Today, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) announced a proposed regulation to improve the processing of granting and rejecting initial applications for the Employment Authorization Document (EAD) by amend the 30-day period related to pending asylum seekers.
These proposed changes will give USCIS the necessary time to receive, examine and process applications, which as a result will reinforce national security, continue technological advances in identity verification, and may further deter those who attempt to defraud the immigration legal system, With an improved process.
The original regulation that establishes the 30-day term was promulgated more than 20 years ago. Since then, there have been additional requirements in the background checks and scrutiny procedures to reduce fraud and identify threats to national security and public safety.
“Established before the events of September 11, 2001, this processing period did not reflect the operational realities that USCIS currently faces at the time of awarding employment authorization applications,” said interim director Ken Cuccinelli. “Our priority as an agency is to safeguard the integrity of the legal immigration system of our nation, from those who wish to exploit or abuse it. This proposal allows us to carry out the systematic procedures of scrutiny and verification of identity that are expected of an agency responsible for protecting national security. ”
Initial applications for employment authorization of asylum seekers pending, in the categories of employment authorization applications awarded by USCIS, which have a required processing time assigned. Therefore, the agency must often divert resources from other legal categories of immigration prosecutions to meet the 30-day deadline for asylum seekers. These categories include family members of certain specialty employees and those requesting an adjustment of status in the United States, among others.
USCIS also proposes to change the provision that requires applicants to submit their applications for renewal of the employment authorization document (EAD) to USCIS 90 days before the expiration of their EAD. This change would reduce confusion regarding the EAD renewal requirements for pending asylum seekers, minimize possible employment gaps and ensure consistency with the United States Competitiveness Act in the Twenty-First Century of 2000, (AC21) Rule and Implementation Policies
For more information, read the Notice of Proposed Rule published in the Federal Register that will be published on September 9, 2019. USCIS urges the public to share their comments on the proposed rule before the end of the comment period ending 8 November 2019.
