The following chart lists, by COA code, non-immigrants authorized to work in the U.S.
without separate authorization from DHS. The alien's I-94 showing one of the following COAs
has employment authorization unless otherwise noted. Form I-94 will not have the DHS employment authorization stamp and the alien may not have an EAD.
The visa of the principal alien (an alien from whom another alien may derive lawful
status under immigration law or regulations) generally shows the basis for the visa,
e.g., “treaty trader” or an employer's name, while the visa of a spouse or child may show an annotation
that the person is a “dependent of
the p.a.” (p.a. means principal alien).
COAs with an asterisk (*) whether principal, spouse, or child will all have the same
classification code. Effective November 2021, DHS updated the COAs that, with limited
exceptions, the children of E-1, E-2, and E-3 principals may have a COA with an additional
Y (e.g. E-1Y, E-2Y, etc). The spouse while having the same classification (E-1, E-2,
etc.) status will be followed by a S (E-1S, E-2S, etc).
Documents issued prior to November 2021 and unexpired will still reflect the COA of
E-1, E-2, or E-3. There is no need to ask for the applicant to correct their I-94
as it is still correct if SAVE returns a work authorized status of E-1S, E-2S, E-3S,
E-1Y, E-2Y, or E-3Y. USCIS will not issue a new I-94 in this situation with the new
COA codes.
When all family members have the same COA, ask the SSN applicant if they are the family
member who is the principal alien, spouse, or the child of the principal alien.
For COAs displaying a double asterisk (**) (non-immigrant E-1, E-2, and L-2 classifications), the spouse is also authorized
to work without specific DHS authorization.
Effective November 2021, USCIS granted E-1, E-2, E-3, L-1, and spouses(L--2) work
authorization incident to status. I-94s issued prior to January 30, 2022, may reflect
the COAs of E-1, E-2, E-3, or L-2 and those spouses no longer must present a marriage
document (do not request the marriage document if the spouse does not have it) to
establish work authorization as spouses of E-1, E-2, E-3, and L-1 principles. If the
supplied I-94 was issued prior to January 30, 2022, then USCIS will not issue a new
I-94 to reflect the new E-1S, E-2S, E-3S, or L-2S COA; however, USCIS created a notice
for those spouses already here and who were given an E-1, E-2, E-3, or L-2 COA so
that the spouses could use the notice in combination with their I-94 as evidence of
employment authorization. USCIS mailed the notice with the new admission code to individuals
as of April 1, 2022 (direct the individuals to USCIS if they alleged that they did
not receive the notice).
|
Class of Admission
|
Description
|
|
A-1*
|
Ambassador, public minister, career diplomat, or consular officer (principal).
|
|
A-2*
|
Other foreign government official or employee (principal).
|
|
A-3*
|
Attendant, servant, or personal employee of principal A-1, or A-2 (principal).
|
|
CW1
|
Transitional worker (principal).
NOTE: Valid Only in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI). See RM 10210.684B.
|
|
E-1*
|
Treaty trader (principal).
|
|
E-1, E1S**
|
Spouse of principal E-1 or E1S.
|
|
E-2*
|
Treaty investor (principal)
|
|
E-2, E2S*
|
Spouse of principal E-2 or E2S.
|
|
E2C
|
Long-term business investor or foreign investor (principal).
|
|
E-3*
|
Certain specialty occupation professionals from Australia.
|
|
E-3, E3S
|
Spouse of certain specialty occupation professionals from Australia
|
|
E-3R
|
Returning E-3 principal alien.
|
|
F-1
|
Academic student for on-campus employment and DSO-authorized curricular practical
training. See RM 10211.240.
|
|
F-3
|
Canadian or Mexican national academic student who commutes to school in the U.S. DSO-authorized
for DSO authorized curricular practical training. See RM 10211.255.
|
|
G-1*
|
Resident representative of recognized foreign member government to an international
organization (principal).
|
|
G-2*
|
Other temporary representative of recognized foreign member government to an international
organization (principal).
|
|
G-3*
|
Representative of unrecognized or nonmember foreign government to an international
organization (principal).
|
|
G-4*
|
Representative of international organization (officer or employee) (principal).
|
|
G-5*
|
Attendant, servant, or personal employee of principal G-1, G-2, G-3, or G-4.
|
|
H-1B
|
Temporary worker in a specialty occupation.
|
|
H-1B1
|
Temporary worker in a specialty occupation(for nationals of Chile or Singapore).
|
|
H-2A
|
Agricultural worker.
|
|
H-2B
|
Non-agrarian seasonal worker.
|
|
H-3
|
Trainee.
|
|
I*
|
Foreign information media representative (principal).
|
|
J-1
|
Exchange visitor (pursuant to an approved program). See RM 10211.340. An exchange visitor whose DS-2019 shows the category as “student,” “student intern,” or “international visitor” in item 4 of the form must provide a letter from the program sponsor as evidence
of authority to work. Otherwise, presume the employment authorization is part of the
J-1's exchange program.
|
|
K-1
|
Fiancé(e) of U.S. citizen.
|
|
L-1
|
Intra-company transferee.
|
|
L-1A
|
Intra-company Transferee Managers and Executives.
|
|
L-1B
|
Intra-company Transferee Specialized Knowledge.
|
|
L-2, L2S**
|
Spouse of an intra-company transferee.
|
|
NATO-1 through 6*
NATO 1* through 6* may be reflected as N-1, N-2, N-3, N-4, N-5, or N-6 on the submitted
documentation.
|
NATO officer, representative, or personnel (principal).
|
|
NATO-7*
NATO 7* may be reflected as N-7 on the submitted documentation.
|
Attendant, servant, or personal employee of principal NATO-1 through 6 (principal).
|
|
O-1
|
Alien with extraordinary ability in sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics.
|
|
O-2
|
Alien accompanying O-1.
|
|
OAR
|
Parolee admitted under Operation Allies Welcome
|
|
P-1
|
Internationally recognized athlete or entertainer in an internationally recognized
group.
|
|
P1S
|
Internationally recognized athlete or entertainer support personnel
|
|
P-2
|
Artist or entertainer in an exchange program.
|
|
P2S
|
Artist or entertainer support personnel
|
|
P-3
|
Artist or entertainer in a culturally unique program.
|
|
P-3S
|
Essential support personnel
|
|
Q-1
|
Cultural exchange visitor.
|
|
R-1
|
Religious worker with a nonprofit religious organization.
|
|
T-1
|
Victim of severe form of trafficking.
NOTE: The applicant may possess an I-766, which shows “A-16” under Category; however, the
card is not needed.
|
|
TC
|
Professional businessperson, United States-Canada Free Trade Act (FTA).
|
|
TN
|
Professional businessperson from Canada or Mexico, North American Free Trade Agreement
(NAFTA).
|
|
TN-1
|
Professional businessperson from Canada, North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
|
|
TN-2
|
Professional businessperson from Mexico, North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
|
|
U-1
|
Victim of Certain Criminal Activity.
The applicant may possess an I-766, which shows “A-19” under Category; however, the
card is not needed.
|
|
U-2
|
Spouse of U-1.
The applicant may possess an I-766, which shows "A-20" under Category; however, the
card is not needed.
|
|
U-3
|
Child of U-1.
The applicant may possess an I-766, which shows "A-20" under Category; however, the
card is not needed.
|
|
U-4
|
Parent of U-1, if U-1 is under 21 years of age.
The applicant may possess an I-766, which shows "A-20" under Category; however, the
card is not needed.
|
|
U-5
|
Sibling of U-1. if U-1 is unmarried and under 18 years of age.
The applicant may possess an I-766, which shows "A-20" under Category; however, the
card is not needed.
|
|
UHP
|
Ukrainian Humanitarian Parolee admitted under Uniting for Ukraine.
|
|
V-1
|
Spouse of a permanent resident
The applicant may possess an I-766, which shows "A-15" under Category; however, the
card is not needed.
|
|
V-2
|
Child of a permanent resident
The applicant may possess an I-766, which shows "A-15" under Category; however, the
card is not needed.
|
|
V-3
|
Parent of a permanent resident
The applicant may possess an I-766, which shows "A-15" under Category; however, the
card is not needed.
|
|
Refugee
|
Alien admitted pursuant to section 207 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).
The I-766 shows “A-3” under Category.
|
|
Asylee
|
Asylee under 208 of the INA.
The I-766 shows “A-5” under Category.
|