Asylum seekers are eligible for an Employment Authorization Document (EAD) while their application is pending. Although EADs are issued for 5 years, most applicants need to renew their employment authorization because the wait is so long.

Up until last week, if you filed to renew before your current EAD expired, you received an automatic 540-day extension of the current card. This was important, since USCIS often processes renewals slowly, and without the extension, many asylum seekers would lose the ability to work. But now, a new rule has eliminated the automatic EAD extension for asylum seekers (and others), and so when your card expires, you can no longer work lawfully.

Why has USCIS made this change? According to the Agency, non-citizens were being granted automatic EAD extensions "without the completion of appropriate vetting and screening." While "these applicants were screened in the context of their initial EAD application(s), the automatic extensions allows them to have their EADs extended, for up to 540 days, without the complete and proper vetting that would be done when adjudicating the renewal application." USCIS posits that this delay "could impede DHS from timely identifying derogatory information or other concerns that may have arisen since the adjudication of the initial EAD."

USCIS manages to cite one example to illustrate their supposed concern about vetting: On June 1, 2025, "an alien firebombed and assaulted demonstrators at a peaceful Jewish event to support hostages in Gaza." The attacker had come to the United States where, according to USCIS, he "obtained an EAD based on a pending asylum application which was then automatically extended for a period of up to 540 days."

This attack was a horrific event, but how it relates to the automatic EAD extension is not explained, and to me, USCIS's justification seems utterly disingenuous. Moreover, USCIS fails to account for the harm that will befall non-citizens and citizens alike due to the new rule.

The most obvious harm is to non-citizens, who will lose the ability to work if their EAD expires before USCIS processes the renewal. USCIS expresses little concern for this group, though in a footnote buried within the new rule, the Agency "acknowledges that the loss of employment authorization for asylum applicants may pose additional challenges given that they may be in a precarious financial situation due to circumstances such as fleeing persecution in their home country." No duh.

Further, potential employers are already wary of hiring asylum seekers due to their immigration status. This new policy will likely make employers even more hesitant, as they could be held liable if they mistakenly employ someone who is ineligible to work.

A less obvious harm is to Americans with health care needs. As I have written before, non-citizens--including hundreds of thousands of "illegals"--make up a disproportionate share of our nation's healthcare providers. If they are prevented from working, Americans who rely on them will suffer and die needlessly.

Who is affected by the new rule? Anyone who is not authorized to work incident to their status is no longer eligible for the automatic EAD extension. This means that asylum seekers and people granted Withholding of Removal (among others) will no longer receive an automatic extension when they file to renew their EAD. Such people will not be able to work lawfully after the expiration date listed on their EAD card. Do remember that people who filed to renew prior to October 30, 2025 are eligible for the automatic extension; the new policy only applies to people who file to renew after the rule went into effect.

People who have been granted asylum and people who arrived in the United States as refugees are not affected.

What can you do? Unfortunately, the wait time to renew an EAD is unpredictable and ever-changing. According to the USCIS website, the expected wait time to renew an asylum-pending EAD is 6.5 months. This means that 80% of EAD renewals will be processed within that time frame; 20% of renewals will take longer.

The best way to protect yourself and avoid gaps in employment eligibility is to apply early to renew your EAD. USCIS "generally recommends filing a renewal EAD application up to 180 days before the current EAD expires." This is not what I recommend, however. Since the average wait time to renew an EAD is 6.5 months or about 195 days, you can expect a 15-day gap in employment eligibility if you file to renew 180 days before your current EAD expires.

The safer approach--recommended by the Asylum Seekers Assistance Project (a non-profit that helps asylum seekers) and by me--is to apply to renew at least one year before the current EAD expires. This should allow enough time to get the new work permit, even if your case is one of the 20% that takes longer than 6.5 months.

The end of the automatic extension is obviously bad news for asylum seekers and many others. However, for the most part, the harm can be avoided by applying early to renew your EAD. We can only hope that USCIS will be satisfied with this change and will not further restrict the ability of asylum seekers to work while their applications are pending.

Originally posted on the Asylumist: www.Asylumist.com