.
- Form I-912
- A request to waive the USCIS fee; it does not waive the H.R. 1 fees.
- H.R. 1 (Public Law 119-21)
- The 2025 federal law under which USCIS charges extra fees that cannot be waived.
- USCIS
- U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the federal agency that decides immigration applications.
All pages: Immigration and asylum