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By
Linton Joaquin
Executive Director, NILC
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has
issued a notice informing the public that local offices will cease
accepting any applications for employment authorization on Oct. 1, 2006,
and will cease processing all such applications after Sept. 1, 2006.
These actions are being taken to phase out Form I-688B employment
authorization cards (EACs) in favor of the Form I-766 employment
authorization document (EAD), produced at a central location. The
notice explains that "[t]he locally produced I-688B lacks security
features and is not well suited to employment verification by
employers."
The notice explains that in Nov. 2004 USCIS
published a notice in the Federal Register to require that, as of Apr.
1, 2005, applications for employment authorization (on
Form I-765)
be filed at one of the four USCIS Service Centers or the National
Benefits Center. However, some local offices have continued to accept
employment authorization applications and issue Forms I-688B.
While pursuant to the notice local offices
may accept employment authorization applications up until Oct. 1, 2006,
after Sept. 1 they will no longer process these applications, but
instead forward the applications to Service Centers. Accordingly,
applicants will receive faster service by filing their applications
directly with the appropriate Service Center or the Chicago Lockbox, as
indicated on the Form I-765 instructions.
Notwithstanding these changes, applicants may
continue using
InfoPass to schedule appointments for
interim work authorization when USCIS has not adjudicated the
application for employment authorization within 90 days. However, as of
Oct. 1, 2006, local offices will no longer produce interim EACs, and all
interim EADs will be issued from a central facility. The notice
explains that applicants seeking to replace an expiring EAD should file
their applications at least 100 days before their current cards expire,
to "minimize the possibility that the current EAD will expire before a
decision is made on the new application."
Local offices will continue to process
documentation of status for individuals who have been granted asylum by
the immigration court or Board of Immigration Appeals, and they should
continue to schedule and attend their InfoPass appointments for
documentation as instructed. The local USCIS office will provide for
EAD card production from the central facility.
USCIS Public
Notice, "USCIS
Reminds Customers of Filing Change for Employment Authorization
Documents," July 28, 2006.
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