Form I-765 is the primary official form you can use to make an application for a work permit. To obtain an Employment Authorization Document (EAD), you are required to file Form I-765 with USCIS. This article clarifies what Form I-765 is and the ways It is used. Also, we will explain who can use the form, how to fill it, the accompanying documents to attach, and its cost.
Table of Contents
Form I-765
Officially, Form I-765 is described as an Application for Employment Authorization. USCIS uses this form to obtain information from individuals making applications for work authorization to evaluate if or not they are qualified for a work permit. A work permit is officially described as an Employment Authorization Document (EAD). You can not obtain an Employment Authorization Document without completing Form I-765 with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service. You need to have work permission to get employed by any employer in the US. When the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service processes and endorses your Form I-765 request, they will allocate you a card you can use as evidence of your qualification to work for employers in the US. Also, you will use Form I-765 to continue an expired Employment Authorization Document or replace a missing or torn Employment Authorization Document.
Who Can File Form I-765
Not every person is qualified to file Form I-765. This form can only be filed if you are qualified to obtain a work permit in the US. Individuals who are eligible for work permit comprises of:
- Individuals with an awaiting change of status application
- Individuals with an awaiting asylum application
- Dreamers are making applications for or continuing DACA.
- Individuals making applications for T-visa and U-visa status.
- Individuals applying for Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) long-term resident status.
- F-1 students making applications for post-conclusion Optional Practical Training and STEM OPT prolongment.
Note: If you are making an application for your green card via consular processing, you can not make an application for an EAD. You will wait to obtain your qualification to get employed in the US.
Sections to Fill Out Form I-765
Form I-765 is simple to fill out as far as you observe the USCIS filing directions. The form has six sections, and all the steps demand various details.
Section One: Motive for Application
In this step, the form will ask you for motives for making an application for a work permit. You can demonstrate that you are making an application for first approval to work, to continue an old work permit, or to substitute the permit you have lost.
Section Two: Identification Details
In this step, you will offer to recognize biographical and other details concerning you, including your complete name, physical address and mailing address, and gender. It will demand details of your marital status and travel records, such as your I-94 code and the time you notified the United States CBP official. Also, it requires your birth date, your status of immigration, and your nation of lineage.
You will be required to show your alien enrollment code, which is your A-Number, receipt code from applicable receipts notification and authorization notification from United States Citizenship and Immigration Service, Social Security Number, and United States Citizenship and Immigration Service Online Account Number. To those who do not have a Social Security Card, you can decide to enroll with the Social Security Administration on this section of the form.
Also, you must determine the qualification class code for your application in this form. For instance, the DACA qualification number is (c) (33). United States Citizenship and Immigration Service offers a complete list of numbers for the various classes you can enter in this form.
Section Three: Declaration and Signature
In this section, you will demonstrate if you read and completed the form independently or had a translator’s assistance. After this, you will sign and date the form using a black ink pen. You are not required to type in it.
Section Four: Translators Contact Details (If Any)
If you used the assistance of any translator with your application, they must sign and date this section of the form. Also, they will offer their name and information details.
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Section Five: Declaration and Signature of the Individual that Prepared the Form (If Any)
If another person prepared your form other than you, they must sign and date this section of the form. If they own an enterprise, they must also offer enterprise details. If your translator prepared the form, they will be needed to complete sections 4 and 5. If an attorney prepared your forms, they must present a signed Form G-28 with your I-765 parcel.
Section Six: More Information
This space allows you to attach any additional details or extend a response you offered. If you require other pages, you can make photocopies of only section 6 and use them. You must write your Page Number, Section Number, and Item Number at the top of every additional page you use and then sign and write the date on each page.
Cost of Filing Form I-765
When filing Form I-765, you are required to make a payment of $410 administrative processing fee to USCIS. You may be required to pay an extra $85 biometric payment if you are applying for a work permit according to any of the following.
- An awaiting asylum request
- A DACA application
- An authorized employment-based visa
- A Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) long-term status request.
Outside these classes, you will only make payment of $410 fees to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service. Only DACA candidates, including new and renewal candidates, and Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands long-term resident candidates are not eligible for fee waivers for any of their payments. Every other Form I-765 candidate is welcome to apply for fee waivers.
If you are forwarding your application to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service Center, you can make payment using a money order, cashier’s check, or personal check. If you intend to forward your application to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service lockbox, you can pay using a credit card. Every check must be paid to the United States Department of Homeland Security and is demanded to be the exact sum you are required to pay.
If you do not know how much you need to pay, you can use the USCIS fee calculator to search. To make payment using a credit card, you must include a filled-out and signed Form G-1450 in your application. If you do not use this form, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service will not process your credit card payment.
Inclusion of Supporting Document with Form I-765
Yes. You must attach some accompanying documents with Form I-765 to file it with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service. The document you require will be based on the work permit qualification class under which you are applying. The United States Citizenship and Immigration Service website has a complete, detailed list of the documents they demand from you according to your qualification class.
Using an instance, F-1 students will be required to offer proof of full-time registration, their Form I-20, SEVIS ID code, and OPT approval. Those presenting a STEM OPT request prolongment must offer some e-Verify details concerning their employers. Marriage green card candidates may be required to provide a certificate of birth and marriage certificate.
Needed Supporting Documents for Form I-765
Every candidate is required to present these documents:
- Two current passport-sized images
- If you had one before, a copy of your most current Employment Authorization Document card.
- A copy of your I-94 document (Back and front)
- A copy of your passport or travel papers.
Note: If, for instance, you are an international student making an application for post-conclusion OPT. If you have never obtained an Employment Authorization Document, you must attach a photocopy of a government-allocated identity record. This will be forwarded to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service and the other documents particular to your situation. Remember not to mail any original documents, as you will not receive them back, and the United States Administration will not be liable for any missing documents. It is vital to make copies of your complete application parcel, which includes Form I-765, the filing payment, and the accompanying documents for your account.
