Certain Afghan Parolees Are Employment Authorized Incident to Parole

Effective June 8, 2023, certain additional Afghan parolees are employment authorized incident to parole. This updated guidance applies to certain Afghan parolees whose unexpired Form I-94, Arrival/Departure Record, contains a class of admission of “PAR” and indicates Afghanistan as the country of citizenship on the document, if their parole has not been terminated. These parolees are also exempt from fees to apply for an initial Employment Authorization Document (EAD) or to replace an initial EAD.  

As a matter of policy, USCIS is providing certain Afghan and Ukrainian parolees with the benefit of employment authorization incident to parole, as we typically provide refugees incident to status, and a no-fee initial EAD (and replacement of an initial EAD). Providing these parolees similar treatment to refugees aligns with the spirit of legislation that states that parolees covered by the legislation “shall be eligible for . . . other benefits available to refugees admitted under section 207 of the Immigration National Act (8 U.S.C. 1157).”   

On Nov. 21, 2022, we announced we would provide certain Afghan and Ukrainian parolees with employment authorization incident to parole and also exempted the fee to file Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, for Ukrainian parolees filing for an EAD by mail. Afghan parolees were already exempt from the fee for an initial paper-filed Form I-765 (and a replacement EAD) through Sept. 30, 2023.  

This updated guidance clarifies the parolees considered employment authorized incident to parole include all the following: 

• Afghan parolees whose unexpired Form I-94 contains a class of admission of “OAR” or “PAR” and indicates Afghanistan as the country of citizenship on the document. If you are an eligible Afghan parolee paroled into the United States on or after July 31, 2021, who did not receive an “OAR” or “PAR” class of admission on your Form I-94, please email U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) at [email protected] to update your class of admission, if appropriate; 
• Ukrainian parolees whose unexpired Form I-94 contains a class of admission of “UHP;” and 
• Ukrainian parolees whose unexpired Form I-94 contains a class of admission of “DT” issued between Feb. 24, 2022, and Sept. 30, 2023, and indicates Ukraine as the country of citizenship on the document. 

For these parolees, their unexpired Form I-94 is an acceptable receipt they may present to their employer to show their identity and employment authorization for the purposes of Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification. This satisfies the Form I-9 requirement for up to 90 days from the date of hire (or in the case of reverification, the date employment authorization expires). Individuals who received a Form I-94 when they entered the United States should visit CBP’s Form I-94 page to view and print a copy of their Form I-94. If you do not have a passport, you can use your A-Number to retrieve your Form I-94 online at the site above by choosing “Get Most Recent I-94.” Enter your A-Number in the Document Number field and enter your country of citizenship or “USA” in the Country of Citizenship field. 

After 90 days (or when the Form I-94 expires, if sooner), parolees must present an unexpired EAD or unrestricted Social Security card and acceptable List B identity document from the Form I-9 Lists of Acceptable Documents (such as a state-issued driver’s license or identification card). Ukrainian and Afghan parolees must still file Form I-765 to receive a physical EAD. We will provide additional guidance for employers to complete Form I-9. 

Under DHS regulations, refugees are authorized employment incident to status, and under current policy and practice, USCIS does not charge refugees a fee with their initial Form I-765 (or a Form I-765 filed to replace an initial EAD). Parolees, however, are not employment authorized incident to parole and must pay a fee (currently $410) to request an EAD, unless we waive or exempt the fee.  

See our Uniting for Ukraine and Information for Afghan Nationals pages for more information about submitting Form I-765. See our File Online page for more information about creating an account and filing online.