The Department of Homeland Security has made permanent its decision to end automatic extensions of US work permits. A final rule titled "Removal of Automatic Extensions for Certain Employment Authorization Documents" was published in the Federal Register on October 14, 2026 (91 FR 65306) and took effect the same day, adopting the October 30, 2025 interim final rule as final, without any changes, according to the rule text summarized by RecordingLaw.
Source: RecordingLaw (Federal Register final rule 91 FR 65306)
What ends is the safety net many workers relied on: for renewal applications filed on or after October 30, 2025, a timely filed Form I-765 renewal no longer automatically extends an expiring Employment Authorization Document (EAD) for up to 540 days, and the I-797C receipt notice no longer serves as proof of work authorization once the card has expired. Renewals filed before that cutoff date keep the extension they already received, and extensions provided by law or by a Federal Register notice — including certain Temporary Protected Status (TPS) documents — are not affected, according to summaries of the final rule.
Source: VisaVerge
Who is affected — including H-4 spouses
The change reaches several groups who work on EADs, including H-4 spouses of H-1B workers, people with pending adjustment-of-status (green card) cases, and some asylum applicants, Bloomberg Law reported, in coverage cited by MigraPrep. For Punjabi and other Indian families in the US, the H-4 category is the most direct hit: a spouse whose EAD renewal is still pending when the card expires now faces a gap in which they cannot legally work, even if they filed on time.
Source: MigraPrep (Bloomberg Law)
The risk is magnified by processing backlogs. USCIS data cited in coverage of the rule showed more than 432,000 EAD renewal applications pending for over six months as of June 30, 2025, including more than 91,000 pending over a year. DHS itself estimates that 20,000 to 33,000 work permits could lapse over 18 months starting in May 2027 because of the change, according to VisaVerge's summary of the rule. Workers generally cannot file a renewal until 180 days before the card expires — but in the final rule's preamble, USCIS said there is no prohibition on filing earlier and it will not reject an otherwise eligible renewal solely because it was filed sooner, a point immigration practitioners are flagging as the main practical lever.
Source: Mandamus.biz (final rule preamble)
Why DHS says it made the change
DHS says the final rule is about completing vetting before a new period of employment authorization begins. The agency considered 653 public comments submitted on the 2025 interim rule before adopting it unchanged, according to the Federal Register document. Supporters of the old system — including applicants, unions and advocacy groups among the commenters — warned it would push lawful workers out of jobs through no fault of their own; the agency proceeded anyway. This story is general information about a public rule, not immigration advice for any individual case.
Source: RecordingLaw (Federal Register final rule 91 FR 65306)
It is the date you FILED that controls, not the date your card expires. Filed before October 30, 2025: the up-to-540-day automatic extension can still apply. Filed on or after October 30, 2025: no automatic extension — when the card expires, work authorization pauses until USCIS approves the renewal. TPS-linked extensions under a Federal Register notice are separate and unaffected.