USCIS NEW RULE ON TEMPORARY INCREASE OF EMPLOYMENT AUTHORIZATION AUTO-EXTENSION PERIOD APPROVED FOR PUBLICATION

By: Lihua Tan

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approved a recent United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) final regulation to temporarily increase the automatic extension period of employment authorization and documentation for certain renewal applicants. While this does not mean the rule will go into effect immediately, it is one step closer to implementation. The final regulation will be published in the Federal Register along with an implementation timeline.

The exact components of the final regulation remain unknown until it is published in the Federal Register. However, the rule is expected to increase the validity period for the automatic work authorization extension.

Currently, certain foreign nationals who timely file Form I-765 for Employment Authorization Document (EAD) renewal are granted a 180-day automatic extension of employment authorization. Additionally, auto-extensions are already available for EAD applications when filed with adjustment of status applications for certain refugee and asylee categories.

The new rule aims to assist USCIS in addressing the extensive application backlogs caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The rule will also help applicants as it will likely eliminate work authorization gaps.

CONCLUSION 
The new final rule has been approved by OMB and will be published in the Federal Register soon. The Chugh, LLP immigration team will closely follow the publication and provide the applicable updates. For case-specific questions or filing assistance, please contact your Chugh, LLP immigration professional.