Checklist of Required Initial Evidence for Form I-765 (for informational purposes only) (2024)

Did you provide the following?

• A copy of your Form I-94, Arrival/Departure Record (front and back), a printout of your electronic Form I-94, your passport or other travel document;
• A copy of your last Employment Authorization Document (EAD) (if applicable);
• Two identical passport-style photographs;
• Form G-28 (if you are represented by an attorney or accredited representative); and
• If you were not previously issued an EAD, a copy of a government-issued identity document.

Did you provide one of the following?

• A copy of your Form I-94, Arrival/Departure Record;
• A copy of your final notice of eligibility for resettlement (approval letter); or
• A copy of your Form I-797, Notice of Action, approving derivative refugee status (Form I-730 approval).

Did you provide the following?

• A copy of your Form I-94, Arrival/Departure Record, passport, or travel document.

Did you provide a copy of one of the following?

• Form I-94, Arrival/Departure Record, indicating asylee status;
• A USCIS asylum grant letter;
• The signed order from the Executive Office for Immigration Review granting asylum status; or
• Form I-797, Notice of Action, granting derivative asylum status.

Did you provide the following?

• A copy of the Executive Office for Immigration Review immigration judge’s signed order granting withholding of deportation or removal.

Did youprovide the following?

• Evidence you were admitted as a citizen of the Federated States of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, or Palau under agreements between the U.S. and the former trust territories.

Did you provide the following?

• Evidence of your identity and nationality (if you are without nationality, submit evidence of your residence in the last country in which you habitually resided); and
• Statement of your basis for claiming that you are covered by DED, and evidence (if available) to support your claim.

Did youprovide the following?

• This application concurrently filed with Form I-821, Application for Temporary Protected Status, or evidence that we accepted or approved your initial Form I-821;
• Evidence of your nationality and identity; and
• A copy of the order granting TPS with your Form I-765, such as a copy of your Form I-821 that the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) judge or Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA)approved, if an EOIR immigration judge or the BIA granted TPS and you are requesting your first Employment Authorization Document or are re-registering for the first time.

Did you provide the following?

• This application concurrently filed with Form I-821;
• A letter indicating this application is for TPS re-registration; and
• A copy (front and back) of your last available TPS document (for example, an Employment Authorization Document, Form I-94, a passport, a travel document, or a Form I-797, Notice of Action).

Did youprovide the following?

• This form concurrently filed with Form I-881, Application for Suspension of Deportation or Special Rule Cancellation of Removal (Pursuant to Section 203 of Public Law 105-100 (NACARA)).

Did youprovide the following?

• Certification from the American Institute in Taiwan if you are the spouse or unmarried dependent son or daughter of an E-1 employee of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office.

Did you provide the following?

• Evidence of having been lawfully enrolled on a full-time basis for one full academic year at a college, university, conservatory, or seminary approved by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) for attendance by F-1 foreign students;
• All previously used Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) numbers in the Additional Information section of the form;
• Evidence of any previously authorized Curricular Practical Training (CPT) or Optional Practical Training (OPT) and the academic level at which each was authorized; and
• A copy of your Form I-20, Certificate of Eligibility for Nonimmigrant (F-1) Student Status, signed by the designated school official (DSO).

Did youprovide the following?

• All previously used Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) receipt numbers and any previously authorized Curricular Practical Training (CPT) or Optional Practical Training (OPT) and the academic level in which it was authorized in Part 6, Additional Information; and
• A copy of your Form I-20 signed by the designated school official (DSO) within 30 days before filing your Form I-765.

Did youprovide the following?

• Evidence of the degree that is the basis for the STEM Optional Practical Training (OPT) extension and is currently listed on the STEM Designated Degree Program List;
• A copy of your Form I-20 signed by the designated school official (DSO) within 60 days before filing your Form I-765; and
• Evidence that the institution is currently accredited by the U.S. Department of Education and certified by the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) if you are seeking a STEM OPT extension based on a previously earned STEM degree.

Did youprovide the following?

• The international organization’s letter of certification that the proposed employment is within the scope of its sponsorship; and
• A copy of your Form I-20 with the employment page completed by the designated school official (DSO) certifying your eligibility for employment.

Did youprovide the following?

• A copy of your Form I-20 with the employment page completed by the designated school official (DSO) certifying your eligibility for off-campus employment due to severe economic hardship;
• Evidence you have been in valid F-1 status for one full academic year, are a student in good standing, and are enrolled in a full course of study;
• Evidence that accepting employment will not interfere with your enrollment in a full course of study;
• Evidence the employment is necessary to avoid severe economic hardship; and
• Evidence that on-campus employment is not available or is not sufficient to meet the needs that have arisen due to the unforeseen circ*mstances.

Did youprovide the following?

• A copy of your Form DS-2019;
• Evidence the J-1 principal noncitizen is currently maintaining status;
• Evidence that any income from this employment authorization will not be used to support the J-1 principal noncitizen;
• Evidence you are currently maintaining status; and
• Evidence of all previously authorized periods of J-2 employment (if applicable).

Did youprovide the following?

• A copy of your Form I-20 signed by the designated school official (DSO); and
• This form concurrently filed with Form I-539, Application to Change/Extend Nonimmigrant Status (if applicable), that requests an extension of stay that covers the requested period of post-completion Practical Training and a 30-day departure period.

Did you provide the following?

• Evidence of a lodged or filed Form I-589 with USCIS or EOIR:
  • If filed with USCIS, provide a copy of your USCIS Acknowledgment of Receipt and USCIS Asylum Interview Notice; or your Form I-797C application support center appointment notice; any other evidence of a filed Form I-589;
  • If lodged with EOIR, provide a legible copy of Form I-589 containing the Received Date stamp and Lodge/Receipt Stamp; or
  • If filed with EOIR, provide acknowledgment you received Form I-589 (such as receipt stamp) or any other available evidence.
• If an immigration judge denied your Form I-589, evidence of a timely appeal of the denied asylum application with the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA).
• If the BIA remanded your Form I-589 to an immigration judge for further adjudication of your underlying asylum claim:
  • A copy of the BIA decision and order remanding your case to the immigration judge; and
  • Evidence that your asylum claim remains under review by the immigration judge.
• If a federal court remanded your asylum claim to the BIA for further action, and your claim is still pending with the BIA:
  • A copy of the federal court’s remand order.
• Proof of arrests and convictions (if applicable).

Did youprovide the following?

• Evidence of your lawful B nonimmigrant status (for example, a copy of your Form I-94, passport, or other travel document);
• Evidence your employer is a B, E, F, H, I, J, L, M, O, P, Q, or TN nonimmigrant;
• Evidence you worked for the employer for at least one year before the employer entered the United States, or your employer regularly employs personal and domestic servants and has done so for a period of years before coming to the United States;
• Evidence you have either worked for this employer as a personal or domestic servant for at least one year, or evidence you have at least one year of experience as a personal or domestic servant; and
• Evidence you have a residence abroad that you have no intention of abandoning.

Did you provide the following?

• Evidence or your lawful B nonimmigrant status (for example, a copy of your Form I-94, passport, or other travel document);
• Evidence that your employer is a U.S. citizen;
• Evidence your employment has a permanent home abroad or is stationed outside the United States and is temporarily visiting the United States, or evidence that your employer’s current assignment in the United States will not be longer than four years; and
• Evidence your employer has employed you as a domestic servant abroad for at least six months before your admission to the United States.

Did youprovide the following?

• Evidence of your lawful B nonimmigrant status (for example, a copy of your Form I-94, passport, or other travel document); and
• A letter from the airline fully describing your duties and stating your position would entitle you to E nonimmigrant status except for the fact that you are not a national of the same country as the airline, or because there is no treaty of commerce and navigation in effect between the United States and that country.

Did youprovide the following?

• Evidence of your lawful E nonimmigrant status (for example, a copy of your Form I-94, passport, or other travel document);
• Evidence of your spouse’s lawful E nonimmigrant status (for example, copy of your spouse’s Form I-94, passport, or other travel document); and
• Your marriage certificate, or if not available, other secondary evidence of the marriage.

Did youprovide the following?

• Evidence of your lawful L nonimmigrant status (for example, a copy of your Form I-94, passport, or other travel document);
• Evidence of your spouse’s lawful L nonimmigrant status (for example, a copy of your spouse’s Form I-94, passport, or other travel document); and
• Your marriage certificate, or if not available, other secondary evidence of the marriage.

Did youprovide the following?

• Evidence of a legal marriage;
• Evidence you and your spouse legally terminated any prior marriages (if applicable);
• Evidence you reside in the CNMI;
• Evidence your spouse obtained E-2C status;
• Evidence you obtained E-2C status as a dependent; and
• A copy of your spouse’s CNMI issued Long-Term Business Certificate or Foreign Investment Certificate.

Did youprovide the following?

• Evidence that either your spouse is the beneficiary of an approved Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker, or your spouse received H-1B status based on the American Competitiveness in the Twenty-First Century Act (AC21) sections 106(a) and (b);
• Evidence of your current nonimmigrant status, such as a copy of your Form I-94 showing your admission in (or change of status to) H-4 nonimmigrant status or file this form concurrently filed with Form I-539, Application to Change/Extend Nonimmigrant Status (if applicable); and
• Your marriage certificate, or if not available, other secondary evidence of the marriage.

Did youprovide the following?

• Proof you are in the United States in E-3, H-1B, H-1B1, O-1, or L-1 nonimmigrant status;
• Proof of your approved Form I-140;
• Evidence you are facing compelling circ*mstances while you wait for your immigrant visa to become available; and
• Proof of arrests and convictions (if applicable).

Did youprovide the following?

• Proof of your nonimmigrant status;
• Proof of relationship to the principal beneficiary of the approved Form I-140;
• Proof that the spouse or parent principal beneficiary was granted employment authorization or has a pending Form I-765 under eligibility category (c)(35); and
• Proof of arrests and convictions (if applicable).

Did youprovide the following?

• Evidence of your admission (for example, a copy of your Form I-94, passport, or other travel document); and
• A copy of your K visa.

Did youprovide the following?

• Evidence of your most recent admission (for example, a copy of your Form I-94, passport, or other travel document); and
• Your Form I-797C, Notice of Action.

Did youprovide the following?

• Evidence of your valid V status (for example, an approval notice, your Form I-94, passport, or this form filed concurrently with your application for V status).

Did you provide the following?

• Evidence of a pending I-485 under INA 245 (for example, a copy of your Form I-485 receipt notice or other evidence).

Did you provide the following?

• This form filed concurrently with Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, or evidence of a pending I-485 (for example, a copy of your Form I-485 receipt notice or other evidence).

Did you provide the following?

• Evidence of your meaningful progress toward completing the national interest waiver obligations; and
• If you did not work as a national interest waiver physician during any period of the previous year, submit an explanation why and provide a statement of future intent to work as a physician in a qualifying location.

Did you provide the following?

• Evidence that we approved Form I-687, Application for Status as a Temporary Resident Under Section 245A of the INA; or Form I-700, Application for Status as a Special Agricultural Worker; or
• A copy of your Employment Authorization Document showing your temporary resident status.

Did youprovide the following?

• Evidence of your lawful N nonimmigrant status (for example, a copy of your Form I-94, passport, or other travel document).

Did you provide the following?

• Evidence that EOIR-42A or EOIR-42B is currently pending with the Executive Office for Immigration Review, and
• Evidence you paid the application filing fee.

Did youprovide the following?

• Evidence your Form I-700, Application for Status as a Temporary Resident Under Section 210 of the INA, is currently pending (for example, a copy of a receipt notice or other evidence).

Did you provide the following?

• Evidence your Form I-687, Application for Status as a Temporary Resident Under 245A of the INA, is pending (for example, a copy of a receipt notice or other evidence).

Did you provide the following?

• Evidence you were paroled into the United States for urgent humanitarian reasons or reasons of significant public benefit (for example, a copy of your Form I-94, passport, or other travel document).

If you were paroled into the United States after establishing a credible fear of persecution or torture under INA 235(b)(1)(A), you are not eligible for either an initial or renewed Employment Authorization Document under the (c)(11) eligibility category. You may still be eligible to apply for work authorization based on the (c)(8) eligibility category if your asylum application has been pending for more than 365 days and you meet the remaining eligibility requirements.

Did youprovide the following?

• Evidence of a grant of deferred action (for example, a copy of an order, notice or other document); and
• Proof you have an economic necessity to work (financial information).

Did youprovide the following?

• This form concurrently filed with Form I-821D, Consideration of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals; and
• Your completed Form I-765 Worksheet.

Did you provide the following?

• A copy of the Executive Office for Immigration Review immigration judge’s Order of Removal and Form I-220B, Order of Supervision (if any).

Did you provide the following?

• Evidence you were a Catholic Social Services (CSS), League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), or Zambrano class member applicant before Oct. 1, 2000; and
• Evidence your Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, is currently pending (for example, a receipt notice or other evidence).

Did youprovide the following?

• Evidence of your valid T-1 nonimmigrant status.

Did you provide the following?

• Evidence of your valid T nonimmigrant derivative status:
  • A copy of the approval notice for your T nonimmigrant status if you obtained T nonimmigrant status while in the United States, or
  • A copy of your passport with your T nonimmigrant visa if you were admitted to the United States as a T nonimmigrant.

Did you provide the following?

• Evidence of your valid T nonimmigrant status; and
• This application filed concurrently with Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, or evidence of a pending I-485 (for example, a copy of your Form I-485 receipt notice or other evidence).

Did youprovide the following?

• A copy of your passport with your U nonimmigrant visa.

Did you provide the following?

• Evidence of your valid U nonimmigrant derivative status:
  • A copy of the approval notice for your U nonimmigrant status if you obtained U nonimmigrant status while in the United States, or
  • A copy of your passport with your U nonimmigrant visa if you were admitted to the United States as a U nonimmigrant.

Did youprovide the following?

• Evidence of your valid U nonimmigrant status; and
• This form filed concurrently with Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, or evidence of a pending I-485 (for example, a copy of your Form I-485 receipt notice or other evidence).

Did youprovide the following?

• Evidence of the principal beneficiary’s approved Form I-360 Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) self-petition.

Did youprovide the following?

• A copy of the civil complaint filed in court;
• Proof of lawful admission to the United States in A-3 or G-5 status (for example, a copy of your passport with your A-3 or G-5 nonimmigrant visa); and
• Evidence the civil case is still pending (if requesting renewal).