U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has stated that, as a result of a court decision, it no longer requires asylum-based Employment Authorization Document (EAD) applicants to pay a biometrics fee.

What This Means

If you are filing Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, under the (c)(8) eligibility category, USCIS says you can ignore the portion of the Form I-765 instructions at the bottom of page 2 that directs you to pay the biometrics fee. USCIS is working to correct the instructions for Form I-765.

If you are a (c)(8) EAD applicant and you already submitted a biometrics fee:

• If you submitted only the $85 biometrics fee, USCIS will return the payment and accept the Form I-765.
• If you submitted the $85 biometrics fee combined with another fee (such as an EAD renewal fee) in one payment, USCIS will reject the Form I-765 for overpayment and you will need to re-file.

Why This Happened

On February 7, 2022, in Asylumworks et al. v. Mayorkas et al., the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia vacated the June 22, 2020 Timeline Repeal Rule and the June 26, 2020 Asylum EAD Rule. After this court decision, USCIS reverted to the policies and processes it had prior to the two now-vacated rules. The change applies to adjudications of Form I-765 and Form I-589, Application for Asylum and for Withholding of Removal, pending with USCIS as of February 8, 2022, or received on or after that date.

More Information

Visit USCIS’ Form I-765 page for more information about the Form I-765, including instructions and news alerts. You can also view the USCIS Stops Applying Certain EAD Provisions for Asylum Applicants | USCIS page for more information.

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