Contact Us Today! 757-422-8472

Blogs

What is an Asylum EAD Clock and What Does the Latest Federal Settlement Mean for It?

Posted by Hugo R. Valverde, Managing Attorney, and Anna D. Colby, Attorney Social Media Marketing Manager | Oct 29, 2024 | 0 Comments

Photo by Tristan Gassert on Unsplash

Do you ever feel like it's hard to understand legal jargon? Maybe you thought you knew the meaning of something and then found out that it means something else entirely?

Well, as it turns out, a lot of people working in the legal field can interpret something differently too. 

One of the latest federal immigration lawsuits to be settled, Garcia Perez vs. USCIS, highlights this - a difference of opinion/interpretation that has resulted in the delay of hundreds, if not thousands, of employment authorization documents (EADs) for those with pending asylum applications. 

According to immigration policy, an asylum applicant can file for a work permit 150 days after filing for asylum, and is eligible to receive a work permit 180 days after filing for asylum. However, delays that an asylum applicant ‘requests or cause' while an asylum application is pending do not count toward the 150-day waiting period or the 180-day eligibility period. This waiting period is called the “180-day Asylum EAD Clock” and it has been the focus of the Garcia Perez case. 

To any normal person, counting 180 days on a calendar is pretty straightforward, but the process of how the 180 days can be counted has been anything but clear to the applicants waiting for work permits. According to USCIS, the most common ways the 180 day EAD clock is stopped is when an applicant fails to show for an asylum interview, or fails to show for an asylum decision, but there is a long list of other reasons that the clock is stopped - that people are not always aware of or told about. 

Because this has been so confusing, a class action lawsuit was filed, and the settlement that was just released makes it clear that more needs to be explained to asylum applicants filing for work permits. Because of this settlement, immigration judges will now be given written guidance directing them to clearly articulate the reason for the case adjournment on the record at the end of each hearing and that they may inform the parties of whether the Asylum EAD Clock is running or stopped. 

Pro Se applicants (applicants who represent themselves) may now request, orally or in writing, a printout of their case-specific adjournment code history relating to the 180-day Asylum EAD Clock and Immigration Court personnel will be required to respond at the time of an in-person request. If an applicant requests through another format the Court must respond within twenty-five (25) business days of receipt of a request not made in-person.

The EOIR online case portal has already been upgraded to include case-specific history relating to the 180-day Asylum EAD Clock, and the USCIS online portal is being modified to allow anyone with a pending Asylum Application to determine, in addition to their current case status, whether their Affirmative Asylum EAD Clock is stopped because of an applicant-caused delay and the total number of days accrued at the time of a stoppage.

For more information on this important settlement, and to know if this affects your asylum case, read the official Class Notice here

If you would like to speak with one of our immigration attorneys about filing for a work permit, or any other immigration matter, you can reach us at (757) 422-8472, or send us a message on our website. You can also schedule an appointment with one of our attorneys by clicking on this link.

About the Author

Comments

There are no comments for this post. Be the first and Add your Comment below.

Leave a Comment

Menu