Hiring someone with an EAD: what an Employment Authorization Document means for the employer

An Employment Authorization Document (EAD, Form I-766) proves both identity and permission to work for the period printed on the card, and on its own it is a List A document for Form I-9. An EAD is generally not tied to one employer, so you can hire the holder like any other candidate, complete Form I-9 and reverify by the expiration date. You may not refuse to hire someone because the card expires soon, ask which category they hold, or insist on an EAD instead of other acceptable documents. As of November 2026, cards expire faster than they did: renewal filings no longer extend most EADs, and USCIS has cut maximum validity to 18 months or one year for many categories.

This page explains the employer's view of an EAD. The detailed extension rules are in EAD automatic extensions and Form I-9; category-specific guides cover OPT students, STEM OPT and DACA recipients.

Who has an EAD, and who does not?

USCIS explains that people apply for an EAD either because they are authorized to work by their status and need evidence of it, such as asylees, refugees and U nonimmigrants, or because they must ask permission to work, such as people with a pending green card application (Form I-485) or asylum application (Form I-589), and F-1 students. Lawful permanent residents do not need one, because the green card is the evidence. Workers whose status authorizes work for a specific employer, such as H-1B, L-1B, O or P, also do not need one. The category on the card refers to a paragraph of 8 CFR 274a.12, and some cards carry a restriction, such as the "STU: STEM OPT ONLY" marking that M-274 Section 7.4.2 describes.

What do the main EAD categories mean for an employer?

The validity limits come from PA-2025-27, effective December 5, 2025, for requests pending or filed on or after that date, and from the 2025 budget law, Public Law 119-21, for parole and TPS. The date printed on the card is the one you record and reverify against. Category guides for Form I-9 cover refugees and asylees and TPS workers.

Can you ask a candidate what kind of EAD they have?

No. Ask the two questions in work authorization questions in interviews, authorized to work and need for sponsorship, and stop there. The M-274's Section 11.4 tells employers not to ask non-U.S. citizens for DHS-issued documents, not to look at work authorization documents before hire because someone looks or sounds "foreign", and not to refuse to hire someone because their document has a future expiration date. IER's FAQ adds that a future expiration date does not mean the person will lose authorization, and that weighing it in a hiring decision may be an unfair immigration-related employment practice.

The risk is sharpest for refugees and asylees, who may hold EADs as evidence of their status: under 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3) they are among the "protected individuals" whom employers may not reject because of citizenship or immigration status. Treating "has an EAD" as a negative screen can therefore be unlawful even when the employer believes it is just avoiding paperwork.

How does Form I-9 work with an EAD?

1. Let the employee choose. An unexpired EAD is a List A document, but the employee may present any acceptable combination; see I-9 List A, B and C documents. Asking for an EAD by name is the kind of request I-9 document abuse describes.
2. Record the dates. Enter the card number and expiration date in Section 2; the employee enters the date their authorization ends in Section 1, or "N/A" where it does not expire, such as for refugees and asylees.
3. Check receipts carefully. A receipt for a first-time EAD application is not acceptable; a receipt for replacing a lost, stolen or damaged card is, for 90 days, under M-274 Section 4.4. See the I-9 receipt rule.
4. E-Verify. If enrolled, create the case within three business days; an EAD triggers photo matching, explained in E-Verify photo matching.
5. Reverify. By the expiration date, complete Supplement B with any unexpired List A or List C document the employee chooses, such as a new EAD or an unrestricted Social Security card. Do not create a new E-Verify case. See I-9 reverification.

When does an expired EAD still count?

Rarely, now. DHS's interim final rule ended automatic extensions for renewal applications filed on or after October 30, 2025, and a final rule of October 14, 2026 (91 FR 65306) adopted it without change. What remains:

• extensions of up to 540 days already running from eligible renewals filed before October 30, 2025;
• TPS-based extensions announced in a Federal Register notice for the country;
• the 180-day extension for a timely STEM OPT application, under 8 CFR 274a.12(b)(6)(iv); and
• H-1B cap-gap for F-1 students, covered in the cap-gap guide.

USCIS's EAD page encourages holders to file a renewal as soon as the card is within 180 days of expiring. Because a receipt no longer bridges the gap for most categories, a slow renewal now means the employee cannot work until the new card arrives unless they have another acceptable document.

An example, with illustrative dates

An employee hired on a (c)(9) EAD, as a pending green card applicant, holds a card that expires March 31, 2027. They file the renewal in December 2026, so it was filed after October 30, 2025 and the receipt does not extend the card. HR sends its standard reminder in January. If, by March 31, neither the new EAD nor another acceptable document, such as a green card approved in the meantime, has arrived, the employee cannot keep working from April 1 until they present one; when they do, HR completes Supplement B with that document.

What is proposed but not in effect?

On June 5, 2026, DHS proposed narrowing discretionary EADs for parolees, people granted deferred action other than DACA, and people released on orders of supervision (91 FR 34352). For employers the notable part is that renewal applicants in the parole and deferred action categories would have to show they work for, or are seeking work with, an employer in good standing in E-Verify, by giving its E-Verify company ID. The comment period closed August 4, 2026; nothing changes unless a final rule is published.

What should staffing agencies watch?

• When the agency is the employer, it completes Form I-9, so it, not the client, decides which documents to accept, within the rules; see Form I-9 for staffing agencies.
• A client may not tell you to reject EAD holders, to accept only green cards, or to screen on expiration dates; M-274 Section 11.4 says jobs may be limited by citizenship only when law, regulation, executive order or a government contract requires it.
• Reverification follows the worker across assignments; keep one calendar for every placed worker. For E-Verify roles in agency placements, see E-Verify for staffing agencies.

A checklist for EAD holders on your payroll

• Screen with the same two questions for everyone; never ask for the category.
• Accept the documents the employee chooses; do not ask for an EAD by name.
• Record each card's expiration date and the date of any extension that still applies.
• Send neutral reminders to every employee with an expiring document, well ahead of the date.
• Reverify on Supplement B by the expiration date, with any List A or List C document.
• Check the USCIS TPS page and Federal Register for every TPS-based card on file.