Providing for your family is important. Don’t take unnecessary risks.
To be eligible for work authorization, you need to be on a pathway to legal status.
Let us help you find the path that is right for you.
Working in the United States
Pathways Offered By U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS)
Asylum is for people whose lives were threatened in their home country and may face severe harm if they return. Applicants are eligible for work authorization 180 days after the application is submitted.
People who entered the U.S. legally and have immediate family members that are already U.S. citizens or “legal permanent residents” are eligible to “adjust status” to become legal permanent residents (or “green card holders”) themselves. Eligible applicants can apply for work authorization at the same time.
If you were a victim of a violent crime in the U.S., you aided police in apprehending the perpetrator, and the police can sign a certificate corroborating your story, you are eligible for a U-visa. If the government makes a favorable determination regarding your application, you become eligible for work authorization.
Migrants from Burma, Ethiopia, Somalia, South Sudan and Yemen qualify for TPS. It is only temporary, but work authorization is available on this path too.
NOTE: This relief is subject to multiple ongoing lawsuits, so qualifying countries of origin may not be fully up-to-date.
DACA is a unique form of TPS for those who entered the U.S. as children, regardless of where they came from. They are eligible for work authorization.
NOTE: This relief is subject to multiple ongoing lawsuits, so some information may not be fully up-to-date. Currently, only renewals of DACA are being processed.
Working while in Immigration Court
Asylum
Much like at USCIS, those who fear returning to their home country due to threat of death or torture can seek relief at Court as well.
These applicants are also eligible for work authorization 180 days after their application is submitted.
Cancellation of Removal
People who have been in the United States for at least 10 years with no criminal history, and whose U.S. citizen/legal permanent resident spouse/child will be badly harmed without them, are eligible for Cancellation of Removal. If an immigration judge formally approves the application, the applicant is placed in line to receive a green card.
Applicants are eligible to apply for work authorization immediately after filing their Cancellation of Removal application.
Motion to Reopen
An order of deportation may be rescinded under certain circumstances:
You never received your Notice to Appear (NTA)
Your NTA is defective
You never otherwise received notice of your hearing
You qualify for new, previously unavailable relief
Exceptional circumstances