DHS Ends Automatic Work Permit Extensions for Renewal Applicants

The Department of Homeland Security has finalized a rule ending the automatic extension of employment authorization documents (EADs) for immigrants who file timely renewal applications, effective October 14, 2026. The final rule, issued by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and published in the Federal Register (Vol. 91, No. 197, p. 65306), reaffirms without changes the interim final rule of October 30, 2025, under RIN 1615–AD05.

The rule adopts as final the amendments to 8 CFR 274a.13(d) and (e) first published in the interim final rule “Removal of the Automatic Extension of Employment Authorization Documents” (90 FR 48799). Since the 2016 American Competitiveness in the Twenty-first Century Act rule, DHS had replaced interim EADs with an automatic extension of up to 180 days for certain renewal applicants; temporary rules in May 2022 and April 2024 raised that period to up to 540 days, and a December 2024 final rule made the 540-day period permanent. The 2025 interim rule ended the practice for renewal applications filed on or after October 30, 2025.

What the rule changes

• New 8 CFR 274a.13(e) provides that, unless otherwise provided by law, by 8 CFR 274a.13(d) or by a Federal Register notice for Temporary Protected Status-related documentation, an expired EAD and employment authorization are no longer automatically extended by a renewal application filed on or after October 30, 2025.
• The heading of 8 CFR 274a.13(d) was revised so the up-to-540-day automatic extension applies only to renewal requests properly filed before October 30, 2025.
• EADs automatically extended before that date remain valid; TPS-related extensions issued by Federal Register notice under section 244 of the Immigration and Nationality Act are unaffected, as are refugees and asylees employment authorized incident to status under 8 CFR 274a.12(a).

Who is affected

DHS declined to preserve automatic extensions for any subset of renewal applicants, including H–4 and L–2 dependents and employment-based adjustment applicants. The two largest affected categories are asylum applicants (C08) and adjustment-of-status applicants (C09), which together made up about 80 percent of all Form I–765 applicants from January 2025 through June 2026. C08 filings fell from 240,060 in January 2025 to 32,472 in June 2026, and C09 filings from 64,104 to 36,455.

Costs and estimated lapses

For a single 18-month window starting in May 2027, DHS estimates that about 20,000 to 33,000 EADs will lapse, with a midpoint of roughly 27,000, and a mean lapse duration of 40.1 days.

• $138.1 million in lost productivity costs to employers unable to replace workers.
• $312.1 million in potential labor turnover costs, with 1,700 to 2,800 employers affected.
• $138.1 million in transfers from employment-authorized aliens to replacement workers and $14.5 million in reduced tax transfers over 18 months.
• Reduced earnings to renewal applicants ranging from $17.1 million to $900.8 million, with a primary estimate of $276.2 million, and $29.0 million in employment tax losses.

DHS reported that 1,541 renewal applicants in previously eligible categories did not receive an automatic extension between February and June 2026, while 12,547 who did receive one would have lapsed without it.

Comments and legal basis

DHS received 653 public comment submissions under Docket No. USCIS–2025–0271 during a 33-day comment period that closed December 1, 2025, and declined requests to withdraw the rule or restore a shorter extension. The department cited Executive Order 14159, Executive Order 14161 and Presidential Proclamation 10949, and referenced an attack in Boulder, Colorado, by an alien who held an automatic extension. Legal authority rests on section 103(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. 1103(a), among other provisions.

The rule removes a safety net that the 2024 final rule projected would prevent employment lapses for 293,000 to 449,000 pending renewal applicants. Employers must now reverify employment authorization when an EAD expires, and applicants who file late face a higher chance of a work gap.

Source: Federal Register, Vol. 91, No. 197, 14 October 2026, Rules and Regulations, p. 65306 (official reference: 2026-20955).