U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced a temporary final rule (TFR) that increases the automatic extension period for certain Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) from up to 180 days to up to 540 days. Despite USCIS’s efforts to reduce processing times of the Form I-765, this change was deemed necessary to prevent gaps in employment authorization for eligible noncitizens who have timely filed their EAD renewal applications, as such gaps can lead to significant disruptions to both the noncitizens and to the operational continuity of the U.S. businesses that employ them.
The extended automatic extension period applies to individuals whose Forms I-797C, Notices of Action, have a “Received Date” on or before October 26, 2023. For applications filed on or after October 27, 2023, the automatic extension will revert to 180 days. This adjustment aims to mitigate the impact of processing delays on noncitizens and their employers by ensuring continued work authorization while renewal applications are pending.
USCIS also provided guidance to U.S. employers in terms of updating Forms I-9 to include the increased 540-day extension duration period.
For new hires or rehires completing new Forms I-9:
- The new hire should list the extended date of work authorization using the “Noncitizen eligible to work until” field;
- The employer should use the EAD to complete Section 2 of Form I-9; the receipt number should be taken from the Form I-797C and used to complete the “document number” field in Section 2. The extended expiration date should be listed and match that used in Section 1.
- The employer should list “EAD EXT” in the Additional Information field of Section 2.
For existing employees with valid employment authorization as of April 8, 2024, who are now eligible for the 540-day extension, USCIS guidance indicates that Section 2 may be amended to update the expiration date as follows:
- Employers should enter “EAD EXT” and the auto-extended date (EAD EXT mm/dd/yyyy) based on the “Card Expires” date on the EAD.
