Shergill et al, v Mayorkas (21-cv-1296-RSM), a class action lawsuit, was filed by The American Immigration Lawyers Association (“AILA”) and its litigation partners Wasden Banias and Steven Brown, to address the extensive delays at United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) in processing Employment Authorization Document (EAD) applications for dependent spouses of H-1B and L nonimmigrant visa holders. On November 10, 2021, AILA announced a settlement had been reached with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in the Shergill case, under which USCIS agreed to allow continued work authorization for certain H-4 and L-2 EAD applicants whose applications remained pending with USCIS. USCIS reversed its policy that prevented H-4 spouses “from benefiting from automatic extension of their employment authorization during the pendency of standalone employment authorization document (EAD) applications.” USCIS also agreed to implement policy guidance within 120 days to provide work authorization for L-2 spouses without requiring an EAD card.

Since 1986, employers in the United States have been required to confirm work authorization and verify the identity of their employees whether they are US citizens or foreign nationals. To do so, employers and employees must complete the Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification—which has recently been revised and updated—within the first three business days of the commencement of employment. E-Verify, launched in 1997, was created to add another level of verification. E-Verify is a voluntary (for most) and free, Internet-based system that compares information from an employee's Form I-9 to data from the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Social Security Administration (SSA) records to confirm employment eligibility. Over 600,000 companies are currently enrolled in E-Verify with more than 1,400 new participating companies every week.