Return to NACARA 203

NACARA 203: Employment Authorization

Am I permitted to work if I apply for relief under NACARA 203?
Most individuals who are eligible to apply for relief under NACARA 203 already have asylum applications that have been pending with the USCIS for more than 150 days and may apply for and receive an employment authorization document (EAD) based on the pending asylum application. However, if you do not have employment authorization, you may apply for employment authorization if your Form I-881, Application for Suspension of Deportation or Special Rule Cancellation or Removal under section 203 of NACARA, is properly filed and accepted by the USCIS or the Executive Office of Immigration Review. See 8 C.F.R. §274a.12(c)(10)

How do I apply for employment authorization based on a pending NACARA 203 application?
To apply for employment authorization, you should complete the Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization. For details on applying, see How Do I Get a Work Permit (Employment Authorization Document)? Instructions for the form explain how to complete the form, how to apply, and where to send the completed form. Your response to question 16 on the form I-765 should be (c)(10).

Please be sure to note the fee described on the I-765 Form Entry Page. If you send the USCIS a Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, at the same time you send in your NACARA 203 application (Form I-881), please be sure to include the I-765 fee in a separate check or money order from the check or money order for your Form I-881 Application for Suspension of Deportation or Special Rule Cancellation of Removal, and fingerprinting fee.

For example, if you are applying for NACARA 203 relief and are also applying for employment authorization based on your NACARA 203 application, you should send a check or money order for the fee for NACARA 203 application and the fee for fingerprinting (if you are 14 years of age or older) and a separate check or money order for your application for employment authorization. For information regarding fee waivers, see Fees and Fee Waiver Information on the Forms and Fees page.

Where to send the application: Where you send your application depends on 1) whether you are applying for NACARA 203 relief for the first time with the Immigration Court or for the first time with the USCIS and 2) where you live.

Applicants with a NACARA 203 application (Form I-881) pending with the USCIS: If you are filing a Form I-881 with the USCIS, you may file an employment application at the same time you file the Form I-881. If your I-881 application is still pending with the USCIS and you wish to renew your employment authorization document (EAD), mail the form I-765 with the required fee to the appropriate USCIS Service Center indicated below:

If you live in Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, the United States Virgin Islands, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, or Wyoming, mail your application to:

USCIS Vermont Service Center
75 Lower Welden Street
St. Albans, VT 05479-0881

If you live in Alaska, Arizona, California, the Commonwealth of Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, Oregon, Ohio, South Dakota, Washington, or Wisconsin, mail your application to:

USCIS California Service Center
P.O. Box 10765
Laguna Niguel, CA 92607-0881

Applicants applying before the Immigration Court or Board of Immigration Appeals: If your I-881 is pending with the Immigration Court or Board of Immigration Appeals, you may apply for employment authorization at the local USCIS district office (not asylum office) that has jurisdiction over your place of residence.