'Even Marco Rubio was...': Any arrest may lead to work permit denial in the US under new proposal; Immigration lawyers urge caution

Immigration lawyers are urging caution over a new U.S. proposal that could significantly complicate work permit eligibility for migrant workers. The proposed regulation suggests that any arrest, regardless of conviction, could lead to the denial of an Employment Authorization Document (EAD).

This stringent rule would impact holders of OPT, STEM OPT, and H4 visas, but not H-1B visa holders who do not work on an EAD. Immigration attorney Emily Neumann emphasized that even minor arrests or those resulting from mistakes, where no crime was committed or guilt established, could now serve as grounds for EAD denial. She noted that August 4 is the deadline for public comments on the proposed rule.

Neumann stated, "Even if you are arrested for something, it does not have to be something major; it can be a reason for EAD denial. There are a lot of people who have arrests in their background who were not found guilty, who did not commit the crime." This contrasts with previous practices where convictions were typically the basis for such denials.

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Even if you are arrested for something, it does not have to be something major; it can be a reason for EAD denial. There are a lot of people who have arrests in their background who were not found guilty, who did not commit the crime.

Immigration attorney Rahul Reddy drew a parallel to a past arrest of Secretary of State Marco Rubio at age 18 for public drinking, an incident that surfaced during his political campaigns. While Rubio's campaign stated he was never taken into custody or hired a lawyer, Reddy pointed out that under the new proposal, such an arrest could now lead to EAD cancellation for visa holders.

The Department of Homeland Security's proposal aims to clarify and limit eligibility for discretionary employment authorization for various categories of non-citizens, including those paroled for humanitarian reasons, granted deferred action, or under an order of supervision. It specifies that applicants admitting to or arrested for certain criminal acts may not warrant a favorable exercise of discretion unless significant countervailing public interests exist.

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But such an arrest will get EADs canceled for visa holders now.