Removal of 30-Day Processing Provision for Form I-765 Employment Authorizations for Asylum Applicants

Policy effect

Eliminated the regulatory requirement that USCIS adjudicate initial Form I-765 applications for employment authorization submitted by asylum applicants within 30 days, and removed the requirement that renewal applications be submitted 90 days before expiration.

Conditions and exceptions

Validated condition or limit: Eliminated the regulatory requirement that USCIS adjudicate initial Form I-765 applications for employment authorization submitted by asylum applicants within 30 days, and removed the requirement that renewal applications be submitted 90 days before expiration.

Official source excerpt

Quoted verbatim from the official source below. Ellipses indicate omitted text.

Register / Vol. 85, No. 120 / Monday, June 22, 2020 / Rules and Regulations [[Page 37502]] ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY 8 CFR Part 208 [CIS No. 2617-18; DHS Docket No. USCIS-2018-0001] RIN 1615-AC19 Removal of 30-Day Processing Provision for Asylum Applicant- Related Form I-765 Employment Authorization Applications AGENCY: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, DHS. ACTION: Final rule. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: This final rule removes a Department of Homeland … Security (DHS) regulatory provision stating that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has 30 days from the date an asylum applicant files the initial Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, (EAD application) to grant or deny that initial employment authorization application. This rule also removes the provision requiring that the application for renewal must be received by USCIS 90 days prior to the expiration of the employment authorization. DATES: This final rule is effective August 21, 2020. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Daniel Kane, Branch Chief, Service Center … considered the public comments received and this final rule adopts the regulatory text proposed in the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) published in the Federal Register on September 9, 2019, in all material respects. See Removal of 30-Day Processing Provision for Asylum Applicant-Related Form I-765 Employment Authorization Applications, Proposed Rule, 84 FR 47148. As a consequence, this final rule makes the following major revisions to the application for employment authorization for asylum seekers program regulations: 1. Eliminates the 30-day adjudication requirement for initial filings; and 2. … eliminates the requirement that applications to renew employment authorization must be received by USCIS 90 days prior to the expiration of the applicant's employment authorization. D. Summary of Costs and Benefits DHS notes that the estimates from the NPRM regarding unemployment, number of asylum applicants per year, and USCIS processing are not currently applicable as COVID-19 has had a dramatic impact on all three. DHS offers this analysis as a glimpse of the potential impacts of the rule, but the analysis relies on assumptions related to a pre- COVID economy. While future economic conditions … and Discussion A. Elimination of 30-Day Processing Timeframe Processing of Applications for Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) Pursuant to 8 CFR 208.7, 274a.12(c)(8), and 274a.13(a)(2), pending asylum applicants may request an EAD by filing an EAD application using Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization. Under 8 CFR 208.7(a)(1) prior to this final rule, USCIS' adjudicatory timeframe for initial employment authorization requests under the (c)(8) category was 30 days. The 30-day timeframe in 8 CFR 208.7(a)(1) was established more than 20 years ago,\13\ when the former Immigration …

Review method

Two separate automated exact-claim source reviews

Other United States changes operative in 2020

• 2020-02-01Advance USCIS permission removed for qualifying consular I-130 filings
• 2020-02-01Routine I-130 processing ends at most USCIS international offices
• 2020-02-02Suspension of Entry for Aliens Physically Present in China
• 2020-02-21Proclamation 9983 expands travel restrictions to six additional countries
• 2020-02-24Nationwide Implementation of the Inadmissibility on Public Charge Grounds Final Rule
• 2020-03-01Implementation of the H-1B Electronic Registration Process
• 2020-03-02Suspension of Entry for Individuals Present in Iran
• 2020-03-13Suspension of Entry for Persons Present in the Schengen Area
• 2020-03-16Suspension of entry for aliens physically present in the United Kingdom or the Republic of Ireland
• 2020-03-18Somalia TPS designation extended through September 17, 2021
• 2020-03-20CDC Title 42 Public Health Border Suspension Order
• 2020-03-26Citizenship residence exception created for qualifying children living abroad
• 2020-04-23Presidential Proclamation 10014 Suspending Entry of Immigrants Risking the Labor Market
• 2020-05-26Brazil COVID-19 entry restriction begins on amended date
• 2020-06-24Proclamation 10052 suspends entry for H-1B, H-2B, J, and L workers
• 2020-07-28DHS Reconsideration and Interim Limitation of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)
• 2020-08-21Temporary Travel Restrictions at Land Ports of Entry (U.S.-Canada and U.S.-Mexico Borders)
• 2020-08-25Revisions to Asylum Application, Interview, and Employment Authorization for Applicants
• 2020-09-23DHS temporarily requires government-provided interpreters for many asylum interviews
• 2020-10-02DHS finalizes USCIS fee schedule and fee-waiver changes
• 2020-10-08Department of Labor Interim Final Rule Strengthening Wage Protections for Immigrant and Nonimmigrant Workers
• 2020-11-18USCIS Policy Manual Update: Lawful Admission Prerequisite for Naturalization
• 2020-12-01Redesigned civics test introduced for new naturalization applications
• 2020-12-07DHS narrows H-1B specialty occupation and third-party placement rules