by The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has discontinued the practice of automatically extending the validity of Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) for workers who file for an extension after October 30, 2025. The rule change was published in the October 30, 2025 edition of the Federal Register.
An EAD is the documentation required from some noncitizens to establish that they are legally able to work in the U.S. The EAD notes the period of validity for the authorization. Employees must apply for a renewed EAD when the documented period ends. Before October 30, 2025, some EAD holders seeking renewal were automatically granted an extension of authorization for up to 540 days while the renewal process was completed. Individuals applying for renewed work authorization will now be required to wait for adjudication of their renewal application before continuing employment.
This is a change from the USCIS process followed in recent years. Employers should ensure that staff working with hiring and I-9 processes are aware of the change. One important compliance step is to revisit training on properly tracking EAD expiration dates.
