News Update - July 26, 2008
By Alan Lee, Esq.†‡
Refugees Get Another Year Before Having to Renew Their Employment
Authorization Documents (EAD)
The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)
recently announced that it will be extending the validity of initial
employment authorization requirements for refugees from one year
to two years. Until now, it was estimated that a refugee would have
to request, at a minimum, one EAD renewal before becoming a permanent
resident. The purpose of this extension is to allow refugees to
avoid having to pay a $340 renewal fee before having their status
adjusted to permanent resident. The policy change ensures consistency
in the validity periods for initial EADs issued to both refugees
and asylees (USCIS began issuing two-year initial EADs to asylees
in 2006).
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