Lost, Delayed or Incorrect EAD Card: What to Do and How It Affects Your Start Date

What an EAD is and why the physical card matters

Your Employment Authorization Document (EAD) is the photo ID card USCIS issues once your Form I-765 application for OPT or STEM OPT is approved. Your employer checks this card, not just your approval notice, to complete your Form I-9 on your first day. A missing, delayed, or wrong card blocks you from legally starting work even after USCIS approves your application, which is why the details below matter for your start date.

Lost, stolen, or damaged EAD

As of August 2026, if your Employment Authorization Document goes missing in the mail, gets stolen, or is damaged, file a new Form I-765 and pay the filing fee again to request a replacement.

Mark the form to show you request a replacement for a lost, stolen, or damaged card, following the process described on the USCIS Employment Authorization Document page . You do not start or continue working without the physical card in hand, since your employer needs to see it to complete your Form I-9.

A card with a USCIS mistake

If your EAD arrives with an error USCIS made, such as a misspelled name, wrong date of birth, or wrong country, request a free correction. Submit a service request through the USCIS website, select the option for an EAD replacement due to USCIS error, and explain the mistake with the correct information attached.

You do not refile Form I-765 or pay a new fee for this. USCIS asks you to mail back the incorrect card using USPS specifically, since other carriers do not deliver to the return address USCIS uses.

Delayed is not the same as lost

A card stuck in normal USCIS processing differs from a card that shipped and then disappeared in the mail. Check your case status through your USCIS online account first.

If your receipt shows the card as approved and mailed, give it a reasonable window past the normal delivery time before treating it as lost, since filing a duplicate I-765 for a card that later shows up wastes the new fee. If your case still shows as pending well past the normal processing window with no card produced yet, that is a processing delay, not a lost card, and the lost-card fee route is not the right move, contact USCIS or your DSO about the delay instead.

How long a replacement takes

Processing times for replacement and corrected EAD cards move around, and 2026 has seen wider delays across OPT and STEM OPT filings. Check the current estimate for your case type on the USCIS case processing times page before you plan a start date with an employer, rather than relying on a fixed number. Ask your DSO whether your school has recent experience with replacement timing, since staff see other students' cases move through the system.

What happens to your OPT start date

Your post-completion OPT period begins on the start date approved on your original EAD, not on the date the physical card reaches you. If your card is delayed and that approved start date already passed, the days between your approved start date and your actual first day of work count against your 90-day unemployment allowance, according to the Study in the States unemployment counter guidance . Work does not start without the card, so a mail delay eats into your unemployment days even though the delay is not your fault.

Tell your DSO as soon as you notice a card is lost, delayed past the normal window, or printed incorrectly. Your DSO advises on whether your specific unemployment days are at risk and helps you document the delay if you need to explain a gap later, such as during a change of status or a future visa application.

STEM OPT and card issues

The same lost, damaged, and USCIS-error rules apply to your STEM OPT extension EAD. A delay at the STEM OPT stage carries extra weight, since your unemployment allowance is shared across your initial OPT and your STEM extension, capped at 150 days total. Watch your combined unemployment count closely if a STEM OPT card is delayed and you already used unemployment days during your first 12 months.

Telling your employer about the delay

Share your I-765 receipt notice and your approved OPT dates with your employer as soon as you have them, even before the card arrives. Most employers recognize EAD delays as common and hold a start date open for a reasonable period once they see your receipt notice and understand the OPT timeline. A written record of when you told them, and why, protects both sides if your start date needs to move.

Before you request a replacement

• Confirm the card is genuinely lost, not simply delayed within a normal mailing window, by checking your USCIS online account status first.

• Keep a copy of your original approval notice, since you reference the receipt number on any new filing.

• Photograph or scan an incorrect card before mailing it back, in case you need to show the error later.

• Ask your employer, in writing, whether they hold your position while you wait, so you have a record of the delay if your unemployment days run close to the limit.