Form I-765 is the application for employment authorization (EAD) in the US, which can be filed online or on paper through the official USCIS website. Before filling it out, check the current form edition and the filing fee — they vary depending on the filing method and on whether the application is filed on its own or together with other forms. Below is a breakdown of the form fields in the order they are completed.
Fees and filing method
Form I-765 can be filed online or in paper form. Before filing, check on the form’s page which edition USCIS currently accepts — this is shown by the edition date on the form itself.
The filing fee is listed on the USCIS Fee Schedule page. At the time of preparing this material, a standalone online filing cost about 470 dollars, and a paper filing about 520 dollars. If I-765 is filed together with Form I-485 for change of status to permanent resident (green card), the fee is about 260 dollars. If the application is filed with children, a separate Form I-765 is completed for each child. The fee can be paid by card or from a bank account using Forms G-1450 or G-1650. Before filling out the form, read the Special Instructions section on the form’s page — it sometimes contains important information specific to your case.
Filling out begins with the Start Here mark: everything placed above it in the form does not need to be completed.
Information about you: personal data
In the Information about you block, enter your Family Name and Given Name. The Middle Name field is the second given name in the American format; a patronymic is not entered here. If there is no middle name, enter not applicable in this field using a PDF editor, but be careful — the system may copy this value into other documents.
Next is the question about names used previously. If your first or last name has changed, enter the previous version; if not, enter not applicable. The general rule for the whole form: fill in fields as completely as possible, and where there is no answer, enter not applicable — there should be no blank fields.
In the address block, the In care of name field is completed only if mail is received under someone else’s name. Then enter the street number and name, apartment number, city, state, and ZIP code. For the question of whether the mailing address matches the physical address, choose Yes and write Same as above if they match, or No with a separate address if they do not.
Other information about you
Item 8 asks for the Alien Registration Number (A-Number) — a nine-digit number. Next is the USCIS Online Account Number: it exists if documents were previously submitted through a USCIS online profile, and all forms filed through one account are linked to it for tracking. If there is no number, the field is left empty and later marked not applicable using a PDF editor.
Next, indicate marital status and answer whether Form I-765 was filed before — for initial permission to work, choose No. A Social Security Number, if you do not have one, is also marked not applicable using a PDF editor, as is the second citizenship field if you have only one citizenship.
In the Place of birth block, enter the city of birth (the region is not added) and the country of birth, and enter the date of birth in the month/day/year format.
Last entry to the US and eligibility category
The block on your last entry to the US asks for: the Form I-94 number, the number of the last passport used for entry (reproduce the capital letters exactly), a travel document if available, the country that issued the passport, and the passport’s expiration date. Next come the date of last entry to the US (month/day/year format), the port of entry, and the immigration status at the time of last entry — this information is usually shown on Form I-94. Your current status is also entered, if it has not yet been changed.
The SEVIS number field is completed by students and exchange program participants; in other cases, enter not applicable.
The eligibility category is determined on the USCIS website in the When to file section. For the case where I-765 is filed together with I-485 for change of status to permanent resident, category C09 is used: work is not permitted on a tourist visa, but when a tourist status is changed to permanent resident status through I-485, the right to work arises, so I-765 is filed at the same time. An I-485 can only be filed if there is a basis — for example, marriage to a US citizen; other cases for filing are listed in the same table on the USCIS website. Fields related to the eligibility category are completed where applicable, otherwise enter not applicable.
Statements, contacts and closing blocks
In Part 3 (Statements), select the item I can read and understand English — confirming the ability to read and understand English, to understand each question and answer, and to accept responsibility for the application. Next, enter the phone number (the main one is duplicated in the mobile field) and email; locked online fields are completed later using a PDF editor. The question about citizens of El Salvador or Guatemala is skipped if it does not apply to the applicant. In the certification section, enter today’s date in the month/day/year format and sign.
In the blocks for the interpreter and the person who prepared the form, if there are no such persons, enter not applicable in all fields.
On the last sheet (Additional Information), enter the Family Name, Given Name (Middle Name is skipped), and the A-Number given earlier in the form, using a PDF editor. After the online part is completed, save the form and then open it in a PDF editor to complete all fields that were locked during online filling.
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