The Department of Homeland Security has announced an interim final rule, ending its practice of automatic extension of employment authorization documents (EAD) for renewal applications in certain categories, including employment-based categories. With this new rule, individuals who timely file applications to renew their EAD on or after October 30th, 2025, will no longer receive an automatic extension of any duration of their EAD. This new rule does not impact EAD renewal applications filed before October 30th, and this is not expected to impact individuals currently on the 540-day extension.
Previously, individuals with EADs were eligible for a 540-day automatic extension of the expiration date printed on the EAD as long as they met the following requirements:
- The renewal application was timely filed;
- Their EAD category was eligible for an automatic extension; and
- The category on their current EAD matches the “Eligibility Category” or “Class Requested” listed on the receipt notice.
Categories that were eligible for an automatic extension for up to 540 days included:
- Applicants with pending applications for asylum or withholding of deportation or removal (C08);
- Applicants with pending adjustment of status applications (C09);
- H-4 spouses of certain H-1B principal nonimmigrants (C26).
The full list of categories is on USCIS’s website. On October 30, 2025, individuals with EADs in these categories will no longer be entitled to the automatic extension.
There are limited exceptions to this rule, which include extensions provided by law or through a Federal Register notice for TPS-related employment documentation.
USCIS’s press release reminds individuals seeking to timely file their EAD renewal application that they may file up to 180 days in advance of the EAD expiration.
Employers should remind employees who presented an EAD at least six months before it expires that they will need to reverify their employment authorization on or before the document’s expiration date.
It is worth noting that when an agency of the U.S. government intends to issue a new rule, the Administrative Procedures Act (APA) requires that agency to provide public notice and to solicit comments before issuing that rule. There are exceptions to this requirement when the agency can show that soliciting comments would be impractical, unnecessary, or contrary to the public interest. We can expect legal challenges to the sudden implementation of this rule without proper notice under the APA, and the Immigration Team of Nilan Johnson Lewis will continue to monitor developments and provide updates.
