疫情期间，USCIS 大量办公室停止对外服务；此外，移民局于2020年6月解雇了一个承包商，导致大量工卡和绿卡制作延迟，截止7月已积压15万张。7月22日，来自印度的 H-4 持有人 Ranjitha Subramanya，因 EAD 申请获批后迟迟未收到工卡、无法工作，于俄亥俄南区联邦法院对移民局发起了集体诉讼。8月3日，法官判决，移民局的延误给等待工卡和绿卡的人带来了 「immediate threat of harm」，判令移民局在7天之内发卡[判决]。
8月19日，移民局发布通知，如果你收到了 I-797 Approval Notice，批准日期在2019年12月1日至2020年8月20日之间，那么你可以使用这份 I-797 通知作为工作许可，而无需出示 EAD 卡。该 Approval Notice 上有模板信息，大意是说 「this is not evidence of employment authorization」，移民局明确表示你可以忽略该信息[链接]。
移民局通知原文
Due to the extraordinary and unprecedented COVID-19 public health emergency, the production of certain Employment Authorization Documents (Form I-766, EAD) is delayed. As a result, employees may use Form I-797, Notice of Action, with a Notice date on or after December 1, 2019 through and including August 20, 2020 informing an applicant of approval of an Application for Employment Authorization (Form I-765) as a Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, List C #7 document that establishes employment authorization issued by the Department of Homeland Security pursuant to 8 C.F.R. 274a.2(b)(1)(v)(C)(7), even though the Notice states it is not evidence of employment authorization. Employees may present their Form I-797 Notice of Action showing approval of their I-765 application as a list C document for Form I-9 compliance until December 1, 2020.
THE I-797 NOTICE OF ACTION DESCRIBED ABOVE DOES NOT PROVE EVIDENCE OF IDENTITY OR SERVE AS A LIST A DOCUMENT ESTABLISHING BOTH IDENTITY AND EMPLOYMENT AUTHORIZATION OR A LIST B DOCUMENT ESTABLISHING IDENTITY FOR FORM I-9 PURPOSES.
For Form I-9 completion, employees who present a Form I-797 Notice of Action described above for new employment must also present their employer with an acceptable List B document that establishes identity. The Lists of Acceptable Documents is on Form I-9. Current employees who require reverification can present this Form I-797 Notice of Action as proof of employment authorization under List C.
By December 1, 2020, employers must reverify employees who presented this Form I-797 Notice of Action as a List C document. These employees will need to present their employers with new evidence of employment authorization from either List A or List C.
We encourage employers to accept new EADs presented by employees as soon as they receive them from USCIS prior to December 1, 2020, to satisfy the reverification requirement. However, it is the employees’ choice whether to present their new EADs, or a different document from either List A or List C.
注意事项
- 此通知仅限于2019年12月1日至2020年8月20日期间批准的工卡申请。
- I-797 批准通知仅可证明你有「工作许可」，并不能像 EAD 卡那样作为 Photo ID 使用。