USCIS Unveils 540-Day Extension For Immigrant Work Permits: Here’s The Scoop!

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced on Thursday the extension of certain immigrant work permits, including those from India. The USCIS issued a temporary final rule that automatically extends the validity period for Employment Authorization Documents (EADs). Effective April 8, the validity period will be extended from 180 days to 540 days.

Under the temporary change, two groups will receive the extended validity period: those who filed applications for Form I-765 on or after October 27, 2023, with the application still pending on April 8, 2024, and those who will file Form I-765 applications between April 8, 2024, and September 30, 2025.

This change aims to prevent the loss of employment status for EAD holders facing potential status loss by April 24, 2024. As a result of the temporary rule, qualifying immigrants will be able to retain their employment eligibility for an additional 360-day period until their EADs are renewed.

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USCIS Director Ur M. Jaddou said of the latest rule, “Over the last year, the USCIS workforce reduced processing times for most EAD categories, supporting an overall goal to improve work access to eligible individuals. However, we also received a record number of employment authorization applications, impacting our renewal mechanisms,” in a statement released Thursday.

“Temporarily lengthening the existing automatic extension up to 540 days will avoid lapses in employment authorizations. At the same time, this rule provides DHS with an additional window to consider long-term solutions by soliciting public comments, and identifying new strategies to ensure those noncitizens eligible for employment authorization can maintain that benefit,” Jaddou added.

The statement explained, “Since May 12, 2023 to March 13, 2024, DHS has removed or returned over 617,000 individuals, the vast majority of whom crossed the Southwest Border, including more than 97,000 individual family members. The majority of all individuals encountered at the southwest border over the past three years have been removed, returned, or expelled. Total removals and returns since mid-May exceed removals and returns in every full fiscal year since 2011.”

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