EAD Codes (Employment Authorization Document Codes)

Employment Authorization Document Codes

The following chart contains many of the EAD category codes and the provisions of the federal regulations to which they refer. The category code, found on the face of the EAD (see image, below), refers to the section of 8 CFR 274a.12 that is the basis for issuing the EAD. For example, the alien

classification code “A03” refers to 8 CFR 274a.12(a)(3), which addresses refugees. The EAD Code Definition provides information regarding what categories of aliens or classes of admission (COA) fall under the particular EAD code.

I-766, Employment Authorization Document (EAD)

EAD Code	EAD Code Definition
A02	A lawful temporary resident pursuant to sections 245A or 210 of
	the INA
A03	Refugee
A04	Paroled as refugee
A05	Asylee (granted asylum)
A06	• K-1 nonimmigrant fiancé(e) of U.S. citizen (USC)
	• K-2 child of K-1
A07	• N-8 Parent of international organization employee granted
	permanent residence
	• N-9 Dependent Child of international organization employee
	granted permanent residence
A08	Citizen of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands or Palau admitted as a
	nonimmigrant
A09	• K-3 nonimmigrant spouse of USC
	• K-4 child of K-3
A10	Granted Withholding of Deportation or Removal

EAD Code	EAD Code Definition
A11	Deferred Enforced Departure (DED)
A12	Temporary Protected Status (TPS) granted under 8 CFR 244.12
A13	IMMACT Family Unity beneficiary
	(Section 301 of the Immigration Act of 1990)
A14	LIFE Act Family Unity beneficiary
	(Section 1504 of the Legal Immigrant Family Equity (LIFE) Act
	Amendments)
A15	• V-1 Spouse of Lawful Permanent Resident
	• V-2 Minor unmarried child of Lawful Permanent Resident
	• V-3 Minor unmarried child of V-1 or V-2
A16	T-1 nonimmigrant (victims of severe form of trafficking)
A17	• Spouse of E-1/E-2 Treaty Trader/Investor
	• Spouse of E-3 specialty occupation professional from
	Australia
A18	L-2 spouse of an L-1 intracompany transfer (L-1: Individuals in the
	U.S. who have been transferred from a subsidiary, affiliate, or
	branch office overseas to the U.S. to work in an executive,
	managerial or specialized knowledge capacity
A19	U-1 nonimmigrant (victims of certain criminal activity)
A20	• U-2 spouse of U-1 aliens
	• U-3 children of U-1 aliens
	• U-4 parents of minor U-1 aliens (16 or under)
	• U-5 unmarried sibling under age 18 of U-1 alien under age 21
C01	Dependent of A-1 or A-2 foreign government official
C02	Dependent of TECRO (Taipei Economic and Cultural
	Representative Office) E-1 nonimmigrant
C03A	Pre-completion OPT F-1 students
C03B	Post-completion OPT F-1 students
C03C	17 month extension for Science, Technology, Engineering, or
	Mathematics (STEM) OPT students
C03(ii)	F-1 student offered off-campus employment under the
	Sponsorship of Qualifying International Organization
C03(iii)	F-1 student seeking off-campus employment due to severe
	economic hardship
C04	Spouse or unmarried dependent child of G-1, G-3 or G-4
	nonimmigrant (Representative of International Organization and
	their dependents)
C05	J-2 spouse or minor child of a J-1 exchange visitor
C06	M-1 student seeking practical training after completing studies
C07	Dependent of NATO-1 through NATO-7 nonimmigrant
C08	Asylum applicant (w/ pending asylum application) who filed for
	asylum on or after January 4, 1995
C09	Adjustment of status applicant
C10	• Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act
	(NACARA) section 203 applicants Applicant for suspension of
	deportation
	• Applicant for cancellation of removal
C11	An alien paroled into the United States in the public interest or

EAD Code	EAD Code Definition
	temporarily for emergency reasons
C12	Spouse of an E-2 Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands
	(CNMI) investor; eligible for employment in the CNMI only
C14	Alien granted deferred action
C16	Registry applicant based on continuous residence since January
	1, 1972
C17(i)	B-1 nonimmigrant who is the personal or domestic servant of a
	nonimmigrant employer
C17(ii)	B-1 nonimmigrant domestic servant of a U.S. citizen
C17(iii)	B-1 nonimmigrant employed by foreign airline
C18	Alien with a final order of deportation/order of supervision;
C19	Temporary Protected Status applicant under 8 CFR 244.5
C20	Alien who has filed a completed legalization application for special
	agricultural workers
C22	Alien who has filed a completed legalization application under INA
	245A
C24	LIFE legalization applicant
C25	• T-2 spouse of T-1, victim of trafficking
	• T-3 child of T-1
	• T-4 parent of T-1 (if T-1 is under age 21)
C31	• Principal beneficiary of an approved VAWA self-petition
	• Qualified child of a beneficiary of an approved VAWA self-
	petition
C33	• An alien who has been granted Deferred Action for Childhood
	Arrivals (DACA)