You may feel relieved that you can be physically present in the United States, protected from the dangers in your home country or country of residence, while your asylum application is pending. However, you may still worry about how you will financially support yourself and your dependents here. So, you may want to get a job with a U.S.-based employer in the meantime. In this case, please follow along to find out whether you are eligible to work with a pending asylum case with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and how a proficient Baltimore County, Maryland asylum lawyer at Sheri Hoidra Law Office, LLC can help you get this authorization effectively.
Am I eligible to open an asylum case with the USCIS?
Before attempting to gain employment in the United States, you must confirm that you are qualified for asylee status. Specifically, you must be a victim of persecution or have good reason to fear future persecution in your home country or country of residence on the basis of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion. Therefore, you may apply defensively if you are detained and attempting to prevent your removal from the country, or affirmatively before the USCIS with Form I-589, Application for Asylum and Withholding of Removal.
Am I eligible for work authorization with a pending asylum case?
Once you file Form I-589, you must wait at least 150 days before filing for work authorization in the United States. Namely, you may do so with Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization. Then, you may have to wait another 30 days before the USCIS can issue you an Employment Authorization Document (EAD). This is to say that you may have to wait for your asylum case to be pending for a minimum of 180 days before you can be granted work authorization.
It is worth mentioning that you may get automatic work authorization status once your asylum application is approved. So another option may be to simply wait these 180 days or so before seeking employment. However, you can request or cause delays with your case along the way. Plus, an EAD card may be easily used as your form of identification in this country during this gray area, so to speak. For these reasons alone, we may encourage you to take the initiative with Form I-589.
Lastly, say your pending asylum case ultimately gets denied. Well, you may only be eligible to work for the remainder of your EAD’s duration or another 60 days, whichever date is later on. This may require you to look at your alternative forms of eligibility to remain and work in the U.S.
To conclude, you must be fully equipped to enter your upcoming asylum case proceedings. Your preparation is incomplete without hiring a talented Baltimore County, Maryland immigration lawyer. Contact Sheri Hoidra Law Office, LLC today.