USCIS Ends Automatic Extension of Employment Authorization With Interim Final Rule

Quick Hits

• USCIS will end its practice of automatically extending EADs for foreign nationals who file renewal applications—including for adjustments of status and H-4 EAD renewals—based on certain employment authorization categories. The new policy will not affect automatic extensions granted for EAD applications filed before October 30, 2025.
• If an EAD renewal application (Form I-765) was timely filed before the EAD expiration and before October 30, 2025, then it is not impacted and is still eligible for the auto-extension.
• If an EAD renewal application (Form I-765) is filed on or after October 30, 2025, then it is impacted by the policy change. Impacted individuals will need a valid EAD card in hand to continue working.

Background

Certain foreign nationals in the United States are eligible to apply for employment authorization by filing Form I-765 with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Under previous temporary final rules and a December 2024 final rule that took effect on January 13, 2025, USCIS granted eligible foreign nationals an automatic extension of employment authorization for up to 540 days while their timely filed employment authorization applications were pending adjudication.

Scheduled for publication on October 30, 2025, and affecting employment authorization applications filed on or after October 30, USCIS will no longer automatically extend employment authorization for individuals previously eligible under the 2024 rule, unless required by law or notice in the Federal Register for employment authorization related to Temporary Protected Status (TPS). DHS indicates it is prioritizing proper vetting and screening of noncitizens before extending employment authorization and that ending the practice of automatic extensions is consistent with President Donald Trump’s executive orders titled “Protecting the American People Against Invasion” (Executive Order 14159) and “Protecting the United States From Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats” (Executive Order 14161).

Impact

The IFR does not impact automatic extensions of employment authorization granted to EAD renewal applicants who filed timely renewals prior to October 30, 2025, and who were previously eligible for a 540-day extension. Automatic extensions of employment authorization provided by Federal Register notice for TPS-related employment authorization or by law—such as STEM Optional Practical Training (OPT) EAD renewals filed by F-1 students—are not impacted by this IFR.

The IFR states that agencies that utilize EADs for other purposes, such as to verify an individual’s identity or immigration status, should no longer consider an expired EAD valid unless the applicant can present an I-797 receipt notice demonstrating a timely filed EAD renewal before October 30, 2025.

USCIS’s SAVE system, used by government agencies to verify benefit eligibility and licensing determinations, will provide results that indicate the expiration of employment authorization (if any) and will not include the previous maximum 540-day automatic extension period. Common EAD categories are listed below. For the full list, please visit USCIS’s website.

Form I-765 Category	Description	Automatic EAD Extension Impacted by Interim Final Rule?
(a)(3)	Refugee	Yes
(a)(5)	Asylee	Yes
(a)(7)	N-8 or N-9 visa parent or child	Yes
(a)(8)	Citizen of Micronesia, Marshall Islands, or Palau	Yes
(a)(10)	Withholding of deportation or removal granted	Yes
(a)(12)	Temporary Protected Status granted	No
(a)(17)	Spouse of an E nonimmigrant	Yes, but individual may continue to work without an EAD if I-94 lists E-1S, E-2S, or E-3S designation
(a)(18)	Spouse of an L nonimmigrant	Yes, but individual may continue to work without an EAD if I-94 lists L-2S designation
(c)(3)(C)	STEM OPT	No
(c)(8)	Asylum application pending	Yes
(c)(9)	Pending adjustment of status under Section 245 of the Immigration and Nationality Act	Yes
(c)(10)	Suspension of Deportation Applicants (filed before April 1, 1997); Cancellation of Removal Applicants; Special Rule Cancellation of Removal Applicants Under the Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act (NACARA)	Yes
(c)(16)	Creation of record (adjustment based on continuous residence since January 1, 1972)	Yes
(c)(19)	Certain pending TPS applicants whom USCIS has determined are prima facie eligible for TPS and who can receive an EAD as a “temporary treatment benefit.”	No
(c)(20)	Section 210 legalization (pending I-700)	Yes
(c)(22)	Section 245A legalization (pending I-687)	Yes
(c)(24)	Legal Immigration Family Equity (LIFE) Act legalization	Yes
(c)(26)	Spouses of certain H-1B principal nonimmigrants with an unexpired I-94 showing H-4 nonimmigrant status	Yes
(c)(31)	Certain Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) Self-Petitioners	Yes

What This Means for Employers

Employees in affected categories who file timely EAD renewal applications on or after October 30, 2025, will no longer be able to rely on an automatic extension of employment authorization when their existing EADs expire. Depending on USCIS processing times, employees who rely on a valid EAD as their sole basis for employment authorization may face a gap in employment authorization. Additionally, USCIS will provide updated guidance for employers regarding I-9 verification for the impacted EAD categories via I-9 Central and in its Handbook for Employers, M-274.

Ogletree Deakins’ Immigration Practice Group will monitor developments with respect to these and other policy changes and will provide updates on the Immigration blog as additional information becomes available.

This article and more information on how the Trump administration’s actions impact employers can be found on Ogletree Deakins’ Administration Resource Hub.

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