U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced a temporary final rule automatically extending the validity period for Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) from 180 days to 540 days, effective April 8, 2024. Specifically, two groups receive the extended validity period. First, individuals who timely filed their Form I-765 applications on or after Oct. 27, 2023, are eligible if the application is still pending on April 8, 2024. In addition, those who timely and properly file their Form I-765 application between April 8, 2024 and Sept. 30, 2025, receive the extended validity period.

This change avoids the loss of employment status for hundreds of thousands of EAD holders facing a potential April 24, 2024, loss of status. Continued employment eligibility is available for qualifying immigrants with EADs that expired since October 27, 2023. As a result, employment eligibility is continued for a minimum of an additional 360 days while EAD renewals are processed.

Asylum seekers and foreign nationals in the process of changing their status are most likely to be affected by this change. Up to 800,000 immigrants are at risk of losing their employment status prior to the new rule, according to USCIS.

This is the second time the Biden administration enacted an extension to employment authorization to 540 days. Previously, a 2022 extension that lapsed on October 27, 2023 was enacted. The standard 180-day grace period then resumed. The same group of immigrants are included in this announcement as in the 2022 policy.

The 540-day extension provides a bridge to continued employment authorization while USCIS approves renewals and original requests for a five-year EAD for eligible immigrants, up from the standard two-year validity period. Between the 540-day grace period extension and the move to five-year EAD validity periods, USCIS has a bigger cushion to ensure timely processing for renewals.

If you have questions about employment authorization, the related grace period, or any other U.S. immigration issue, contact us. We actively monitor ongoing updates to U.S. immigration policy to ensure our clients get the right advice for their specific situation based on the latest options available.

EAD Employment Authorizatin