Practice Alert: Keeping the Asylum EAD Clock Running Upon Filing an AR-11

USCIS used to automatically stop the accrual of days on an asylum applicant's Employment Authorization Document (EAD) clock when the applicant filed a Form AR-11, Change of Address.

Given the increasing backlogs and lengthy delays in interview scheduling, this policy became overly burdensome for asylum applicants, limiting their ability to travel, reside in, and/or work in any location other than the original jurisdiction in which the asylum application was filed. AILA raised these concerns during the December 11, 2015, USCIS Asylum Division Stakeholders meeting, and in response, USCIS agreed to allow the asylum EAD clock to continue running after Form AR-11 is filed 
 
USCIS confirmed during the May 5, 2016, USCIS Asylum Division Stakeholder meeting that it successfully implemented this change in its system by the end of February 2016. If practitioners find that an applicant's EAD clock has been inadvertently stopped due to the filing of an AR-11, practitioners should contact the Asylum Office with jurisdiction over the case and request that it manually start the clock again.