EAD for L-2

[Emily975 11]

I know there have been a lot of topics about the EADs for non-immigrant visas, but right now, I am really really confused (and worried).

I came to the US six months ago and was told (by a lawyer, no less) that I don't 'necessarily' need an EAD to work in the US. The famous SSA RM (10211.420) agreed:

1. Aliens employment-authorized without specific DHS authorization

The following chart lists, by COA code, non-immigrants authorized to work in the U.S. without specific authorization from DHS. The alien’s I-94 showing one of the following COAs has employment authorization unless otherwise noted. The I-94 will not have the DHS employment authorization stamp and the alien will generally not have an EAD.

/.../

When the E-1, E-2, or L-2 spouse applies for an SSN card and does not submit an EAD as evidence of employment authorization, he or she must submit, in addition to evidence of lawful alien status, evidence of a marital relationship to the principal E-1, E-2, or L-1 alien. The evidence of marital relationship between the applicant and the principal E-1, E-2, or L-1 alien is a marriage document. The marriage document must indicate the marriage occurred, either: 1) prior to admission to the U.S. as an E-1, E-2, or L-2 non-immigrant; or, 2) prior to extension or change of status to an E-1, E-2 or L-2 non-immigrant.

/.../

Spouse of an intra-company transferee.

The alien must submit either:

• an EAD (Form I-766) showing “A-18” under Category; or

• evidence other than an EAD that proves the L-2’s lawful alien status (e.g., I-94) and a marriage document as evidence that he or she is the spouse of the principal L-1 alien.

So I didn't apply for the EAD, searched for a job, got it. Everything went well, until I had an interview with HR the first day of the job and they said I cannot work without EAD. And they don't care what the SSA says, since they don't provide work authorisations. The company that (tried) to hire me didn't say anything about requiring an EAD anywhere, so it all came as a shock to me. The main question here is - can I legally work without EAD (according to the rest of the internet (and my SSN card) I can't - but why does the SSA say I can?!) and how do I arrange it with the HR? And if I really need EAD is there a way to expedite it? I mean REALLY expedite (through a lawyer maybe), because otherwise they will just pass me and hire another candidate. And if this SSA document is not correct... then why...? Oh, so many questions.

Thank you for your answers.

[aussie_jason 195]

Does your SSC have any conditions printed on it? If not then you shouldn't require an EAD. Try doing a self check on e-verify and see what it says - http://www.uscis.gov/uscis-main-site/self-check if it says you are authorized then try presenting that to the employer and then they could also use E-verify to confirm the same.

[Emily975 11]

Ok, so maybe someone will find this useful.

Turns out, you DO need EAD if you are here on L2 visa (and want to work). It is true however that employer cannot demand EAD specifically - you need A document that establishes identity and A document that establishes employment authorisation. For L2 visa holders (and I guess almost all other visa holders) EAD is the only option though (see: http://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/files/form/i-9.pdf - last page).

So the company canceled their job offer (they needed someone ASAP) and I applied for and got EAD (it tok just over a month with one RFE). What's still bothering me however is the SSA web page and I simply cannot get them to explain why and on what grounds do they spread what is (obviously?) misinformation; especially since they really don't have anything to do with the employment authorisation.