Elimination of the 540-Day Automatic Extension for EAD Renewals Filed on/after October 30, 2025

On Oct. 29, DHS published an advanced notice of the Interim Final Rule (IFR) to eliminate the automatic extension of Employment Authorization (EAD).  The rule will take effect on October 30, 2025, and will eliminate the 540-day automatic extension for renewal applications filed on/after October 30, 2025.

Background:  The automatic EAD extension has been granted to certain applicants for work authorization renewal who timely filed their request for extension (before expiration of their EAD).  First available to F-1 students applying for their 2-year STEM extension (May 2016), the automatic extension has since been made available to other EAD applicants, including, but not limited to, H-4 spouses, Adjustment of Status applicants, Refugees and Asylees, TPS holders/applicants and VAWA self-petitions.[1]  In light of increasing processing delays during the COVID pandemic, the automatic extension period was also extended from 180 days to up to 540 days for certain EAD renewal applicants in May 2022.[2]

The automatic EAD extension has allowed those Foreign Nationals to avoid a work authorization gap and to continue to work past their document’s expiration, in light of continued USCIS processing delays.  DHS’s elimination of the automatic EAD extension will therefore have a direct impact on otherwise eligible EAD employees and their U.S. employers.

The IFR rule: 

• Purpose: citing national security and vetting concerns, the rule seeks to “prioritize the proper vetting and screening of aliens before granting a new period of employment authorization and/or a new EAD.”
• Implementation: the IFR will take effect on October 30, 2025, and while it will not be retroactive, it will eliminate the 540-day automatic EAD extension for all renewal applications received by USCIS on/after October 30, 2025.
• Comments may be submitted to DHS at https://www.regulations.gov/, before November 29, 2025 (docket # USCIS-2025-0271).

What to do?  Those eligible to file their Form I-765 EAD renewal electronically should file their application today/before Oct. 30 (at https://myaccount.uscis.gov/create-account), keeping in mind that:

• EAD renewals can be filed with USCIS up to 180 days before expiration of the current EAD, and applicants must be physically present in the United States at filing
• Only the following applicants are eligible to file their application electronically: I-485 Adjustment applicants, TPS applicants or holders, Asylum applicants, DACA applicants and Parolees (including Afghan/Ukraine Parole) [3]
• USCIS uses Coordinate Universal Time (UTC) for online submissions! Please make sure that your I-765 electronic submission is submitted online no later than October 29, 2025, 11:59pm UTC, i.e.:[4]
  • 7:59pm Eastern time
  • 6:59pm Central time
  • 5:59pm Mountain time
  • 4:59pm Pacific time
  • 3:59pm Alaska time
  • 2:59pm Hawaii time

Best practices:  In light of continued USCIS processing delays, this rule will have a severe impact, not only on employees relying on their EAD, but also on U.S. employers trying to fill in critical gaps in workforce and labor shortages.  While the IFR may be subject to legal challenge, Employers should be reminded to track the expiration of work authorization for their employees, and to remind their employees to timely file work authorization renewals as early as permitted, to mitigate the risk of a work authorization gap. 

This publication is intended for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice or a solicitation to provide legal services. The information in this publication is not intended to create, and receipt of it does not constitute, a lawyer-client relationship. Readers should not act upon this information without seeking professional legal counsel. The views and opinions expressed herein represent those of the individual author only and are not necessarily the views of Clark Hill PLC. Although we attempt to ensure that postings on our website are complete, accurate, and up to date, we assume no responsibility for their completeness, accuracy, or timeliness.

[1] For a full list, please see USCIS, Automatic Employment Authorization Document (EAD) Extension, at https://www.uscis.gov/eadautoextend.

[2] The automatic extension, however, remains limited to the validity of the applicant’s status (per their I-94 Entry Form), or, for TPS applicants/holders, to 1 year or duration of TPS, whichever is shorter. The 540-day automatic extension is not available to F-1 STEM renewal applicants, who only receive a 180-day automatic extension.

[3] F-1 OPT/STEM OPT are also eligible for online filing, but are not subject to the IFR and will retain their 180-day automatic EAD extension.

[4] Useful UTC time converters are readily available online, e.g., https://dateful.com/convert/utc.