When submitting Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the agency may require you to pay a filing fee. This fee is nonrefundable -- if your application is denied, you do not get your money back. However, some people are either exempt from the fee or do not need to pay it because it's included within the fee for a larger application, as described below.
The filing fee required by USCIS as of 2012 is $380. However, you should check the USCIS website at www.uscis.gov for the latest fees.
In addition, if you have an attorney help you with your application, the attorney will charge a fee for his or her services.
Which Applicants Are Exempt From Paying I-765 Filing Fee
In order to determine the filing fees, and whether one is exempt from these, an applicant must first determine their category of eligibility under the Instructions to Form I-765. The following eligibility categories need not pay an I-765 filing fee for their first application (but we'll note below when they must pay a renewal fee for subsequent EADs):
- Applicants who are filing or having already filed Form I-485 for adjustment of status and paid the associated filing fee for that application. If you don't include the I-765 with your adjustment packet, but later decide you want a work permit, you must include with your Form I-765 the Form I-797C you got from USCIS, to give notice of your payment of the filing fees of Form I-485. (Renewal fees required.)
- Refugees and asylees (already granted asylum) (renewal fees required).
- Eligible applicants who are citizens of Micronesia, Palau, or the Marshall Islands.
- Persons holding N-8 or N-9 immigrant status. (Renewal fees required.)
- Persons granted deferred enforced departure, withholding of deportation, or removal status.
- Certain dependents of diplomatic personnel of foreign governments or international organizations.
The instructions to Form I-765 available on the I-765 page of the USCIS website provide more information.
Cost of Legal Help
If you wish to have a lawyer help you prepare the Form I-765, the lawyer must charge for his or her services. For standard services such as these, most immigration attorneys charge a flat fee. That makes it easy to compare fees between attorneys. From $200 to $400 is a typical fee for this particular service.
The lawyer may also separately bill you for expenses, such as the costs of photocopies and mailing documents to the USCIS Service Center. You can ask the attorney to estimate these costs in advance. And you will have to have two color photos taken to send with the application, which will probably cost around $10.
