Earlier this month, AHCA/NCAL led a
Coalition letter to the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) on workforce supply related issues. In the letter, the Coalition noted that the U.S. currently has a labor shortage in many sectors, not the least of which is the health care industry. One issue is the significant delay in USCIS processing Employment Authorization Document (EAD) renewals. Some employees have had to stop working due to USCIS not timely processing the EAD renewals, while others are at risk of soon losing work authorization due to the delays.
On December 28th, USCIS came out with an announcement noting that “Effective immediately, if you are a healthcare worker who has a pending Employment Authorization Document (EAD) renewal application (Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization) and your EAD expires in 30 days or less or has already expired, you can request expedited processing of your EAD application.” USCIS referenced a
DHS advisory memorandum (“Healthcare / Public Health” section, pages 7-9) which lists critical healthcare occupations. The USCIS noted that an applicant will need to be prepared to provide evidence of profession or current employment as a healthcare worker to request the expedited processing. A request to expedite can be made by the applicant or his/her attorney by calling USCIS Contact Center at 800-375-5283 (TTY 800-767-1833).
For more information on USCIS and its programs, visit
uscis.gov.