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Certain Afghan and Ukrainian Parolees Are Employment Authorized Incident to Parole

November 30, 2022

As of November 21, 2022, Ukrainian and Afghan parolees, and their qualifying family members, with certain classes of admission may begin working in the U.S. prior to USCIS’ approval of their Application for Work Authorization (Form I-765).  Much like refugees, eligible Ukrainian and Afghan parolees will be employment authorized incident to their parole and will not be charged a fee for an initial Employment Authorization Document (“EAD”) or for the replacement of an initial EAD (effective November 21, 2022 for paper filings and December 5, 2022 for online filings).

This updated policy guidance applies to the following individuals, if their parole has not been terminated:

• Afghan parolees whose unexpired Form I-94 (Arrival/Departure Record) contains a class of admission of “OAR”;
• Ukrainian parolees whose unexpired Form I-94 contains a class of admission of “UHP”; and
• Ukrainian parolees whose unexpired Form I-94 contains a class of admission of “DT” issued between February 24, 2022 and September 30, 2023, and indicates Ukraine as the country of citizenship on the document.

These parolees may present their unexpired Form I-94 as proof of identity and employment authorization for the purposes of Employment Eligibility Verification (Form I-9) within 90 days of hire (or in the case of reverification, the date employment authorization expires).

After the 90-day period, these parolees must present:

• An Employment Authorization Document; or
• An unrestricted Social Security card and a List B identity document from the Form I-9 Lists of Acceptable Documents (e.g., a state-issued driver’s license or identification card).

Note: Ukrainian and Afghan parolees must still file a Form I-765 to receive a physical EAD.

Please contact us at Landau, Hess, Simon, Choi & Doebley if you have any questions about this updated policy guidance.  To schedule a consultation with one of our attorneys, please proceed to our Consultation Request Form.