Losing an Employment Authorization Document does not necessarily end the underlying authorization, but it creates a documentation problem. A replacement generally requires Form I-765 under the appropriate eligibility category. Replacing a lost card is different from renewing an expired card or correcting an agency printing error. [1]
Prepare the replacement request
Identify the category on the prior card and confirm that you still qualify. Follow the current form instructions for the replacement reason, filing method, supporting evidence, and any applicable fee or waiver. An old fee schedule or another applicant’s category can produce an incorrect filing.
Useful records include a copy of the missing card, the original approval notice, identification, current address, and evidence establishing the underlying category. Describe the loss accurately. A police report may help document theft, but it is not a universal substitute for the immigration evidence required.
Keep the complete submission and receipt. If the card was mailed but never arrived, check delivery information and USCIS’s non-delivery process before assuming the situation is identical to losing a card already received.
Can you keep working?
Form I-9 receipt rules can allow a qualifying receipt for an application to replace a lost, stolen, or damaged document for a limited period. They do not make every receipt acceptable or cover an initial authorization request. The employer must apply the actual receipt rule and obtain the required replacement evidence afterward. [2]
A replacement filing does not create authorization beyond the period otherwise allowed. Likewise, renewal-related automatic-extension rules are separate and should not be assumed to apply to a replacement request.
Example and records checklist
Suppose an employee loses an unexpired EAD while moving. The employee should identify the current category and expiration, request the replacement, and ask the employer to evaluate the actual receipt under I-9 rules. Simply showing an old photograph is not automatically equivalent to an acceptable receipt or original document.
Record the replacement filing date and any employer follow-up deadline. If the replacement is delayed, seek guidance before that deadline rather than assuming the temporary evidence lasts indefinitely. International travel raises another question: an EAD alone is not a general reentry document, and replacing it does not replace a passport, visa, or advance parole.
Underlying categories differ: compare a marriage adjustment EAD with asylum-based work authorization. Travel and work evidence should be reviewed separately.
Primary sources
Sources checked: October 31, 2026.