Last year, on October 30, 2025, DHS published an Interim Final Rule (IFR) amending its regulations to end automatic extensions of the validity of employment authorization documents (EADs) for noncitizens who timely filed applications to renew their EADs in certain employment authorization categories. The Final Rule went into effect on October 14, 2026. Affected workers, including adjustment of status applicants and H-4 spouses, may be required to stop working if their current work authorization expires before USCIS approves the renewal.
DHS stated that ending automatic EAD extensions “enhances benefit integrity and prioritizes the proper vetting and screening of aliens before granting a new period of employment authorization and/or a new EAD.”
The IFR effectively ended the practice of automatically extending periods for employment authorization and/or EAD validity for up to 540 days for renewal applications filed on or after October 30, 2025. Under the Rule, an EAD renewal applicant’s work authorization expires and will not be resumed until USCIS approves their EAD renewal application, unless the noncitizen has work authorization incident to their status. The Final Rule does not impact the validity of EADs that were automatically extended prior to October 30, 2025.
Read the Final Rule here. Learn more about the Final Rule here.