WASHINGTON— The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced a Temporary Final Rule (TFR) that increases the period of automatic extension of employment authorization and Employment Authorization Documents (EADs), available to certain EAD renewal applicants, up to 540 days. The increase, which will take effect immediately on May 4, 2022, will help prevent gaps in employment for noncitizens who have pending EAD renewal applications and ensure business continuity for U.S. employers.

“As USCIS works to address the backlog of EAD cases, the agency has determined that the current 180-day automatic extension of employment authorization is insufficient at this time,” said USCIS Director Ur M. Jaddou. . "This temporary rule will provide non-citizens eligible for the automatic extension the opportunity to maintain employment and provide critical support to their families, while preventing additional disruptions to American employers."

For several years, USCIS has been in a precarious financial situation that hindered the efficient completion of cases. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated these challenges in 2020, with a hiring freeze and threatened employee furloughs that led to workforce loss and severely reduced capabilities. In 2021, before USCIS could recover from these fiscal and operational impacts, there was a sudden and dramatic increase in EAD initial and renewal filings, as explained in detail in the TFR.

The TFR, which only applies to currently eligible EAD categories for an automatic extension of up to 180 days, will temporarily provide up to an additional 360 days of automatic extension (for a total of up to 540 days) to eligible applicants who have a pending Form I-765 renewal application timely filed during the 18 months after the publication of the TFR as USCIS works through pending cases that were exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic. This timeline will give USCIS an opportunity to address staffing shortages, implement additional efficiencies, and meet the target. recently announced by Director Jaddou to achieve a three-month cycle time for EAD applications (generally comparable to an average processing time of three months) by the end of fiscal year 2023. Effective October 27, 2023, automatic extensions of employment authorization and the validity of EADs will return to the period of up to 180 days for those eligible applicants who timely file Form I-765 renewal applications.

Noncitizens with a pending renewal application, whose automatic 180-day extension has expired, and whose EAD has expired, will be granted an additional period of employment authorization and EAD validity beginning May 4, 2022, with a duration of up to 540 days from the expiration date of their EAD, so they can resume employment if they are still within the automatic extension period of up to 540 days, and are eligible. Noncitizens with a pending renewal application still covered by the automatic 180-day extension will be granted an additional extension of up to 360 days, for a total of up to 540 days after the expiration of the current EAD. Noncitizens with a pending renewal application and a valid EAD on May 4, 2022, or who timely submit an EAD renewal application by October 27, 2023, will be granted an automatic extension of up to 540 days if your EAD expires before the renewal application is processed.

The automatic extension will generally end with notification of the denial of the renewal application or at the end of the period of up to 540 days (i.e., up to 540 days after the expiration date on the applicant's expired EAD), whichever occurs first. .

Certain non-citizens who are in the United States may file a Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, with USCIS to apply for employment authorization and an EAD. Certain noncitizens whose immigration status authorizes them to work in the United States without restrictions may also use Form I-765 to apply for an EAD showing such authorization.