On July 28, 2006, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced a new policy that since October 1, 2006, the local offices will stop to process and produce EADs. The following is the news released in the USCIS website.

In November 2004, USCIS published a notice in the Federal Register informing the public that, as of April 1, 2005, individuals must file Applications for Employment Authorization, (Forms I-765) at one of the four USCIS Service Centers or the National Benefits Center (via the Chicago Lockbox). The instructions to Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, with addendum, have reflected this change since then. In the interim, some USCIS offices have continued to accept employment authorization applications and have produced Employment Authorization Cards (Form I-688B) using local systems.

USCIS is discontinuing local production of Form I-688B Employment Authorization Card (EAC) in favor of Form I-765 Employment Authorization Document (EAD) produced at one central location using national systems. The locally produced I-688B lacks security features and is not well suited to employment verification by employers.

Offices that have continued to accept applications locally may, in their discretion, continue to accept certain employment authorization applications until October 1, 2006. After September 1, 2006, however, such local offices will no longer process those cases and will only forward them for Service Centers processing. Customers seeking the fastest service should send their applications directly to the appropriate Service Center or Chicago Lockbox as indicated on the Form I-765 instructions. As of October 1, 2006, USCIS local offices will no longer accept any Form I-765 filings. Local Offices will work with community, legal and law enforcement organizations to eliminate local filings of Form I-765.

The discontinuation of locally produced EACs will not prohibit customers from using InfoPass to schedule an appointment for an interim employment document when USCIS hasn’t adjudicated the original Form I-765 within 90 days. Customers should take great care to attend all appointments, including biometrics appointments, and respond promptly to all requests for evidence sent from USCIS. Failure to attend a biometrics appointment or failure to provide all required documents or information requested by USCIS will delay entitlement to an “interim card” and may re-start or stop the 90-day period.

Effective October 1, 2006, local USCIS offices will no longer produce interim EACs. USCIS will issue all approved interim EADs from a central facility. Accordingly, an applicant seeking to replace an expiring EAD should file Form I-765 at least 100 days before the current card expires. Doing so will minimize the possibility that the current EAD will expire before a decision is made on the new application.

Individuals who have been granted asylum by the Executive Office for Immigration Review should continue to schedule and attend their InfoPass appointments for documentation in accordance with the Post Order Instructions provided to them at the conclusion of their immigration court proceedings. The local USCIS office will complete the individual’s processing for documentation of asylum status and will also initiate EAD card production from the central facility. Individuals granted asylum by a USCIS
Asylum Office will, at the time they are granted asylum, receive information about the prompt delivery of a secure EAD.