C I S

February 2015

Government Data Reveal

5.5 Million New Work Permits Issued Since 2009
By Jessica M. Vaughan

overnment data reveal that more than 5.5 million new work permits were issued to aliens from 2009 to
2014, above and beyond the number of new green card and temporary worker admissions in those years.
This is a huge parallel immigrant work authorization system outside the limits set by Congress that inevitably impacts opportunities for U.S. workers, damages the integrity of the immigration system, and encourages
illegal immigration.
Approximately 1.8 million new work permits were issued to aliens with temporary visas or those who entered
under the Visa Waiver Program. Of these, about 1.2 million (67 percent) had a visa status for which employment
is not authorized by law. For example, more than 470,000 work permits were issued to aliens on tourist visas and
532,000 were issued to foreign students. More than 156,000 were issued to dependents of students and guestworkers, all in categories not authorized for employment by law.
In addition, 963,000 new work permits were issued to aliens who have been granted permanent status or have a
status that will lead to a green card. These are primarily refugees (418,000), fiancs of U.S. citizens (164,000), and
approved asylum applicants (174,000).
About 982,000 new work permits were issued in this time period to illegal aliens or aliens unqualified for admission. Of these, 957,000 were aliens who crossed the border illegally (Entered Without Inspection). Inexplicably,
1,200 new work permits were issued to aliens who were denied asylum, were suspected of using fraudulent documents, were stowaways, or were refused at a port of entry.
A huge number of work permits, 1.7 million, were issued to aliens whose status was unknown, not recorded by
the adjudicator, or not disclosed by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the agency that processes
the applications. This should be a concern; work permits are gateway documents to drivers licenses and other
benefits, and if the government agency issuing them does not know or will not disclose how the bearer arrived in
the country how can others rely on the authenticity of an individuals identity? It is equally disconcerting if the
government does know and chooses not to disclose it.
These statistics were obtained from USCIS in a Freedom of Information Act request. Status classifications are
based on information from the application that is entered into USCIS databases. The agency chose to provide the
data according to classifications that prevent computing the number of deferred action-based applications, illegal
aliens who are in deportation proceedings, asylum applicants whose cases are pending, or aliens whose green
card applications are not yet approved. It is likely that these case types are found in the categories of EWI and
Unknown/Not Reported. The figures reported here include only new work permits, not counting renewal or
replacement cards issued.
These statistics indicate that the executive branch is operating a huge parallel immigrant work authorization
system outside the bounds of the laws and limits written by Congress. It inevitably reduces job opportunities for
Americans. In addition, allowing work permits to be issued to illegal aliens and temporary visitors damages the
integrity of the legal immigration system and encourages illegal immigration. Congress has an opportunity this
week to prevent the issuance of the next five million work permits if it votes to withhold funds for USCIS to implement President Obamas executive action plans.
Jessica M. Vaughan is director of policy studies at the Center for Immigration Studies.
Fax 202.466.8076
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1

Center for Immigration Studies

Table 1. EADs, 2009-2014, Summary by Class

Temporary Categories
Diplomats/employees
Business Visitor (includes domestics)
Tourist*
Bering Strait Entry*
Transit Status*
Crew*
Treaty Traders/Investors/Workers
Students*
Dependents of Students*
International Organization Staff
Temporary Worker (H)
Dependents of Temporary Workers*
Foreign Journalists
Exchange Students and Workers
Dependents of Exchange Students/Workers*
Intracompany Transferees and Family
Vocational Students*
NATO Staff and Families
Workers of Extraordinary Ability
Extraordinary Workers Family*
Artists and Entertainers
Family of Artists and Entertainers*
Cultural Exchange Workers
Religious Workers
Witnesses and Informants
Trafficking Victims and Families
Trade Agreement Workers
Trade Agreement Worker Families*
Visa Waiver*

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

Total

1,845
10,597
54,495
9
596
67
4,735
68,220
2,501
1,837
22,178
9,271
98
8,294
4,762
21,529
279
243
1,459
736
843
108
144
5,601
11
208
297
274
4,258

1,816
11,237
58,662
8
719
63
5,041
68,891
2,710
1,956
25,833
11,382
110
8,931
4,601
21,317
325
161
1,543
676
967
147
126
4,126
4
236
319
313
4,327

1,968
8,562
57,187
4
607
60
5,085
72,129
2,648
2,099
27,683
13,492
98
8,891
4,849
23,713
303
98
1,433
517
911
116
112
2,578
14
468
315
343
4,194

1,934
8,287
72,425
7
644
59
5,811
78,396
3,273
1,939
57,110
31,268
89
9,321
5,190
27,875
369
110
1,604
617
1,021
174
114
2,976
14
539
359
527
4,605

2,197
8,240
100,261
1
717
62
7,469
96,683
3,498
2,077
34,658
19,279
149
9,582
5,748
29,477
435
95
1,887
704
1,047
247
99
2,621
9
668
281
550
5,928

2,364
8,992
126,998
12
662
89
7,541
147,373
3,667
2,242
40,183
21,972
127
10,970
6,290
34,812
584
169
2,087
876
1,084
176
117
2,548
6
887
333
670
5,964

12,124
55,915
470,028
41
3,945
400
35,682
531,692
18,297
12,150
207,645
106,664
671
55,986
31,440
158,723
2,295
876
10,013
4,126
5,873
968
712
20,450
58
3,006
1,904
2,677
29,266

Permanent or Pre-Permanent Categories

Battered Spouse or Child
Approved Asylum
Special or Replacement Agricultural Workers
Employment Immigrant
Other Immigrant
Refugees
Crime Victims and Families
Family Green Card Waiting List (V)
Fiancees (K)
Family Unity Program
Permanent Resident

220
31,479
7
5
175
75,836
55
1,211
29,111
15
24,068

185
34,462
14
3
293
76,481
348
1,055
30,299
11
24,989

70
23,966
51
3
300
59,806
873
795
23,516
24
27,757

151
28,760
35
11
726
60,505
1,027
646
25,227
21
30,536

135
28,779
17
2
1,057
72,736
1,672
618
22,873
24
40,762

322
26,863
25
12
369
72,316
2,514
440
32,926
18
43,833

1,083
174,309
149
36
2,920
417,680
6,489
4,765
163,952
113
191,945

Illegal or Ineligible Aliens*

Parolees
Entered Without Inspection
Denied Asylum
Suspected Document Fraud
Stowaway
Withdrew Application for Admission

3,162
68,374
10
1
64
18

3,652
87,094
6
3
334
7

3,175
86,944
5
3
103
16

4,155
182,097
8
18
162
26

4,589
374,517
3
19
277
32

4,482
158,194
4
5
59
17

23,215
957,220
36
49
999
116

15
16
54
5

1
10
22
146
2
3

3
25
42
82
1
3

23
21
37
71
11

31
28
44
56
2
2

87
11
22
57
1
8

145
110
183
466
6
32

Unknown or Unreported

228,146

275,210

268,545

300,993

381,164

258,569

1,712,631

Total

690,459

773,940

739,414

955,234

1,267,553

Special Categories
Northern Marianas
Federated States of Micronesia
CNMI (Palau)
Pacific Islanders
Temporary Protected Status
Employment Advisory Opinion

1,034,968 5,461,568

Source: USCIS
* Denotes categories of aliens not originally admitted for employment or unqualified for admission.