On December 10, 2024, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced a number of steps it has taken to reduce Employment Authorization Document (EAD) processing times overall and streamline adjudication processing, including:
- Reducing by half the median EAD processing times for individuals with pending applications for adjustment of status from fiscal year 2021 to date;
- Engaging with communities to educate work-eligible individuals and providing on-the-ground intake support for applicants;
- Reducing EAD application processing times for asylum applicants and certain parolees to less than or equal to a 30-day median;
- Extending the EAD validity period for certain categories of applicants from two years to five years;
- Streamlining the processing of refugee EAD applications; and
- Expanding online filing of EAD applications to asylum applicants and parolees.
