Among the last rules issued during the Obama Administration, Retention of EB-1, EB-2, and EB-3 Immigrant Workers and Program Improvements Affecting High-Skilled Nonimmigrant Workers went into effect on January 17, 2017. One of its provisions allows for automatic extensions of the validity periods of certain Employment Authorization Documents (EAD) for up to 180 days if the EAD application is timely filed and in the same category as the previous EAD.

On January 30, 2017, USCIS issued a six-page Fact Sheet with guidance on automatic extensions of EADs and Form I-9 compliance. Highlights include:

  • The 180-day automatic extension begins the day the EAD expires and continues for 180 days, unless the application is denied.
  • Employees with a pending EAD application may qualify for the automatic extension even if the application was filed prior to the January 17th effective date of the rule.
  • “Timely filed” means the application is received by the USCIS before the expiration date.
  • The eligibility category code on the face of the EAD must be the same as the code on the receipt notice received for the renewal.
  • The expired EAD in combination with the Form I-797 receipt notice for the renewal showing it was timely filed and in the same category as the expired EAD is an acceptable List A document (unexpired EAD). The expiration date is 180 days from the date the card expired.
  • Current employees must update their I-9 Forms with the newly extended expiration date, but the automatic extension does not trigger a Section 3 Reverification.

The USCIS Fact Sheet has specific instructions about completing automatic EAD extension I-9 Forms, dealing with E-Verify and dealing with EADs based on Temporary Protected Status (TPS) along with annotated document samples.

If you have questions, you should reach out to your Jackson Lewis attorney.

 

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Photo of Forrest G. Read IV Forrest G. Read IV

Forrest Read is a Principal in the Raleigh, North Carolina, office of Jackson Lewis P.C. He has extensive experience in both business immigration law and employment law and has particular focus in legal issues in graduate medical education (GME).

Mr. Read’s immigration practice…

Forrest Read is a Principal in the Raleigh, North Carolina, office of Jackson Lewis P.C. He has extensive experience in both business immigration law and employment law and has particular focus in legal issues in graduate medical education (GME).

Mr. Read’s immigration practice focuses on assisting employers in obtaining employment-based nonimmigrant visas (e.g., H-1B, L, O, TN) for foreign national employees and work-related immigrant (green card) visas, including PERM Labor Certifications, and advising employers on compliance with U.S. immigration laws and regulations. He has broad experience in advising large, mid-size and small employers on their various immigration needs and developing strategies to help them navigate through complex immigration issues. He also has particular experience in counseling employers in the health care industry and addressing immigration-related issues that arise for their broad range of health care professional employees (including advising on and obtaining employment authorization for medical residents and fellows and obtaining J-1 visa waivers for foreign national physicians completing their medical training in the United States). His immigration practice also includes defending employers in connection with Department of Labor H-1B and H-2B investigations.

Mr. Read’s employment law experience includes representing management, particularly academic medical centers in the GME context, in a wide array of workplace disputes and litigation before federal and state courts and administrative agencies, including matters related to discrimination, retaliation, harassment, disability, family and medical leave, various wage and hour issues, contracts, and intentional torts. He advises academic medical centers on the interplay between applicable academic law and employment law and the ramifications of what are divergent legal requirements and standards. Mr. Read also provides counsel with respect to the legal impact of competency standards for residents and trainees in GME, including situations involving discipline, remediation, and dismissal. He provides advice and guidance in the peer review process, including provision of verification and assessment of training in response to third party inquiries.

As a member of the Firm’s Corporate Diversity Counseling group, Mr. Read also has experience in providing assessments and making recommendations to corporate and institutional clients with respect to diversity and inclusion policies and initiatives, conducting related internal investigations, and shaping, developing and enforcing effective policies and initiatives to ensure consistency with client values and in furtherance of business goals and objectives.