The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has issued a Temporary Final Rule (TFR) that extends the automatic extension term for employment authorization and Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) to 540 days for certain EAD renewal applicants. The increase, which will take effect on May 4, 2022, will enable noncitizens with outstanding EAD renewal applications avoid job gaps and ensure the continuity of operations for U.S. firms.
“As USCIS works to address pending EAD caseloads, the agency has determined that the current 180-day automatic extension for employment authorization is currently insufficient,” said USCIS Director Ur M. Jaddou. “This temporary rule will provide those noncitizens otherwise eligible for the automatic extension an opportunity to maintain employment and provide critical support for their families, while avoiding further disruption for U.S. employers.”
USCIS has been in a fragile financial condition for numerous years, which has hampered the effective completion of caseloads. In addition to a hiring freeze and the prospect of furloughs, the COVID-19 pandemic compounded these issues in 2020, resulting in employee attrition and significantly limited capacity. There was a rapid and substantial surge in EAD initial and renewal files in 2021, before USCIS could recover from these budgetary and operational implications, as detailed in the TFR.
The TFR, which only applies to those EAD categories currently eligible for an automatic 180-day extension, will temporarily provide up to 360 days of additional automatic extension time (for a total of 540 days) to eligible applicants with a timely-filed Form I-765 renewal application pending during the 18-month period following publication of the TFR while USCIS works through pending caseloads exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. By the conclusion of FY23, USCIS will have had enough time to resolve personnel shortages, implement more efficiencies, and reach Director Jaddou’s previously declared objective of attaining a three-month cycle time for EAD applications (usually equivalent to a median three-month processing time). Automatic extensions of employment authorization and EAD validity will revert to a 180-day timeframe for qualified applicants who timely file Form I-765 renewal petitions beginning Oct. 27, 2023.
Noncitizens with a pending EAD renewal application whose 180-day immediate extension has expired and whose EAD has expired will be granted an additional period of employment authorization and EAD validity, beginning May 4, 2022 and lasting up to 540 days from the expiration date of their EAD, allowing them to resume employment if they are still within the up to 540-day automatic extension period and otherwise eligible. Noncitizens with a pending renewal application who are still protected by the 180-day automatic extension will be given an extra 360-day extension, for a total of 540 days after the current EAD expires. If their EAD expires before the renewal application is processed, noncitizens having a pending renewal application and a valid EAD on May 4, 2022, or who timely file an EAD renewal application by Oct. 27, 2023, will be allowed an automatic extension of up to 540 days.
The automatic extension will normally terminate when the applicant receives notification of a final decision on the renewal application or when the 540-day period (meaning up to 540 days after the applicant’s facially expired EAD) expires, whichever comes first.
