Certain Afghan Parolees Are Employment Authorized Incident to Parole 2/2

Afghan parolees meeting the criteria of an unexpired Form I-94 with a class of admission denoted as "OAR" or "PAR" and Afghanistan as the indicated country of citizenship are eligible for the following provisions. If you are an Afghan parolee paroled into the United States on or after July 31, 2021, without receiving an “OAR” or “PAR” class of admission on your Form I-94, please contact U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) at [email protected] to update your class of admission, if applicable.

Similarly, Ukrainian parolees with an unexpired Form I-94 indicating a class of admission as “UHP” or “DT” issued between Feb. 24, 2022, and Sept. 30, 2023, and Ukraine as the country of citizenship on the document, also fall under the specified provisions.

For these parolees, their unexpired Form I-94 serves as an acceptable receipt for presenting their identity and employment authorization to their employer for Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification purposes. This satisfies the Form I-9 requirement for up to 90 days from the date of hire (or, in the case of reverification, until the date employment authorization expires). Those who obtained a Form I-94 upon entering the United States can access and print a copy from CBP’s Form I-94 page. If you lack a passport, use your A-Number to retrieve your Form I-94 online by selecting “Get Most Recent I-94” on the mentioned site. Enter your A-Number in the Document Number field and specify your country of citizenship or “USA” in the Country of Citizenship field.

After 90 days (or upon the expiration of Form I-94, if sooner), parolees must present an unexpired Employment Authorization Document (EAD) or an unrestricted Social Security card, along with an 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 submit Form I-765 to obtain a physical EAD. Further guidance for employers on completing Form I-9 will be provided.

Refugees are authorized employment incident to their status under DHS regulations. USCIS, in its current policy and practice, does not charge refugees a fee with their initial Form I-765 (or a Form I-765 filed to replace an initial EAD). However, parolees, not being employment authorized incident to parole, must pay a fee (currently $410) to request an EAD, unless a fee waiver or exemption is granted.