Hi everyone,

I just received the approval for my I-765 Employment Authorization application yesterday, and my EAD is valid starting January 13th (as noted on the approval notice). My job’s start date is also January 13th. I applied for post-completion OPT.

The company will not ask me to show proof of work authorization until a couple of days after I start, so I was wondering: Am I legally allowed to begin working on the 13th since my EAD is valid from that date, even though I don’t yet have the physical card in hand? The approval notice says the following: Notice Type: Approval Notice Class: C03B Valid from 01/13/2025 to 01/12/2026

I’d appreciate any guidance or personal experiences you can share!