If you recently got married to a US citizen or green card holder or you are planning on getting married soon, you may be wondering if you can work while pending a marriage based green card? The answer is yes, you can work while waiting for a marriage based green card after you receive a legal work permit (EAD) from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Office (USCIS).
An EAD card is an employment authorization document for the United States commonly known as a work permit or work authorization that allows a person who applies and receives the EAD to legally work in the United States for any employer. Any individual who does not have an EAD card, a green card or a visa that authorizes them to work in the U.S. is not legally authorized to work in the United States. Any such work is considered unauthorized employment, is a violation of US law and may affect your green card.
However, because processing a marriage based green card takes a long time, it is recommended that you obtain an EAD while you wait for your green card in order to be able to work in the United States.
Marriage based green card petitions filed via adjustment of status can take anywhere from 4 months to 12 months or more and processing times are very unpredictable. If you would like to work during this time, then you can apply for EAD card with your adjustment of status application or after.
Obtaining an EAD card and working in the United States while the marriage based green card is pending is only relevant to those of you who are in the United States at the time of filing for the marriage based green card on Form I-485 Adjustment of Status.
If you are married to a US citizen or green card holder, but you reside abroad and you plan on applying for an immigrant visa at a US Consulate or Embassy abroad based on your marriage, then you do not need to apply for an EAD. Consular processing makes sense for people who need a lot of flexibility to travel in and out of the United States and who have the flexibility to go to a consulate when an interview date becomes available
How long does it take to get EAD card after marriage?
Getting married and obtaining a marriage license is the first step in being able to apply for a green card based on your marriage to a US citizen or green card holder. But the marriage license by itself does not entitle you to an EAD card. Instead, you need to take additional steps to apply for the marriage based green card in order to receive an EAD.
To qualify for an EAD after the marriage, you must follow a number of steps. After the marriage took place, your US citizen spouse or green card holder must start the marriage based green card process by filing an I-130 petition with USCIS to establish that the marriage is real.
Simultaneously or after filing the I-130 petition, you can submit an application for adjustment of status which forms the basis of your EAD application. You can file an application for EAD card based on your marriage at the time of filing your adjustment of status application or at a later time while the adjustment application is pending.
Generally, marriage based green card processing time takes several months and varies from case to case. Depending on your case, you may wait for 12 months if you are married to a U.S. citizen or upwards of 24 months if married to a green card holder (lawful permanent resident). It is also possible for your marriage based green card to be approved in few months without an interview, if USCIS decides to waive the interview.
The processing time also depends on the particular USCIS service center that is processing your application. Applications are allocated to USCIS service centers based on your area of residence and some USCIS service centers have longer wait times than others.
To work in the United States while you wait for USCIS to process your marriage based green card you should apply for an EAD card. You can only start working in the U.S. while a marriage based green card is pending after you receive the EAD card.
If you filed for an EAD card on form I-765 with your adjustment of status petition, you have to wait for the I-765 to be adjudicated by the USCIS before you can work. After you receive the EAD you can work for any US employer or start a business and be self-employed. In other words, yes, you can work while I-130 is pending as long as you obtain an EAD.
Obtaining an EAD card after marriage can take anywhere from 4 to 6 months. The EAD is valid for 2 years for marriage based green card. There is no premium processing available. In the rare case that an immigrant visa is not readily available for marriage based green card, then obtaining an EAD can take upwards of 24 months.
EAD after marriage to US citizen
In case of marriage to a US citizen, you can apply for a marriage based green card immediately because green cards are always available for immediate relatives of U.S. citizens. This means that you do not have to wait in line for a visa to become available but instead you can proceed immediately with filing for marriage based green card.
If you are getting married to a US citizen or you are the spouse of a US citizen and you are in the United States then you can file for EAD and Adjustment of Status at the same time as Form I-130.
All in all, it takes approximately 4 to 6 months to get an EAD card (work permit) after marriage to a U.S. citizen.
Do I need an EAD if I have a work visa?
If you are in the United States on a nonimmigrant work visa working for a US employer and you have filed for a marriage green card based on your marriage to a U.S. citizen or green card holder, then you do not need to apply for an EAD work permit to work in the US while waiting for your green card if your work visa is still valid.
In other words, if you are working in the United States on an L-1, E-2, E-1, H-1, H-2, O-1, TN visa, E-3 and others and you are in legal status, you do not need to apply for an EAD in order to continue working while your marriage based green card is pending.
If however, you are laid off or in grace period or your nonimmigrant work visa is expiring while you wait for your marriage based green card, then you can apply for EAD to continue working in the United States. If you expect that you will be laid off or you do not want to travel abroad to renew your work visa, then you should plan accordingly to apply for EAD because it takes approximately 4 to 6 months to get an EAD after marriage. You cannot work while your EAD application is pending for marriage based green card.
Do I Need EAD After Marriage-Based Green Card?
After your marriage-based green card is approved and you receive your green card, you do not need to continue to apply for EAD. EAD is a temporary work permit to allow you to work in the U.S. while you wait for your marriage based green card to process.
Malescu Law can assist
Our immigration lawyers in Miami, Florida USA can assist with marriage based green card petitions and EAD including preparing required forms and assisting with supporting documents to reduce processing times. Contact us or schedule a consultation.
Malescu Law P.A. – Business & Immigration Lawyers
