USCIS Extends Acceptable Date of Old Version EAD I-765 Form

The USCIS revised and published new version of I-765 EAD application form dated 04/08/2008. Previous version was dated 07/30/2007. However, in view of the short notice, the USCIS previously announced that the old version (07/30/2007) would also be accepted through May 7, 2008. USCIS's announcement changes the acceptable date of the old version (07/30/2007) from 05/08/2008 to 07/08/2008, two months.

The form I-765 was revised on April 8, 2008 to accommodate the new OPT rules, particularly the timeframe for EAD filing for the pre-completion and post completion OPT students and most importantly 17-month extension of OPT for the STEM OPT students. The announcement appears to be intended to accommodate the difficulties involved in invalidating and rejecting the old version of the I-765 form on such a short a notice.

USCIS MODIFIES APPLICATION FOR EMPLOYMENT AUTHORIZATION

Previous Versions of Form I-765 Accepted until July 9, 2008

WASHINGTON —U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that it has revised Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization. The form now includes additional eligibility codes.

These changes have been made in accordance with the Department of Homeland Security's recent interim final rule regarding Optional Practical Training (OPT), published on April 8, 2008 in the Federal Register. The rule modifies the conditions and duration of OPT for qualified F-1 non-immigrant students.

USCIS will accept the July 30, 2007 edition of the form through July 8, 2008. As of July 9, 2008, USCIS will only accept the revised Form I-765, dated April 4, 2008, and will reject all requests using previous editions of the form.

The main purpose of Form I-765 is to allow certain aliens in the United States to request employment authorization and an Employment Authorization Document (EAD).

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