Employment Authorization
1. Are parolees under Uniting for Ukraine allowed to work before USCIS approves their Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization?
Yes. Individuals paroled into the United States under Uniting for Ukraine are employment authorized incident to parole. This means that if you are paroled into the United States under Uniting for Ukraine, we do not need to approve your application for employment authorization before you can work in the United States.
Your unexpired Form I-94, Arrival/Departure Record is an acceptable List A receipt that shows your identity and work authorization for Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, if your unexpired class of admission contains:
- A class of admission code of “UHP,” or
- A class of admission code of “DT” issued between Feb. 24, 2022, and Sept. 30, 2023, and indicates Ukraine as the country of citizenship.
Within 90 days of hire (or in the case of reverification, the date employment authorization expires), you must provide your employer either:
- Your unexpired Form I-766, Employment Authorization Document (EAD); or
- Your unrestricted Social Security card and a List B identity document from the Form I-9 Lists of Acceptable Documents. (Note: A Social Security card that contains no employment restrictions is not available to individuals who are paroled and not admitted to the United States on a permanent basis. See the Social Security Administration’s Types of Social Security Cards webpage.)
Individuals who received their Form I-94 when they entered the United States should visit the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) Form I-94 website to view and print a copy of their Form I-94.
For more information, please see Employee Rights and Resources.
2. Can parolees under Uniting for Ukraine still apply for an EAD?
Yes. Effective Nov. 21, 2022, USCIS is exempting the Form I-765 filing fee for initial EADs for individuals paroled into the United States under Uniting for Ukraine who file by mail. Effective Dec. 5, 2022, this fee exemption will also be available for online filings of Form I-765. To apply for an EAD, submit Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, using the (c)(11) category code
To obtain the fee exemption when filing Form I-765 online to request an EAD:
- In the basis of eligibility section, provide your “eligibility category”;
- For the category under which you are applying, select “c(11) Ukraine Parole” from the drop-down;
- Select your reason for applying as “Initial permission to accept employment”; and
- Review and submit application to receive $0 fee.
To obtain the fee exemption when mailing a paper Form I-765 to USCIS to request an initial EAD:
- Select “Initial permission to accept employment” (Part 1, Item 1.a.);
- Enter “Ukraine” in:
- Country of Citizenship (Part 2, Items 18.a. and 18.b.), and/or
- Country of Birth (Part 2, Item 19.c.);
- Enter “C11” in the Eligibility Category (Part 2, Item 27); and
- Submit no payment.
Note: For the fee exemption to apply, applications must be postmarked on or after Nov. 21, 2022, or submitted online on or after Dec. 5, 2022.
3. After a parolee files Form I-765, how long will it take to receive their EAD?
Generally, we process applications for employment authorization in the order we receive them. For more information on Form I-765 processing times, visit our Check Case Processing Times page.
