U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced a proposed rule to remove the 30-day time limit on granting or denying an initial application for an employment authorization document (EAD) in affirmative asylum applications. USCIS also proposes to remove the provision requiring applicants to submit their renewal requests to USCIS 90 days before the expiration of their work authorization. The notice of proposed rulemaking is expected to be published in the Federal Register on September 9, 2019.USCIS said that elimination of the 30-day processing timeframe for such EADs is intended to ensure that the agency has sufficient time to receive, screen, and process these applications, and to reduce opportunities for fraud and protect the security-related processes undertaken for each EAD application. USCIS said that timeframes achieved in FY 2017 (prior to a court order mandating adherence to the 30-day timeframe set by regulation) “are sustainable and USCIS intends to meet these timeframes if the proposed rule is adopted.” USCIS said that during that period in FY 2017, it adjudicated approximately 78 percent of such applications within 60 days.
Related Link:
- Proposed Rule – Unpublished version available as of September 7