On Oct. 14, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services published a final rule that ends the automatic extension of Employment Authorization Documents for foreign nationals who file renewal applications based on certain employment categories. The final rule, originally issued as an interim final rule Oct. 30, 2025, reverses a regulation published in December 2024 that provided for the automatic extension of work permits by up to 540 days if the recipients filed applications for renewal before their expiration. The 2024 rule was aimed at preventing gaps in employment eligibility as renewal applications continue to face lengthy bureaucratic processing backlogs at USCIS. For covered categories, work permits will no longer be automatically renewed beyond their expiration date.
Under the final rule, if an individual received an extension of a work permit on or before Oct. 29, 2025, that extension remains valid. Individuals applying for renewal on or after Oct. 30, 2025, will not receive an automatic 540-day extension. If the renewal application is not processed before the work permit expires and the individual does not have another form of employment authorization, the work permit will terminate on its listed expiration date. The rule applies to renewals of work authorization for green card, H-4 visa and asylum applicants but does not include renewals of permits related to Temporary Protected Status. USCIS says the policy is aimed at prioritizing vetting and screening of noncitizens above preventing gaps in employment authorization.
