Source: United States Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn)
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) sent a letter to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) urging the agency to address delays in employment authorization document (EAD) processing.
Over the past year, tens of thousands of refugees have fled to the United States to escape war, violence, and political turmoil including more than 80,000 from Afghanistan and more than 100,000 from Ukraine. Many refugees wait months to receive an EAD, which prevents them from finding work to support themselves and their families.
“Arriving refugees have too often faced months-long waits for an EAD. As of July, thousands of refugees who arrived in the United States in April were still waiting to receive work authorization. Some have been warned that it could take more than a year for them to receive work authorization,” the senators wrote to Ur M. Jaddou, USCIS Director. “These delays aren’t just devastating to refugees who are eager to provide for themselves and their families, they’re also a barrier to enriching their new communities with their skills and talents. This is all the more frustrating as businesses across the country continue to struggle to find the workers they need to operate.”
“We appreciate the administration’s work to restore our country’s leadership in providing refuge for people in need, including by increasing the refugee admissions cap to 125,000. We also appreciate the steps that the administration has taken to extend work authorization for those renewing their permits and to streamline work-authorization processing for Afghan evacuees,” the senators continued. “As those fleeing war and violence continue to seek refuge in the United States, it is important that USCIS has the resources it needs to reduce backlogs and issue timely work authorizations so that refugees have the authorization they need to provide for their families.”
Earlier this month, Klobuchar and Senators Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Chris Coons (D-DE), Roy Blunt (R-MO), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) introduced the Afghan Adjustment Act, bipartisan, bicameral legislation allowing Afghans with temporary status that undergo additional vetting to apply for permanent legal residency.
Last September, Klobuchar and Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) urged the Biden administration to prioritize resources for women refugees evacuated from Afghanistan. Additionally, Klobuchar and Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) also encouraged the Biden administration to help Afghan journalists resettle and continue their important work.
Klobuchar led successful efforts to sign the Liberian Immigration Refugee Fairness Act into law in 2019, allowing eligible Liberians living in the United States on temporary immigration status of Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) to continue living legally in the U.S. and get on a pathway to earning U.S. citizenship.
The full text of the letter is available HERE and below:
Dear Director Jaddou:
We are writing to inquire about steps that United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is taking to address delays in employment authorization document (EAD) processing. Constituents have reported that delays in the processing of EADs have kept them from being able to work—in some cases, for as long as nine months.
Over the past year, tens of thousands of refugees have fled to the United States to escape war, violence, and political turmoil. In the last year, the United States has welcomed more than 80,000 Afghans. As of July, more than 100,000 Ukrainians arrived in the United States, and more are expected to arrive in the coming months.
Unfortunately, arriving refugees have too often faced months-long waits for an EAD. As of July, thousands of refugees who arrived in the United States in April were still waiting to receive work authorization. Some have been warned that it could take more than a year for them to receive work authorization. These delays aren’t just devastating to refugees who are eager to provide for themselves and their families, they’re also a barrier to enriching their new communities with their skills and talents. This is all the more frustrating as businesses across the country continue to struggle to find the workers they need to operate.
We appreciate the administration’s work to restore our country’s leadership in providing refuge for people in need, including by increasing the refugee admissions cap to 125,000. We also appreciate the steps that the administration has taken to extend work authorization for those renewing their permits and to streamline work-authorization processing for Afghan evacuees.
As those fleeing war and violence continue to seek refuge in the United States, it is important that USCIS has the resources it needs to reduce backlogs and issue timely work authorizations so that refugees have the authorization they need to provide for their families.
Accordingly, we ask that you answer the follow questions by August 29, 2022:
- What challenges or constraints has the Department faced in completing its review of EADs?
- What steps has the department taken, and what steps does it plan to take, to decrease EAD processing times?
- What support can Congress provide to facilitate EAD processing generally and the processing of work permits for those admitted on humanitarian parole status specifically?
- What steps has USCIS taken to ensure that it has the capacity to handle an increase in EAD requests following the administration’s decision to raise the refugee admissions cap to 125,000?
- Has the Department considered how expanded electronic processing could increase processing times for EADs? What steps, if any, has the Department taken to increase online processing of EADs?
- Fee waivers for EAD applications cannot be filed online even though many refugees and parolees applying for EADs must rely on such fee waivers.
- Has the Department considered allowing individuals to file fee waivers online? If not, why not? What barriers exist to allow fee waivers to be submitted online?
Thank you for your attention to this important issue.
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