News Alert: USCIS Increases Automatic Extension of Work Permits from 180 to up to 540 days
Image by Francis MacDonald from Pixabay. On April 8, 2024, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) increased the automatic extension period for employment authorization and/or Employment Authorization Documents (EAD/”work permit”) to up to 540 days.
On April 4, 2024, The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced a temporary final rule (TFR) to increase the automatic extension period for certain employment authorization documents (EADs) from up to 180 days to up to 540 days, effective April 8, 2024.
What is the reason for this development?
The temporary measure announced today will prevent already work-authorized noncitizens from having their employment authorization and documentation lapse while waiting for USCIS to adjudicate their pending EAD renewal applications and better ensure continuity of operations for U.S. employers.
Absent this measure, nearly 800,000 EAD renewal applicants – including those eligible for employment authorization as asylees or asylum applicants, Temporary Protected Status (TPS) applicants or recipients, and green card applicants – would be in danger of experiencing a lapse in their employment authorization, and approximately 60,000 to 80,000 employers would be negatively impacted as a result of such a lapse. EADs are generally valid for the length of the authorized parole period. This TFR does not extend the length of parole.
Who will benefit from this temporary measure?
This temporary final rule will apply to two categories of EAD applicants:
Applicants who timely and properly filed their Form I-765 applications on or after Oct. 27, 2023, if the application is still pending on April 8, 2024; and
Applicants who timely and properly file their Form I-765 application on or after April 8, 2024 and on or before Sept. 30, 2025 (540 days after publication of this temporary final rule in the Federal Register).
Who qualifies for this extension?
You qualify for this extension if you:
Properly and timely filed Form I-765 for a renewal of your employment authorization and/or EAD before your current EAD expired (except certain applicants with Temporary Protected Status (TPS) or a pending TPS application), and
Are otherwise eligible for a renewal, which means that:
Your renewal application is under a category that is eligible for an automatic extension (see the list of categories below); and
The Category on your current EAD matches the “Class Requested” listed on your Form I-797C Notice of Action, Receipt Notice.
Categories Eligible for Automatic Extensions
The following employment eligible categories are eligible for an automatic extension:
(a)(3)Refugee
(a)(5)Asylee
(a)(7)N-8 or N-9
(a)(8)Citizen of Micronesia, Marshall Islands, or Palau
(a)(10)Withholding of Deportation or Removal Granted
(a)(12)Temporary Protected Status (TPS) Granted
(a)(17)Spouse of principal E nonimmigrant with an unexpired I-94 showing E (including E-1S, E-2S and E-3S) nonimmigrant status*
(a)(18)Spouse of principal L-1 Nonimmigrant with an unexpired I-94 showing L-2 (including L-2S) nonimmigrant status*
(c)(8)Asylum Application Pending(c)(9)Pending Adjustment of Status under Section 245 of the Act(c)(10)Suspension of Deportation Applicants (filed before April 1, 1997)
Cancellation of Removal Applicants Special Rule Cancellation of Removal Applicants Under NACARA(c)(16)Creation of Record (Adjustment Based on Continuous Residence Since January 1, 1972)
(c)(19)Pending initial application for TPS where USCIS determines applicant is prima facie eligible for TPS and can receive an EAD as a “temporary treatment benefit”.(c)(20)Section 210 Legalization (pending I-700)
(c)(22)Section 245A Legalization (pending I-687)(c)(24)LIFE Legalization
(c)(26)Spouses of certain H-1B principal nonimmigrants with an unexpired I-94 showing H-4 nonimmigrant status(c)(31)VAWA Self-Petitioners
* For more information on the options available to demonstrate employment authorization for E spouses and L spouses, see E-1 Treaty Traders page (Family of E-1 Treaty Traders and Employees section), E-2 Treaty Investors page (Family of E-2 Treaty Investors and Employees section), E-3 Certain Specialty Occupation Professions from Australia page (Family of E-3 Nonimmigrant Workers section), L-1A Intracompany Transferee Executive or Manager page (Family of L-1 Workers section), or L-1B Intracompany Transferee Specialized Knowledge page (Family of L-1 Workers section).
Who is not eligible for this automatic work permit extension?
F-1 students who have a pending STEM optional practical training (OPT) extension application are not eligible. If you file your STEM OPT extension application on time and your OPT period expires while your extension application is pending, USCIS will automatically extend your employment authorization for 180 days. This automatic 180-day extension ceases once USCIS adjudicates your STEM OPT extension application.
Likewise, certain Temporary Protected Status (TPS) beneficiaries/applicants cannot avail of this automatic extension. Only those with A12 or C19 category and a publication of a Federal Register notice extending the TPS designation of the individual’s country, if the Federal Register notice also authorizes an automatic extension of covered individuals’ existing EADs can they then avail of this temporary measure.
Read more about this development on the dedicated USCIS webpage about the Automatic Employment Authorization Extension.
If you are affected by this development and need help with your employment authorization application, please contact us. We are here to help. Follow us on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Tumblr, for up-to-date immigration news.
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