How to Get a Work Permit in the USA: Who Qualifies and the Steps

You cannot simply apply for permission to work in the United States. A work permit is always attached to something else: a pending green card case, a visa that allows it, an asylum application, a program you are in. So the first question is never “how do I apply,” it is “what am I applying under.” Get that right and the rest is a form, a fee, and a wait.

What is a work permit (some people say “job permit”)?

The official name is the Employment Authorization Document, or EAD. It is a plastic card, Form I-766, that proves you are allowed to work in the United States for any employer while it is valid. People call it a work permit, a job permit, or an EAD card. All three mean the same card.

You apply for it with Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization. Keep the two numbers straight: I-765 is the application you file, I-766 is the card you receive.

The card is not a visa and it is not a status. It does not let you enter the country or stay in it. It only lets you work, and only while the situation it was based on still exists.

Work authorization vs a work permit: not the same thing

“Work authorization” is the legal right to work. A work permit is one document that proves it. Some people have the right without ever holding the card:

• Lawful permanent residents work for anyone using the green card itself. No EAD needed.
• People on employer-specific visas such as H-1B, L-1, or O-1 are authorized to work for the sponsoring employer only. Their visa status is the authorization. They do not get an EAD and cannot use one to work elsewhere.
• Everyone else who wants to work needs a card: people with a pending green card application, spouses of certain visa holders, students on practical training, asylum applicants, TPS holders, parolees.

This guide is for the third group. If you are unsure which group you are in, our guide to the difference between a green card and a visa sorts it out.

Who qualifies for a work permit?

USCIS grants EADs by category code, a letter and number that describes why you are eligible. There are dozens. These are the ones that cover most families we work with, as of September 2026:

For the Pakistani-American families who read this site, the big one is (c)(9). If your spouse or parent filed a green card case for you and you are in the United States with a Form I-485 pending, you can apply for a work permit at the same time, and for many people it costs less or nothing extra (see the fees below). Our I-130 vs I-485 guide explains when those two forms are filed together, which is what opens the door to this category.

K-1 holders usually skip the (a)(6) card, because it expires with the 90-day entry window and a fresh application is needed anyway once the I-485 is filed. The K-1 timeline shows where that fits.

If none of these rows look like you, that does not mean you are excluded. It means the category needs checking against your actual paperwork, which is exactly the kind of question a free work permit consultation exists for. Getting the code wrong is the most common reason a first application is rejected.

What a work permit costs

These are the USCIS fees as of September 2026, from Form G-1055 Edition 09/09/26. Our USCIS fee calculator adds up the fees for your own filing.

Two things trip people up. First, filing online saves $50 and gives you a receipt immediately. Second, the $560 statutory fee that applies to asylum, TPS and parole categories comes from a 2025 law, is paid separately from the filing fee, and cannot be waived. On renewal it becomes $275 for asylum applicants and $280 for TPS and parole, on top of the normal fee. If you are in one of those categories, budget for it before you file, not after a rejection notice.

How to apply, step by step

1. Confirm your category code from the table above, or from the full list in the Form I-765 instructions. Everything else depends on this.
2. Check your timing. A (c)(9) application can go in with the I-485 or any time after. An asylum applicant must wait (see the next section). An H-4 spouse needs the H-1B holder’s I-140 approval or extension in hand first.
3. Use the current form edition. USCIS releases a revised Form I-765 dated 09/15/26 on 15 September 2026 with no grace period. Anything on the old edition postmarked after that date is rejected. Download the form fresh from uscis.gov on the day you file, never from a saved copy.
4. Gather your documents. Typically: a copy of your passport identity page, your I-94 arrival record, two passport photos taken within 30 days, a copy of any previous EAD, and the proof of your category (the I-485 receipt notice, the I-140 approval, the I-589 receipt, and so on).
5. File Form I-765 online through a free USCIS account. It is cheaper, you upload documents instead of posting them, and your receipt number appears at once.
6. Request a Social Security number on the same form. Form I-765 has a section that lets USCIS pass your details to the Social Security Administration, so the number arrives without a separate visit.
7. Pay the right fee, and if a statutory fee applies to your category, pay it separately as USCIS instructs.
8. Attend biometrics if called, and reply to any request for evidence by the deadline on the letter.
9. Watch the card’s validity date when it arrives. That date decides when you must start the renewal.

The wait after filing varies by category and by service center, and published figures move every month, so check your own case on the official processing-times tool. Our EAD processing time guide explains how to read those figures and why some categories move faster than others.

Two rules that changed recently

Cards are shorter now. On 4 December 2025 USCIS cut the maximum validity of a new EAD from five years to 18 months for several categories, including (c)(9) green card applicants, asylum applicants, asylees, and refugees. It applies to any application pending or filed on or after 5 December 2025. A five-year card you already hold is not affected. Parole and TPS cards are limited to the shorter of one year or the end of the parole or TPS period.

The safety net on renewal is gone. Renewals filed on or after 30 October 2025 no longer get an automatic extension while USCIS decides. Put the two changes together and the practical effect is that most people will now renew more often, with no cushion if the renewal runs late. Our guide to work permit renewal covers the 180-day filing window that makes this manageable.

Asylum applicants, one more. As of September 2026 you can file for a work permit 150 days after your Form I-589 was received, and USCIS cannot grant it until the case has been pending 180 days. A proposed rule published on 23 February 2026 would raise the wait to 365 days. It was not final at the time of writing. Check the current rule on uscis.gov before you count days.

The verdict

Getting a work permit is not hard. Getting it right the first time is what matters, because a rejected package costs weeks at the exact moment you need to earn. Know your category code, file the current edition online, pay the fee that matches your row in the table, and ask for the Social Security number in the same application.

Then treat the card’s expiry date as a deadline from the day it arrives. With 18-month cards and no automatic extension, the renewal is no longer something to think about later. Our EAD processing time guide will tell you what kind of wait to plan around.