Lost, stolen, damaged or wrong EAD card on OPT: what do you do?

Which situation are you in?

Sources: USCIS, Immigration Documents and How to Correct, Update, or Replace Them; USCIS, Employment Authorization Document. Fees from the USCIS fee schedule, Form G-1055, edition 10/16/26.

Replacing a lost, stolen or damaged EAD

USCIS says: "If you received your document and then it was lost, stolen, mutilated, or destroyed, you generally must file a new form and pay a new fee." For an EAD, its list is Form I-765, the fee, "The EAD (if it was damaged or mutilated)" and "A statement explaining what happened to the EAD" (USCIS, How to Correct, Update, or Replace). That list doesn't mention a police report.

• Reason for applying. In Part 1, choose Item 1.b: "Replacement of a lost, stolen, or damaged EAD, or correction of your EAD not due to USCIS error" (I-765 instructions, page 18).
• What every Form I-765 includes. The instructions' Required Documentation list has a copy of your I-94 (or passport or travel document), "A copy of your last EAD (front and back)," and two identical color passport-style photos. If you were never issued an EAD, you send a copy of a government-issued identity document instead (page 21).
• Fee. The fee schedule's general line "for initial, replacement, or renewal" EADs is $520 on paper and $470 online (G-1055, edition 10/16/26). Its $0 line for lost, stolen or damaged cards names other categories, such as refugees. The F-1 OPT categories, (c)(3)(A), (B) and (C), aren't on it. More on the fee: OPT application fee.
• Online or paper. USCIS lists the three OPT categories among the Form I-765 categories you can file online (USCIS, Forms Available to File Online).
• Edition. Under a September 14, 2026 court order, USCIS says it continues to accept the 08/21/25 edition of Form I-765 and is not accepting the 09/15/26 edition (USCIS, Form I-765).
• Where to mail it. Use the filing locations for Form I-765 for your category. USCIS changed the mailing locations on October 7, 2026, and accepts forms postmarked on or before November 9, 2026 that go to an earlier location (USCIS, Form I-765).
• Ask your DSO first. The official pages we checked don't say whether a replacement filing for an OPT card needs a new DSO recommendation or a new I-20. Your DSO can tell you what your school wants.

If USCIS receives a replacement request and "you no longer have any basis for applying for an EAD or employment authorization, we will not return the card" (USCIS, Employment Authorization Document).

If you lose it outside the United States

The USCIS Policy Manual says: "There is no process to seek a replacement EAD, including a combo card (employment and travel authorization documented on a single card), outside the United States" (Vol. 11, Pt. A, Ch. 3).

That matters for re-entry. The regulation lets an F-1 student with "an unexpired EAD issued for post-completion practical training" return to resume employment, and says "The EAD must be used in combination with a Form I-20" endorsed for reentry by the DSO within the last six months (8 CFR 214.2(f)(13)(ii)). If your card is lost abroad, contact your DSO before you book a return flight. Re-entry documents are covered in Travel on OPT.

If USCIS made the mistake on your card

The I-765 instructions define a replacement EAD to include one that "contains errors, such as a misspelled name" (page 1). When the error is USCIS's, USCIS says "we will make the appropriate correction at no additional cost to you," and you don't file a new Form I-765 or pay a fee (USCIS, Employment Authorization Document). There are two ways to ask:

1. Online, when no evidence is needed (for example, "a clear typographical error"). Submit a service request through e-Request, choose "EAD Replacement due to USCIS Error," explain the error and give the correct information. Then mail the card to USCIS's Lee's Summit Production Facility, at the address on the USCIS page.
2. By mail, when evidence is needed (for example, when "the error relates to the EAD's validity period"), or if you prefer mail. Send a letter explaining the error, your evidence and the card to the same address.

Either way, USCIS says you must use USPS to return the card; other carriers, such as UPS, FedEx and DHL, aren't available for that address (USCIS, Filing locations for Form I-765). USCIS says it takes about 30 days from the day it receives the card, not counting mail time. Keep your tracking number. If USCIS decides the error wasn't its own, it will tell you to use the regular (paid) process (USCIS, Employment Authorization Document).

When a new card arrives, check your name, date of birth, category and dates against your passport and approval notice right away.

If your card never arrived

USCIS says the card "should be produced within 2 weeks" of approval and is mailed by USPS Priority Mail. It asks you to "allow a total of 30 days from approval before inquiring with USCIS." Use Case Status Online to find the USPS tracking number. If the card still hasn't come, USCIS points you to e-Request (USCIS, Form I-765).

• Tracking. A USCIS online account shows the USPS tracking number when the card is mailed. USCIS also suggests USPS Informed Delivery and a mailbox labeled with your name (USCIS, How to Track Delivery).
• Tracking says delivered, but you don't have it. USCIS says to follow USPS's Find Missing Mail steps first. If that fails, contact the USCIS Contact Center (800-375-5283) or submit a case inquiry in the "did not receive card by mail" category (same page).
• Returned to USCIS. USCIS keeps returned cards "for 60 business days, or 12 weeks, before destroying them." Before destroying a card, staff check for a newer address and re-mail it if they find one (USCIS Policy Manual, Vol. 11, Pt. A, Ch. 3).

Whether you pay again depends on the reason. The Policy Manual's examples:

Source: USCIS Policy Manual, Vol. 11, Pt. A, Ch. 3. If the cause was your error, USCIS says to file Form I-765 with reason 1.b and the fee. If it was a USCIS or USPS error, you can submit an inquiry on non-delivery instead (USCIS, How to Correct, Update, or Replace).

Moving while you wait. USCIS says to update your address with USCIS and USPS "as soon as possible" if it changes after you file (USCIS, Form I-765). On F-1, telling your DSO within 10 days meets the DHS change-of-address rule (8 CFR 214.2(f)(17)). With a pending USCIS case, update the address with USCIS too (USCIS, How to Change Your Address).

Starting work, and the unemployment clock

• The regulation says "The student may not begin optional practical training until the date indicated on his or her employment authorization document, Form I-766" (8 CFR 214.2(f)(10)(ii)(A)). USCIS's employer handbook says F-1 students "must obtain an EAD from USCIS before they are authorized to work pursuant to OPT" (M-274, 7.4.2).
• SEVP's 2010 OPT guidance covers a student who never receives the approved EAD, when the card isn't returned to USCIS and the student applies for a replacement: "The 'clock' for unemployment starts after issuance of the replacement EAD by USCIS" (§7.1.7, SEVP Policy Guidance 1004-03). ICE says this guidance "remains in effect," except where its 17-month STEM content conflicts with the 2016 STEM rule (ICE, Practical Training). It is about a card that never arrived, not one you lost after you had it.
• EADly counts unemployment from the EAD start date you save, and it doesn't apply this exception, so in this situation EADly's count can be higher than the guidance's. If it applies to you, keep the replacement notice and ask your DSO how it will show in SEVIS. More on the count: How OPT unemployment days are counted.

If you changed your legal name

• Tell your DSO within 10 days. "A student must inform DHS and the DSO of any legal changes to the student's name or of any change of address, within 10 days of the change, in a manner prescribed by the school" (8 CFR 214.2(f)(17)). How name changes are reported on OPT is in the SEVP Portal guide.
• To get a card in your new name, USCIS says to send a new Form I-765 (reason 1.b), the fee, the EAD with the old information, a statement explaining the change, and supporting documents. Evidence of a name change can be "a court order, marriage certificate, divorce decree, or other vital document record" (USCIS, How to Correct, Update, or Replace). A change in your own information generally means paying the fee (same page).
• If you have a pending USCIS case, the same page says to send the change in response to a Request for Evidence or at an interview, or to upload it to an online account linked to that case.
• At work, your employer records a legal name change on Form I-9 (Supplement B). The handbook makes this required at reverification or rehire and recommends it otherwise. It also says employees "should record their legal name change with the SSA to avoid mismatches in E-Verify" (M-274, 6.3).

What your EAD dates mean while you wait

Here is what official sources say about the dates.

• When authorization starts. "Employment authorization will begin on the date requested or the date the employment authorization is adjudicated, whichever is later" (8 CFR 214.2(f)(11)(i)(D)). SEVP adds: "OPT authorization begins on the employment start date shown on the student's EAD" (§7.1.6, SEVP Policy Guidance 1004-03).
• A replacement doesn't move your dates. "USCIS approves a replacement EAD for the same validity dates and category as the original EAD" (USCIS Policy Manual, Vol. 10, Pt. A, Ch. 4). Waiting for a new card doesn't add time to your OPT.
• The card is evidence. The I-765 instructions call the EAD the card "issued as evidence that the holder is authorized to work in the United States" (page 1).

Apart from the Form I-9 receipt rule below, the official pages we checked say nothing more specific about working while a replacement for a lost card is pending. Ask your DSO and your employer. For a card that never arrived, see the start-of-work rule above.

What your employer can accept on Form I-9

• A receipt for a replacement. USCIS's employer handbook lists "A document that shows an employee applied to replace a lost, stolen, or damaged document" as an acceptable receipt. It is valid for "90 days from date of hire or, for reverification, 90 days from the date employment authorization expires." By the end of that period you show "The actual replacement document," or other acceptable documents (M-274, 4.4).
• Which receipt. Form I-797C, the Notice of Action USCIS mails you, "is an acceptable receipt to acknowledge that an application for a replacement EAD has been submitted." The confirmation receipt printed from the USCIS website "is not an acceptable receipt for a lost EAD" (USCIS, I-9 Central questions and answers).
• Timing. A new employee who chooses to present a receipt must do so within three business days after the first day of work. "Accepting a second receipt at the end of the initial receipt validity period is not permissible" (M-274, 4.4).
• How the 90 days are counted. If you start work on a Monday, the employer counts Tuesday as day 1 (USCIS, I-9 Central questions and answers).

For an OPT EAD, the handbook has the employer record the card's "Card Expires" date and reverify when the EAD expires (M-274, 7.4.2).

Keep copies before anything goes wrong

A replacement filing asks for a copy of your last EAD, front and back (I-765 instructions, page 21). The instructions also suggest you "print or save a copy of your completed application," and USCIS asks you to keep copies of supporting documents you send it (USCIS, Employment Authorization Document). It's worth saving:

• photos or scans of both sides of each EAD;
• the I-797 approval notice for each card, and the I-797C receipt for any replacement;
• each I-20 your DSO gave you;
• the USPS tracking number for each card, and for any card you mail back.

If you also lost your I-94, see the I-94 guide.

Keeping your EAD records in EADly

EADly is a private, local-first app for iPhone and Android that keeps these records on your phone:

• Document Vault: keep a scan of your EAD, encrypted on your device. EADly Free holds 1 file; EADly Plus has no file-count limit.
• EAD dates: save your EAD start and end dates and the date the card arrived. Your unemployment count and EAD expiry alerts use the dates you save.
• USCIS receipts: save receipt numbers and open USCIS Case Status Online from the app.

What it doesn't do: EADly doesn't file anything, check your case status for you, or contact USCIS or your DSO. It doesn't decide whether you may work. Get EADly on the App Store or Google Play. The download is free, and EADly Free saves every F-1 job (OPT, STEM OPT and CPT).

Common questions

Sources

All checked October 22, 2026 (PT). The date in brackets is the date each page showed.

• USCIS, Instructions for Form I-765: https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/forms/i-765instr.pdf [edition 08/21/25; checked October 22, 2026]
• USCIS, Form I-765 page (filing, delivery, court-order and filing-location alerts): https://www.uscis.gov/i-765 [last reviewed 10/07/2026; checked October 22, 2026]
• USCIS, Filing locations for Form I-765 ("Replacement for Card Error"): https://www.uscis.gov/i-765-addresses [last reviewed 10/07/2026; checked October 22, 2026]
• USCIS, Immigration Documents and How to Correct, Update, or Replace Them: https://www.uscis.gov/tools/uscis-tools-and-resources/immigration-documents-and-how-to-correct-update-or-replace-them [last reviewed 02/18/2025; checked October 22, 2026]
• USCIS, Employment Authorization Document: https://www.uscis.gov/green-card/green-card-processes-and-procedures/employment-authorization-document [last reviewed 10/30/2025; checked October 22, 2026]
• USCIS, Form G-1055 Fee Schedule (PDF): https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/forms/g-1055.pdf [edition 10/16/26; checked October 22, 2026]
• USCIS, Forms Available to File Online: https://www.uscis.gov/file-online/forms-available-to-file-online [checked October 22, 2026]
• USCIS, How to Track Delivery of Your Notice or Secure Identity Document (or Card): https://www.uscis.gov/forms/filing-guidance/how-to-track-delivery-of-your-notice-or-secure-identity-document-or-card [last reviewed 10/11/2024; checked October 22, 2026]
• USCIS Policy Manual, Vol. 11, Pt. A, Ch. 3, Reissuance of Secure Identity Documents: https://www.uscis.gov/policy-manual/volume-11-part-a-chapter-3 [current as of 10/02/2026; checked October 22, 2026]
• USCIS Policy Manual, Vol. 10, Pt. A, Ch. 4, Adjudication ("Validity Period for Replacements"): https://www.uscis.gov/policy-manual/volume-10-part-a-chapter-4 [current as of 10/02/2026; checked October 22, 2026]
• 8 CFR 214.2(f)(10)(ii)(A), (f)(11)(i)(D), (f)(13)(ii) and (f)(17), eCFR as of Sept 14, 2026: https://www.ecfr.gov/on/2026-09-14/title-8/chapter-I/subchapter-B/part-214/subpart-A/section-214.2 [checked October 22, 2026. We cite the Sept 14 version because USCIS says it is following the previous provisions after a court postponed the July 17, 2026 rule]
• USCIS, How to Change Your Address: https://www.uscis.gov/addresschange [checked October 22, 2026]
• USCIS, Handbook for Employers M-274, 4.4 Acceptable Receipts: https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-resources/handbook-for-employers-m-274/40-completing-section-2-employer-review-and-verification/44-acceptable-receipts [last reviewed 10/09/2024; checked October 22, 2026]
• USCIS, Handbook for Employers M-274, 6.3 Recording Changes of Name: https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-resources/handbook-for-employers-m-274/60-completing-supplement-b-reverification-and-rehire-of-form-i-9/63-recording-changes-of-name-and-other-identity-information-for-current-employees [last reviewed 08/07/2023; checked October 22, 2026]
• USCIS, Handbook for Employers M-274, 7.4.2 F-1 and M-1 Nonimmigrant Students: https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-resources/handbook-for-employers-m-274/70-evidence-of-employment-authorization-for-certain-categories/74-exchange-visitors-and-students/742-f-1-and-m-1-nonimmigrant-students [last reviewed 04/02/2025; checked October 22, 2026]
• USCIS, I-9 Central, Questions and Answers: https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-resources/questions-and-answers [last reviewed 12/02/2025; checked October 22, 2026]
• SEVP Policy Guidance 1004-03, Update to Optional Practical Training: https://www.ice.gov/doclib/sevis/pdf/opt_policy_guidance_042010.pdf [April 23, 2010; checked October 22, 2026]
• ICE, Practical Training: https://www.ice.gov/sevis/practical-training [updated 12/10/2024; checked October 22, 2026]

This article summarizes official U.S. government sources and is not legal or immigration advice. EADly is not a law firm and is not affiliated with USCIS, DHS or ICE.

More guides

• How to apply for OPTForm I-765, fees, documents and photos
• Travel on OPTDocuments for re-entry on OPT and STEM OPT
• I-94 guideGet, read, correct or replace your I-94
• How OPT unemployment days are countedBlog: edge cases, including a replacement EAD