The United States grants nonimmigrant visas (“NIV”) to Treaty Traders and Investors and Intracompany Transferees. Those persons are permitted to work in the United States and, beginning November 12, 2021, their spouses were entitled to work as well.
Treaty Traders and Investors are classified as “E Visa Holders,” which is to say that their Classes of Admission (COA) are E-1, E-2, and E-3. Intracompany Transferees are classified as “L Visa Holders” and their COA is L-1. Since January 30, 2022, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) have been issuing Forms I-94, Arrival – Departure Record Cards (“I-94”) with special COA codes for the spouses of E and L Visa Holders.
These E-1S, E-2S, E-3S, and L2S COAs appear on Form I-94s issued after January 30, 2022 so that employers can differentiate between spouses who are permitted to work and those who are not.
Additionally, USCIS will begin mailing new I-94s so those E and L spouses who are twenty-one years old or older and who have an unexpired I-94, issued before January 30, 2022. The notice, along with the unexpired I-94, will serve as evidence of employment authorization. (If this notice is not received by April 30, 2022, it can be requested via email at E-L-married-U21@uscis.dhs.gov.
For employers, this is important information because the I-94s or I-94s + Notices are Class C documents, demonstrating employment authorization for Form I-9 purposes.
For documentation of all references herein, please see https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/policy-manual-updates/20220318-EmploymentAuthorization.pdf .)
The Green and Spiegel compliance and enforcement practice follows these matters closely and we will continue to update our blog and provide E-Alerts to advise on the latest developments. We have the experience and capacity to serve client compliance interests well. If your company wants help with such matters, please contact our Corporate Compliance Practice. You can also call or text me directly at 484-645-4194 or email me at dspaulding@gands-us.com.
DISCLAIMER: Please note, nothing we post here is legal advice, nor does reading anything we write or communicating with us on or through social media form an attorney/client relationship between us. Choosing an attorney is a serious matter and should not be based solely or primarily on advertising or any other public communication of an attorney or law firm.
