Work Authorization for the Migrant Community (NJ Department of Labor & Workforce Development)

The Department of Homeland Security has taken several actions to expand access to employment authorization, including improvements to processing of Employment Authorization Document (EAD) applications filed by certain parolees, and extending and redesignating Venezuela and Afghanistan for Temporary Protected Status (TPS).

Certain new arrivals are immediately eligible to apply for an EAD to legally work in the United States, including individuals paroled into the U.S. through the parole processes for nationals of Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela (CHNV), or after receiving a CBP One App appointment and presenting at a Port of Entry. Individuals with Temporary Protective Status are also immediately eligible to apply for EADs as soon as they apply for TPS. Individuals who applied for asylum are also eligible for work authorizations; however, they must have an asylum application pending for at least 150 days before applying for an EAD.