On Monday, April 8, 2024, U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) published a Temporary Final Rule (TFR) in the Federal Register (89 FR 24628) that provides a temporary increase in the automatic extension period of employment authorization for certain Employment Authorization Document (EAD) applicants who apply for EAD renewal on a timely basis. The rule affects several EAD applicant classes, including H-4 spouses of certain H-1B nonimmigrants.
The rule is effective from the date of publication until September 30, 2025. In the TFR, USCIS finds that the current 180-day automatic extension under 8 CFR 274a.13(d) is inadequate to prevent approximately 800,000 EAD renewal applicants from losing employment authorization due to USCIS processing delays. USCIS notes that “Such widescale lapses in employment authorization and EAD validity would result in substantial and unnecessary harm.”
USCIS has therefore temporarily amended existing regulations to increase the automatic extension period to up to 540 days from the EAD expiration date. The increase will apply to any eligible renewal EAD applicant (1) with an application filed on or after October 27, 2023, and pending on or after April 8, 2024; or (2) who files a renewal EAD application during the 540-day period starting April 8, 2024 and ending September 30, 2025.
USCIS’ announcement of the TFR is available on the Newsroom page of its website. A list of affected EAD applicant classes is available on the Automatic EAD Extension page of its website. Jewell Stewart Pratt Beckerson & Carr will watch for developments related to this TFR and will post updates here as they occur.
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