Form I-765: Application for Employment Authorization

You file Form I-765 if you are in the United States and need an EAD, a renewal, or a replacement for a lost, stolen or damaged card. Your reason is set by your eligibility category, which you enter in Part 2, Item 27: for example (c)(8) for a pending asylum application, (c)(9) for a pending Form I-485, or (c)(3)(B) for student OPT.

Some people are allowed to work because of their status and only file if they want an EAD as proof. For others, such as parolees and people with deferred action, USCIS must approve the I-765 before you may accept work. Current DACA recipients who only need to replace a lost, stolen or damaged card file Form I-765, not Form I-821D.

You can file Form I-765 online through a USCIS online account, or on paper. If you file on paper, the address depends on your eligibility category and reason for applying, and it can change: check the I-765 Where to File page just before you mail it. USCIS changed the filing locations on Oct. 7, 2026.

Assemble the package in the order the instructions give: the fee (if one applies), your signed application, then the evidence. That usually means a copy of your Form I-94, passport or other travel document, a copy of your last EAD front and back (or a photo ID if you never had one), two identical color passport-style photos, and the evidence your category requires. If your category requires you to show economic necessity, use Form I-765WS.

The filing fee depends on your eligibility category and on how you file. USCIS does not print it on the form: look it up in the Fee Schedule (Form G-1055) or the USCIS fee calculator before you file, as new fees for Form I-765 took effect on Oct. 16, 2026, and a request postmarked on or after that date without the proper fee will be rejected.

On paper, you can pay by card with Form G-1450 or from a U.S. bank account with Form G-1650. If you are eligible, you can ask for a fee waiver with Form I-912, though some fees set by Pub. L. 119-21 cannot be waived.

Filing windows depend on your category. To renew, the USCIS page recommends filing up to 180 days before your current EAD expires. Asylum applicants under (c)(8) must wait until their Form I-589 has been pending 150 days; USCIS may reject an I-765 filed sooner. Student OPT under (c)(3)(B) must be filed within 30 days of your DSO's recommendation in SEVIS, and a STEM OPT extension under (c)(3)(C) up to 90 days before your current OPT expires.

After approval, USCIS says the card should be produced within 2 weeks and mailed by Priority Mail. Allow 30 days from approval before contacting USCIS about it, and keep your address current with both USCIS and the Postal Service.

• Forgetting to sign. USCIS rejects unsigned forms, and a stamped or typewritten name does not count as a signature.
• Mixing pages from different editions or leaving pages out. File every page, even blank ones, all showing the same edition date (08/21/25) at the bottom.
• Entering more than one eligibility category, or the wrong one. Item 27 takes a single category, and a pending request often has a different category from a granted one: (c)(8) for pending asylum, (a)(5) once asylum is granted.
• Filing a (c)(8) asylum EAD before the 150-day waiting period has passed.
• Leaving questions blank. Type or print "N/A" when a question does not apply and "None" when the answer is zero.

• Form I-765 page (USCIS)
• Form I-765 instructions (PDF)
• Where to file Form I-765
• Fee Schedule (Form G-1055)
• File online with a USCIS account