Working While Your Green Card Case Is Pending? Know Your Options Before You Start

Waiting on a green card can leave you asking whether you can keep your job or take a new one. Whether you can work while your green card case is pending depends first on your current immigration category: under 8 C.F.R. § 274a.12, a person in one of the classes listed in paragraphs (a)(3), (a)(4), (a)(6)-(a)(8), (a)(10)-(a)(15), or (a)(20) of that section who wants to take a job in the United States must apply to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) for a document showing that work authorization.

This page explains when work is allowed, how to file for a work permit, and what to check before you change jobs or travel. Responsibility for this page rests with Adriana Gomez. For background, read our adjustment of status guide.

Does a Pending I-485 Let You Work?

Not on its own. A pending I-485 is an application, not a work permit. Some applicants, however, can keep working without filing again.

Under 8 C.F.R. § 274a.12, an applicant with a properly filed I-485 is not deemed an unauthorized alien while the application is pending final adjudication, but only if the applicant has otherwise obtained permission from the Service under 8 CFR 274a.12 to engage in employment, or was granted employment authorization before filing the adjustment application. This applies if you already have permission to work, or if an earlier work permit does not expire during the case. While a properly filed Form I-485 application is pending final adjudication, an adjustment applicant need not file an application for employment authorization to continue employment, provided the applicant has otherwise obtained permission to work under 8 C.F.R. § 274a.12, or was granted employment authorization before filing the adjustment application and that authorization does not expire during the pendency of the application.

Check your past work before you file. Under 8 U.S.C. § 1255, adjustment is not available to many applicants who continue or accept unauthorized employment before filing.

Who Can Ask for Work Permission During Adjustment?

Under 8 C.F.R. § 274a.13, a person requesting work authorization may be required to apply on a form USCIS designates, with any prescribed fees. A request can sometimes be filed together with a related benefit request, but only as the form instructions or USCIS allow.

A receipt notice shows that USCIS received your case. It is not a work card. Don’t start a new job based on a receipt alone until you know your work status. Because the category you filed under matters, read the form instructions for that category.

How to File Form I-765 and What to Prepare

File Form I-765 exactly as the instructions direct. Under 8 C.F.R. § 103.2, a benefit request that does not follow the applicable statutes, regulations or form instructions may be rejected or denied.

Gather a copy of your I-485 and your receipt notice. Then collect the documents the instructions list for your category, and keep copies of everything you send.

Fees apply under the form instructions, as 8 C.F.R. § 274a.13 notes. Check the current fee on the form instructions before you send anything.

Small errors can lead to a rejection. Slow down and check each answer, your signature and your category before you mail the packet.

How Long Processing Takes and How to Check Your Status

There is no fixed timeline to count on, and processing times change. Use the receipt number on your notice to track the case with USCIS.

Work permits have end dates.

Plan renewals early. If your renewal falls in one of those categories, don’t count on your old card continuing.

If your card is delayed, ask about next steps before the expiration date passes, not after.

Changing Jobs and Traveling While Your Application Is Pending

Job changes and travel follow separate rules, so check both before you act.

Job changes. According to the USCIS Policy Manual, when USCIS has approved an applicant’s Form I-140 petition and the applicant’s adjustment application remained unadjudicated for 180 days or more (from the adjustment application receipt date), the approved petition remains valid unless the petition’s approval is later substantively revoked, even if the applicant changes jobs or employers, so long as the new offer of employment is in the same or similar occupation. The new job must be in a same or similar occupational classification, and other requirements must be met. USCIS also looks at whether the petition represented the truly intended employment at the time of the filing of both the petition and the adjustment application. Read our job change portability guide.

Travel. Under 8 C.F.R. § 245.2, the effect of leaving the United States turns on the law under which you apply for adjustment.

Parole adds another limit. Under 8 C.F.R. § 212.5, a person granted parole into the United States after the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 for other than the specific purpose of applying for adjustment of status under section 245A of the Act is not permitted to use that adjustment. Read our travel while I-485 pending guide.

Talk With Our Office About Your Pending Application

A pending I-485 often raises work, travel and paperwork questions at the same time. Here are quick answers to common ones.