According to a USCIS Fact Sheet dated July 15, 2015, USCIS has taken the extraordinary step of recalling nearly 3,000 Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) erroneously issued to individuals in conjunction with their applications for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). USCIS approved and issued over one hundred thousand such EADs before a federal judge, on February 16, 2015, ordered a temporary halt to certain aspects of President Obama’s November 20, 2014 Executive Actions. As a result of the Texas v. United States court case, the court enjoined DHS from authorizing employment for periods in excess of two years.
In apparent violation of the injunction, USCIS approved and mailed approximately 2,100 EADs with three-year instead of two-year validity periods. Also after February 16, 2015, USCIS mistakenly re-mailed approximately 500 three-year EADs to individuals whose cards had been returned as undeliverable by the U.S. Postal Service. Prior to the Court’s order, USCIS approved and issued approximately 108,000 three-year EADs which are not in question.
According to the Fact Sheet, USCIS is now mailing notices to persons who received the erroneous three-year EADs after February 16, 2015 advising them that these EADs are not valid and that they must be returned to USCIS immediately under threat of termination of DACA benefits. As part of the collection effort, individuals in possession of three-year cards may also receive house visits from DHS. USCIS is also both updating their records to reflect two-year validity periods for these individuals and mailing corrected two-year replacement cards to them. Persons who received EADs with three-year validity periods before February 16, 2015 are not required to return their EADs.