- Work Permits and Renewals
If you’re a foreign national, you must have a visa or immigration work permit to work legally within the United States. USCIS and ICE strictly enforce U.S. immigration laws, and undocumented workers risk deportation, immigration bars, and other penalties if they violate the rules.While the process for obtaining an employment-based or immigrant visa can be incredibly complicated, if you’re eligible for an immigration work permit, it’s not hard to get one. If you are married to a U.S. citizen, an asylee, have temporary protected status (TPS), a spouse of a visa holder, or meet other USCIS criteria, you may be eligible for a work permit.
Work permits do expire — and if you forget to renew your EAD, you’re considered undocumented. To avoid this potentially catastrophic mistake, you should apply for an immigration work permit renewal sooner than later. Under U.S. immigration laws, you can submit your renewal up to four months before your existing work permit expires.Even if you think you’ll receive your green card before your current EAD expires, it’s best to file a renewal. If anything is delayed, and your work permit expires, you may endanger your green card application if you continue working. Typically, it takes about 150 days to process an immigration work permit renewal.
For more information about work permits and renewals, call 508-388-2999 to schedule a consultation with a member of our team today.