Updated October 14, 2026. Filing for a green card does not, by itself, give you permission to work or travel. Work authorization and travel authorization have separate requirements, even when the applications go in one package. Start with the I-485 adjustment of status guide for the green card process or the I-485 concurrent filing guide for package planning. (USCIS Form I-765, USCIS travel guidance)
is the combo card discontinued in 2026?
The current USCIS guidance reviewed for this update does not establish that combo cards were discontinued. USCIS still describes a combo card as employment and travel authorization documented on one card. There is no basis in those sources for saying that every applicant stopped receiving them in July 2025. (USCIS Policy Manual, volume 11, part A, chapter 3)
Check what your card authorizes. USCIS's original combo-card announcement explains that a card bearing “Serves as I-512 Advance Parole” documents both benefits, while separate EAD and advance parole documents may also be issued. That announcement is archived historical guidance. It does not promise that your applications will be approved together today. (USCIS combo-card announcement, archived)
Use this comparison when your documents arrive:
| What you received | Work authorization | Travel function |
|---|---|---|
| Unexpired EAD without an advance parole endorsement | Evidence of employment authorization | Does not establish advance parole |
| Unexpired EAD with an I-512 advance parole endorsement | Evidence of employment authorization | Also documents advance parole, subject to its terms |
| Separate Form I-512 or I-512L | Does not, by itself, establish employment authorization | Documents permission to request parole after travel |
| I-485, I-765, or I-131 receipt notice | Does not grant initial work authorization | Does not replace an approved travel document |
The distinction comes from USCIS's work-permit instructions, travel-document instructions, and combo-card explanation. Certain older renewal filings have separate extension rules, explained below.
An EAD approval does not mean your I-131 was approved. Check each case and the actual document. If the card says it is not valid for reentry, do not treat it as advance parole. Read the I-485 document checklist when organizing your records, but use USCIS's decision and document terms to establish what was granted. (USCIS Form I-131 instructions)
working while I-485 is pending: the I-485 EAD
You can work only if you have valid employment authorization. For many family-based and employment-based applicants adjusting under INA 245, the route is Form I-765 in category (c)(9). You may file it with Form I-485, or later with evidence that the adjustment application remains pending. Refugees and asylees adjusting under INA 209 generally use their refugee or asylee EAD categories instead. (USCIS Form I-765 instructions)
A pending I-765 is not initial permission to work. If you already have work authorization through another basis, such as qualifying H-1B employment, that authorization may allow you to keep working within its conditions while you wait. The adjustment-based permit is a separate basis for employment. (USCIS employment authorization categories)
what is needed for the work permit?
For a typical paper application, check these items against the current instructions:
- Form I-765: complete and sign it using the correct eligibility category.
- Pending-adjustment evidence: include the I-485 receipt or other required evidence when filing separately.
- Identity evidence: include your previous EAD, or the required government identity document if you have not had one.
- Photographs: follow the current photo requirements for your filing route.
- Payment: use the fee or exemption that applies to your own case.
These are starting points, and your category's own evidence requirements still apply. Each applicant seeking an EAD submits their own application; a spouse's card does not authorize your employment. (USCIS Form I-765 instructions)
When preparing the underlying green card application, Immiva's I-485 preparation turns your answers into the form and a supporting document list. That helps you organize the filing; USCIS decides whether to grant each benefit.
traveling while I-485 is pending: permission and risk
Most applicants must obtain advance parole before leaving. USCIS generally treats departure without the required travel authorization as abandonment of a pending I-485. Filing Form I-131, receiving its receipt, or expecting approval while you are abroad does not meet the requirement to obtain authorization first. Narrow exceptions apply to certain nonimmigrant classifications. (USCIS Form I-131 instructions, page 2)
Advance parole addresses the travel-document requirement. It does not guarantee that you will be allowed back. CBP makes a separate decision when you present yourself at the airport or border. The document also does not replace your passport. (USCIS travel guidance)
August 2026 warning: Matter of Delcarmen-Lara
On August 13, 2026, the Board of Immigration Appeals decided Matter of Delcarmen-Lara, 29 I&N Dec. 830. It overruled Matter of Arrabally and Yerrabelly and held that travel under advance parole counts as a departure for the ten-year unlawful-presence bar. USCIS's current alert applies the warning to the relevant three-year and ten-year bars. (DOJ decision, USCIS Form I-131 alert)
| Prior unlawful presence | Risk identified by USCIS |
|---|---|
| More than 180 days but less than one year during a single stay | A three-year bar may apply after a qualifying departure before removal proceedings begin |
| One year or more during a single stay | A ten-year bar may apply after departure or removal |
Statutory exceptions, the dates involved, and the person's immigration history matter. This table summarizes the warning, not a finding that a particular traveler is inadmissible. (USCIS unlawful presence guidance)
For example, someone who accumulated more than a year of unlawful presence before filing for adjustment should not assume that an approved travel document removes the departure risk. The I-485 after overstay guide covers the adjustment context; the travel decision needs review of the actual dates and any applicable exception or waiver. (USCIS unlawful presence guidance)
who may travel without advance parole?
The I-131 instructions identify limited exceptions for people remaining eligible and admissible in these classifications:
- H-1 workers and their H-4 dependents.
- L-1 workers and their L-2 dependents.
- K-3 spouses and K-4 children.
- V-1, V-2, and V-3 nonimmigrants.
The classification alone is not enough. You must satisfy the applicable return requirements, including the required valid visa unless an exemption applies. K-1, F-1, TN, and O-1 applicants should not assume they share these exceptions. See the I-485 from H-1B status guide for that category's context. (USCIS Form I-131 instructions, page 2)
check these before departure
- Authorization: confirm the document covers the planned travel and return.
- Original documents: keep your passport and approved travel document available, with copies stored separately.
- Personal risks: review prior unlawful presence, removal history, criminal issues, and any restrictions affecting your return.
- Pending case: arrange to receive USCIS notices and attend required appointments.
- Return inspection: expect CBP to decide whether to parole you into the United States.
USCIS warns that advance parole can be revoked and that missed notices can affect the pending application. Its I-131 instructions explain these risks. If time is short, the I-485 expedite request guide explains the broader urgency criteria; an emergency does not itself authorize departure.
fees and filing the work and travel applications
Filing together does not make both applications free. For a typical fee-paid I-485 filed on or after April 1, 2024 that remains pending, USCIS lists these amounts in the October 7, 2026 fee schedule:
| Application | Paper filing | Online filing, when available |
|---|---|---|
| Form I-765 based on the qualifying pending I-485 | $260 | $260 |
| Form I-131 for advance parole | $630 | $580 |
These amounts are separate from the I-485 filing fee. Special exemptions can change the total. Applicants who paid the required I-485 fee for a filing from July 30, 2007 through March 31, 2024, and whose cases remain pending, generally retain the listed I-765 and I-131 filing-fee exemptions. (USCIS fee schedule, appendices B and C)
Do not automatically add the separate Immigration Parole Fee to every adjustment applicant's travel budget. The schedule includes an exception for a lawful INA 245 adjustment applicant returning after temporary travel abroad. Check whether the exception applies to your circumstances. The I-485 cost and filing fee guide puts these items in the wider application budget. (USCIS fee schedule, pages 47-49)
Check your filing route before submitting. USCIS currently permits an online pending-I-485 advance parole request under Part 1, box 5.A when the I-485 receipt begins with IOE. It also describes concurrent uploads with eligible online I-485 packages. Other routes have different instructions; do not select an incorrect category just to enable online filing. (USCIS Form I-131)
For paper filings, use the current address linked from the form page. USCIS changed filing locations for these forms on October 7, 2026. The step-by-step I-485 filing guide helps with package planning, but the official form page controls where to send it. (USCIS Form I-485, USCIS Form I-765, USCIS Form I-131)
I-485 EAD processing times, validity, and renewal in 2026
Do not plan work or travel around a single “combo card processing time.” The EAD and advance parole requests are separate benefits. Check the form and category that apply to each request in the USCIS processing times tool. An estimate is not approval or permission to start work or leave. (USCIS Form I-765, USCIS Form I-131)
EAD validity: up to 18 months
Current USCIS policy lists a maximum 18-month validity period for initial and renewal category (c)(9) EADs. The December 2025 policy applies to covered requests pending or filed on or after December 5, 2025. Use your card's actual dates; do not assume an older five-year description governs a new application. Check an already issued card against its printed expiration and any separate USCIS notice. (USCIS Policy Manual, volume 10, part A, chapter 4, policy alert PA-2025-27)
renewal receipts: check the filing date
USCIS says EAD renewal applications filed on or after October 30, 2025 no longer receive the general automatic extension. Certain extensions provided by law or TPS notices are exceptions. Eligible earlier renewal filings may still have an extension under the rules that applied to them. (USCIS automatic extension guidance)
USCIS generally recommends filing a renewal up to 180 days before expiration. A new receipt alone does not keep a covered 2026 adjustment-based permit valid after expiration. If you have no other valid employment authorization, you must stop working when authorization ends. Check your own dates rather than using another person's timeline. (USCIS Form I-765, USCIS automatic extension guidance)
Track the separate cases using the EAD application status guide. Keep the EAD expiration, travel-document expiration, and I-485 milestones in separate reminders. If you are still preparing the application, Immiva's I-485 preparation provides the form and document list, with checks shown before payment.
your next step
Check the wording and expiration dates on your I-485 EAD and travel document before making plans. Confirm permission to work separately from permission to travel. If your history includes unlawful presence or removal issues, have the travel risk reviewed before departure. (USCIS work guidance, USCIS travel alert)