Is a Workers Permit and the Employment Authorization Document the same thing?

Question

Is a Workers Permit and the Employment Authorization Document the same thing?

Answer 1

No. An Employment Authorization Document is a form issued to people who qualify to accept employment in the U.S.

Not everyone who can legally work in the U.S. needs an EAD. Some visa classifications grant an alien authorization to work without needing an EAD. For example, a famous soccer player could come to the U.S. to play for a team and receive a P-1 visa.

When that soccer player is admitted at a port-of-entry, he is given form I-94 endorsed to show that he is a P-1 and how long he can stay. An alien in the P-1 classification does not need an EAD, so a P-1's "work permit" would be his I-94, not an EAD card.

So the term work permit is more or less a general term, and an EAD card would be a type of work permit. A green card is technically a work permit because people with valid green cards can work. They don't need an I-94 or an EAD card.