Work & Travel Authorization

Work Authorization

When applying for a green card by marriage, you are eligible to apply for work authorization which will allow you to legally work in the US while you are waiting for your green card to be approved. The filing fee for the application for work authorization or Employment Authorization Document (EAD) is waived when it is applied for in connection with a green card application. Work authorization generally arrives within 2-3 months after submitting the green card through marriage application. If you are in the US in another nonimmigrant employment authorized status, such as the H1B visa status or L-1 visa status, and you have maintained your status, you may not find it necessary to apply for work authorization. You should discuss this with your attorney.

Advance Parole Travel Authorization

Advance parole allows you to travel outside of the U.S. while your marriage green card adjustment of status application is pending. If you travel outside of the U.S. while your application is pending before receiving advance parole, you will have abandoned your application, unless you are in H-1B or L-1 status and you return to the U.S. using an H-1B or L-1 visa stamp. Advance parole generally takes up to 2-3 months to receive. If you have any unlawful presence issues or you are an overstay, you should NOT use advance parole as you could be subject to a 3 or 10 year bar if you leave the country. Furthermore, you should be aware that if you do use advance parole to re-enter the U.S. after a trip abroad, you will be treated as an "arriving alien". This can be problematic if you have any issues with your application. The safe approach is to not use advance parole, except in emergency situations, and even then you must be certain that you do not have any unlawful presence or overstay issues. Like the work authorization application, the advance parole application filing fee is waived if applied for in connection with a green card application.

*If you are eligible for advance parole and you travel outside of the US after it arrives, you MUST present the advance parole card (or combo card as described below) upon your re-entry to the US along with your passport. Failure to do so could result in the denial of your green card application and other severe consequences.*

**USCIS UPDATE on Employment Authorization and Advance Parole**

On February 11, 2011, USCIS announced that it is now issuing employment authorization and advance parole travel authorization on a single card when both benefits are applied for and approved. The card will look very similar to the way Employment Authorization Document (EAD) cards have looked, but it will include text towards the bottom of the card that reads, "Serves as I-512 Advance Parole". This card will serve as evidence that the holder has been approved for both employment authorization and advance parole. If the individual applying is not eligible for advance parole (he/she has overstayed beyond 6 months) then the card will be issued authorizing employment only and will not have the advance parole language at the bottom. As has always been the case, there will be no additional filing fees associated with applying for work authorization and/or advance parole when they are applied for in conjunction with a green card application.

Although it is too early to tell how long this document will take to be produced, we can only speculate that since it is almost identical to the Employment Authorization Document (EAD) that it will likely take approximately 2.5-3 months to be produced, which has been the historical approximate time frame for production of the EAD. Also, USCIS has stated that this document will not be produced until biometrics have been taken, which was not a requirement for advance parole before these two benefits were joined together. See the following link on our website regarding green card processing time frames: Green Card Processing Time.