Roadside view of Hispanic workers picking tulips at a Skagit Valley farm in Washington State on May 30, 2005. Image for illustration purposes only. (Credit: Getty Images)

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Dan GoodingBillal Rahman

By Dan Gooding and Billal Rahman

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The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is moving to end the automatic extension of certain immigrant work permits, even if they have filed their new paperwork on time.

In a Federal Register filing Wednesday, the department said that it intended to cancel the current 540-day buffer given to refugees, asylees and spouses of certain other visa holders when they file for an Employment Authorization Document (EAD) renewal, as well as green-card applicants.

DHS said it was making the move to ensure national security, but admitted this could leave some immigrants out of work.

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"If USCIS [United States Citizenship and Immigration Services] is so worried about security, rather than abruptly ending the automatic extension, they could rededicate themselves to efficient processing," Elissa Taub, an immigration attorney with Siskind Susser in Memphis, Tennessee, told Newsweek.

Why It Matters

The Trump administration's announcement marks another undoing of a Biden-era policy that sought to protect immigrants who were between USCIS decisions, under the reasoning that national security was being compromised. Hundreds of thousands of EAD renewal applicants each year could be affected by the move, including those waiting for green cards.

Roadside view of Hispanic workers picking tulips at a Skagit Valley farm in Washington state on May 30, 2005. (Credit: Getty Images)

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DHS Ends Automatic Extension of Employment Authorization: What to Know

EADs allow immigrants to work legally in the U.S. and are granted for a certain period of time. Once they lapse, immigrants have to apply for a renewed document.

Under the current rules, first floated by the Biden administration's DHS in 2022 and fully enacted in late 2024, EAD cardholders applying for renewals are automatically granted an extension of their current card for up to 540 days to allow immigrants to continue legally working and give USCIS time to decide on cases.

After the new rule is implemented, slated for Thursday, October 30, the extensions will not be given and immigrants whose work permits lapse will not be able to legally work until USCIS makes a decision.

Are Green Card Applicants, H-4 Visa Holders Affected?

Some of those affected by the rule changes are:

This means some H-4 holders, those who are spouses of H-1B visa holders, are impacted, as are the spouses of other immigrants in the U.S. on work-based visas.

Green card applicants who apply for EADs while their permanent residency application is pending will also be affected.

There are some exceptions, including those with existing automatic extensions, and those with TPS who are granted extensions under different DHS rules.

Why Is DHS Ending Automatic Extension of Employment Authorization?

DHS acknowledged in its filing that immigrants whose EADs lapse could be left without the ability to work but argued that it was a necessary price for ensuring national security, despite these individuals having already been vetted for entry into the U.S. and for work permits.

Vetting will include more background and criminal checks, an immigration status review and potentially recollecting biometrics data, like fingerprints and photos.

Each year, anywhere between 293,000 and 450,000 people apply for EAD extensions, the filing said in referring to the previous 2024 plan for automatic extensions. USCIS receives about 52,800 applications every month and processes about 49,000.

What People Are Saying

Immigration attorney Elissa Taub told Newsweek on Wednesday: "USCIS issued this interim final rule with no warning so that individuals and their employers cannot plan for the future. To me, this is yet another indication that this administration does not want to facilitate immigration to the US or make the process smoother or more efficient.

"They are looking to make life more difficult, not only for the people who need the work authorization but also for American companies who rely on the expertise and diligence provided by individuals who need these cards to continue working."

Claire McNulty, a former ICE and USCIS staffer, told Newsweek: "It's large swaths of people who are going to be losing employment authorization because there are cases in process and they're coming out of the workforce, and probably with TPS ending and more and more people who were working and supporting the U.S. economy in positive ways, no longer being able to do that, I can only imagine continued economic downturn."

AFL-CIO Director of Immigration Policy Shannon Lederer, in a statement to Newsweek: “When the government strips people of their ability to work simply because of bureaucratic delays, it pulls the rug out from under working families and destabilizes key industries. The administration continues to play political games with people’s lives and livelihoods — and America’s unions will keep fighting for a fair and functional system that protects every worker.”

USCIS Director Joseph Edlow, in a press release: “USCIS is placing a renewed emphasis on robust alien screening and vetting, eliminating policies the former administration implemented that prioritized aliens’ convenience ahead of Americans’ safety and security.

"It’s a commonsense measure to ensure appropriate vetting and screening has been completed before an alien’s employment authorization or documentation is extended. All aliens must remember that working in the United States is a privilege, not a right.”

What Happens Next

The new rule takes effect Thursday. USCIS said it believes that with fewer people being granted visas and work permits, officers will have a reduced workload and be able to process renewals quickly but admitted that delays will persist.

Update 10/29/25, 11:25 a.m. ET: This story was updated with additional information and the headline was changed for clarity.

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