Plenty of people wait months for a work permit and never understand why the count is not moving. The answer is usually one thing: the clock is stopped. And more often than not, nobody ever told them what day it stopped or why.
Here is what most people do not know. On September 26, 2024, a federal court in the Western District of Washington approved a settlement in a case called Garcia Perez v. USCIS. That settlement changed how EOIR has to run the asylum clock, and it gives you concrete rights you can use even without a lawyer.
Check your asylum clock now, free Enter your A-Number and see how many days are on the clock, whether it is running or stopped, and your next hearing date. No account needed. Check my clockWhat the clock actually is
The asylum EAD clock is the 180-day waiting period before you can receive a work permit based on a pending asylum application. It is not a simple calendar count. It can stop and restart, and that is how people lose months without realizing it.
Most often the clock stops when a hearing is adjourned for a reason attributed to your side. Every adjournment carries a code. EOIR calls them Adjournment Codes, and those codes are what determine whether the clock keeps running or stops.
Three rights the settlement gives you
1. The judge has to say why the case was adjourned
Under the settlement, immigration judges must clearly articulate the reason for the adjournment on the record at the end of each hearing. They may also tell the parties whether the clock is running or stopped. That means you have a right to hear the reason at the time, not discover it six months later.
2. You can request your adjournment code history
If you appear without a lawyer (pro se), you can request a printout of your case-specific adjournment code history relating to the 180-day clock. You can ask orally or in writing.
- If you ask in person at the court, staff will provide the printout at the time of the request, absent exceptional circumstances.
- If you ask by phone or in writing, they must respond within 25 business days.
That printout is your preparation. It shows you exactly what day the clock stopped and which code was used.
3. You can ask them to correct it
If you believe the clock stopped for the wrong reason, you can file an asylum EAD clock correction request. You can do it in writing, or orally during a hearing. If you raise it orally, the immigration judge should address it on the record.
Where to send it
Where it goes depends on one thing: whether the case is on appeal.
Cases at the immigration court (not on appeal)
Address the request to the Court Administrator and send it to that court's designated asylum EAD clock email box, or mail it directly to the court. To find the email box, go to the EOIR page for finding your immigration court and look under Contact the Court.
Cases on appeal
If the case is on appeal, EOIR's Office of the General Counsel handles it.
- Asylum.Clock.OGC@usdoj.gov
- Mailing address
- Office of the General Counsel
Executive Office for Immigration Review
5107 Leesburg Pike, Suite 2600
Falls Church, VA 22041
Attention: Asylum EAD Clock Request - Clock information by phone
- 1-800-898-7180 or 304-625-2050 (TDD 800-828-1120)
How long they have to answer
For written correction requests, immigration courts and the Office of the General Counsel must respond in writing within 25 business days of receipt, absent exceptional circumstances. If your request is rejected or denied, they have to give you the reasoning.
Worth noting: 25 business days is not 25 calendar days. Count Monday through Friday only, skipping federal holidays. That works out to roughly five weeks.
Two changes that help a lot of people
A change of venue no longer stops the clock
It used to be that moving and having your case transferred to another court could stop the clock. Now, a granted change of venue no longer stops the asylum EAD clock in cases pending before EOIR. EOIR updated its decision codes to reflect that. If you moved and you see your clock stopped around that time, that is a solid reason to request a correction.
Unaccompanied children
For unaccompanied children, USCIS guidelines and policies control the clock. EOIR adjournment codes associated with the transfer of jurisdiction from EOIR to USCIS do not stop the clock in those cases.
What to do today
- Find out what state your clock is in. You can see it free with your A-Number on our asylum clock page, or call 1-800-898-7180.
- If it is stopped, request your adjournment code history from your court.
- Look at what day it stopped and why. Compare that against what actually happened at the hearing.
- If the reason is wrong, send the correction request to the right address, with your name, your A-Number, and your reason.
- Write down the date. Count 25 business days. If you hear nothing, follow up.
If you can talk to an immigration attorney or a DOJ accredited representative before you send it, do that. A well-written request does better than a rushed one.
Check your asylum clock now, free Enter your A-Number and see how many days are on the clock, whether it is running or stopped, and your next hearing date. No account needed. Check my clockOfficial sources
Every claim on this page comes from a U.S. government page. Click through and read it yourself.
- EOIR Fact Sheet: Garcia Perez Settlement, Asylum EAD Clock (April 2025)
- EOIR: Asylum EAD Clock Correction Requests
- EOIR Policy Memorandum 25-01: Asylum EAD Clock in Immigration Court Proceedings
- EOIR Policy Manual (Appendix O lists the adjournment codes), DOJ reorganised this tree in 2026; the direct Appendix O link no longer resolves, so this points at the manual root
- EOIR: Find an immigration court (Contact the Court)