EAD category code lookup.

How to read the code

USCIS’s Handbook for Employers (M-274) says the eligibility category is printed on the front of the card under “Category”, with the expiry date beside “Card Expires”. The code is a letter plus two digits, and it points to a paragraph of 8 CFR 274a.12, the regulation that lists who may work in the United States. USCIS’s own examples show the pattern: it describes C09 as an adjustment of status applicant under INA section 245, C08 as an asylum applicant with a pending application, A12 as Temporary Protected Status and C19 as a TPS applicant. Those are paragraphs (c)(9), (c)(8), (a)(12) and (c)(19). Drop the parentheses, put the letter first and pad a single digit with a zero, and you have the card code. Form I-765 uses the long form: applicants write something like “(c)(9)” as their eligibility category.

The three groups: A, B and C

A classes are authorized to work incident to status, with no employer limit: permanent residents, refugees, asylees, K-1 fiancé(e)s and similar. Several of these still carry an EAD as proof. For asylees the regulation says authorization is evidenced by an employment authorization document issued by USCIS. B classes may work only for a specific employer, such as H-1B or L-1 workers. USCIS’s Form I-765 instructions tell nonimmigrants authorized only for a specific employer under paragraph (b) not to file the form. C classes must apply. These are the groups with a Form I-765 filing and the ones most people mean when they say “my EAD category”.

Codes people ask about most

• C09, (c)(9): applicant for adjustment of status to permanent resident, meaning a pending Form I-485.
• C08, (c)(8): an asylum or withholding applicant whose case is undecided after the 150-day period, or who has been recommended for approval but not yet granted.
• A05, (a)(5): a person granted asylum.
• C03, (c)(3): F-1 students. Sub-paragraphs matter: (A) pre-completion practical training, (B) up to 12 months of post-completion OPT, (C) the 24-month OPT extension.
• C26, (c)(26): H-4 spouse of an H-1B worker who is eligible under 8 CFR 214.2(h)(9)(iv).
• A12 and C19: TPS granted versus TPS applicant.
• C11, C14, C33: parole for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit; deferred action with economic necessity; and DACA with economic necessity.
• C35 and C36: the principal beneficiary of an approved EB-1, EB-2 or EB-3 petition in the circumstances 8 CFR 204 describes, and that person’s spouse or child.

C09 versus C08

Both are pending-application categories, and they are easy to swap. C09 rests on a pending Form I-485; C08 rests on a pending Form I-589 asylum application. USCIS’s SAVE program notes that DHS can revoke or terminate employment authorization and invalidate C08 and C09 EADs when the underlying I-589 or I-485 is withdrawn, approved or denied. It adds that when an I-485 or I-589 is approved, the person becomes a permanent resident or asylee and is employment authorized incident to that status, even though the old C09 or C08 card is invalidated. So a C09 card is tied to a case, not to a permanent right to work.

The P suffix and renewal receipts

The Handbook notes that some codes on the card carry a trailing letter P, such as C09P, and tells employers to disregard the P when comparing the card with the Form I-797C receipt notice. The lookup does the same: it reads C09P as C09 and tells you it ignored the P. The Handbook also explains that, for renewals filed before 30 October 2025, a card could be extended for up to 540 days only if the category on the card matched the category on the I-797C receipt, and only for listed categories (A03, A05, A07, A08, A10, A17, A18, C08, C09, C10, C16, C20, C22, C24, C26, C31, plus TPS A12 and C19). For most renewals filed on or after 30 October 2025, it says no automatic extension applies unless the law or a Federal Register notice says otherwise.

A worked example (hypothetical dates)

Suppose a card shows category C09 and Card Expires 1 September 2025. The holder filed a renewal on 15 August 2025, before the card expired and before 30 October 2025, and the I-797C receipt also says C09. Both categories match and C09 is on the Handbook’s list, so the extension starts on 2 September 2025 and can run up to 540 days, to roughly the end of February 2027, or until USCIS decides the renewal, whichever comes first. Change one fact: if the renewal had been filed on 15 November 2025, the Handbook says the majority of renewals filed on or after 30 October 2025 do not get an automatic extension. Change another: if the card said C09 but the receipt said C08, the categories would not match and the extension rule would not apply. These dates are invented to show the reading, not a ruling on any case.

Common mistakes

• Reading the code as a visa class. C09 is an employment category, not a visa; visa symbols like F-1 or H-1B are a separate list.
• Dropping the sub-paragraph. C03 alone does not tell you whether the work is pre-completion training, 12-month OPT or the 24-month extension.
• Treating C09 as permanent. It follows the pending I-485.
• Letting the P suffix cause a false mismatch at renewal.
• Using a lookup instead of the card. The card’s own category line is what an employer compares with the receipt.

Where the card and the regulation disagree

Two codes do not line up neatly. USCIS’s Form I-765 instructions (edition 08/21/25) list (a)(17), spouse of an E-1, E-2 or E-3 worker, and (a)(18), spouse of an L-1 transferee, and the Handbook uses A17 and A18 the same way. The eCFR text of 8 CFR 274a.12 I read for this page (version dated 15 September 2026) shows (a)(17) and (a)(18) as [Reserved]. The Handbook also lists C31 among renewal categories without describing it, and (c)(31) is [Reserved] in the eCFR text. This page shows A17 and A18 with that warning and gives C31 no description. Check the current I-765 instructions before relying on any of the three.

Reference tables

Every A and C code the lookup knows, as of the eCFR version above. Paragraph (b) classes are not filed on Form I-765 and are not shown here; the lookup still recognises B codes such as B09 or B12 if you type them.

Who this is for

Workers and students reading their own card, HR and I-9 staff who see an unfamiliar category, university advisers, and family members helping someone fill in Form I-765.

What this page does not cover

• It does not check that a card is genuine, unexpired or still valid. USCIS and the card itself decide that.
• It does not say whether you are eligible for any category, how to fill in Form I-9, or what any fee or processing time is.
• It does not read a case file or look anything up in a government system. Nothing you type leaves this page.
• It is not legal advice. Talk to a licensed attorney or accredited representative about your case.