Effective October 30, 2025, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued an interim rule ending the policy of automatically extending employment authorization documents (EADs, also called Forms I-766) for 540 days for foreign workers who have timely filed EAD renewal applications. Before that date, federal regulations (found at 8 CFR 274a.13) allowed an employee working under an EAD who filed a renewal application before their current work authorization expired to automatically receive a 540-day extension on the EAD expiration date. USCIS will no longer grant such automatic extensions for EAD renewal applications filed on or after October 30, 2025. This change in policy doesn’t affect timely renewal applications filed before October 30, 2025. Interested stakeholders may still comment on the rule until December 1, 2025, before it passes from the stage of “interim rule” to “final rule.”
Tips: The 540-day automatic extension period grew from shorter extension periods that increased in recent years due to backlogs of renewal applications. The extensions allowed employees with EADs to legally work while renewals were pending, ensuring minimal business disruption for employers during the extension period. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) – which oversees USCIS – now says the automatic extension policy created a security gap, whereby bad actors presenting a threat to public safety or national security could abuse the EAD extension process to stay in the U.S. without proper vetting by DHS for “derogatory information.” The new rule states, “DHS expects that overall EAD filing rates (initials and renewals) are likely to substantially decline, freeing up adjudicative resources to reduce renewal EAD processing times” in the long term. But at least in the short term, Vigilant expects there will be lapses in employment authorization and processing delays for employees filing renewal applications, and that employers relying heavily on EAD renewals will face disruptions in workforce continuity.
Stay Ahead of EAD Expirations: Use a Calendar System to Track and Revalidate on Time
Employers should use a calendaring system to consistently flag upcoming EAD expiration dates and check in with employees before their authorization expires. This should include a review of the “expiration dates” on any 540-day automatic extension periods for workers whose EADs expired but who filed for renewal before their documents expired (and before the rule changed on October 30, 2025). Employers are required to revalidate their workers’ employment authorization on Form I-9 on or before the date the EAD (or extension period) expires.
Understanding EAD Renewal Receipts and What They Mean for Work Authorization
When a worker with an EAD files a renewal application with USCIS, the worker receives a “Notice of Action” document – essentially a receipt – as proof of the renewal application. The employer can then use that “Notice of Action” receipt – along with the expired EAD, potentially adding 540 days to the EAD expiration date – to validate the employee’s work authorization for I-9 purposes. According to USCIS, an employer may still rely on that document – along with the expired EAD – if the renewal application was filed before October 30, 2025, and the EAD wasn’t already expired at the time of application. Workers with soon-to-expire EADs who file renewal applications on or after October 30, 2025, will still receive “Notice of Action” receipts, but those documents don’t confer any automatic extensions while their renewals are pending and so are not valid work authorization documents for I-9 purposes.
Some Workers May Qualify for Automatic EAD Extensions Based on Status or Country of Origin
There are limited situations in which certain workers whose EADs have expired may have their EADs automatically extended by virtue of their immigration status or country of origin, so you should review your workers’ EADs (and any possible extensions) carefully. DHS stated in the new rule it will soon update its USCIS resources, including the M-274 Handbook for Employers. In the meantime, if you have questions on what constitutes a valid work authorization document for I-9 purposes, contact your Vigilant Law Group employment attorney.
