November 4 Tip of the Week

“The End of Automatic Extensions”

One requirement that every human resource professional must address when hiring and retaining employees is the completion of an I-9 form that validates the individual’s authorization to work in the United States.  Immigration law and rules have been changing over the last several months in response to policy priorities of the current administration.  These changes have presented a challenge to hiring authorities who want to comply with the law, but are finding it difficult to keep up with the changes that have been occurring. 

On October 30, 2025, the Department of Homeland Security issued a notice of final rulemaking regarding the validity of automatic extensions.  These automatic extensions refer to the situation where an individual whose documents authorizing them to work have an expiration date.  Prior to October 30, 2025, if the individual with expiring work authorization documents filed an application to renew those documents, they would receive an automatic extension of 540 days, which would allow the individual to continue to work while their application was being processed.  This automatic extension is no longer available under this most recent DHS rule. 

This change in the rule means that asylum applicants, refugees, and others whose documents have expiration dates will need to be re-vetted when their employment authorizations expire and that there is a risk of work disruptions if the applicant’s renewal application is not processed in a timely fashion.  Employers of foreign nationals need to ensure that they are re=checking employee work authorizations when the original authorization document has an expiration date.  Employers will need to track expiration dates as part of their I-9 process and initiate the reverification process early enough to allow employees sufficient time to complete the renewal process. 

Affected workers can file an EAD renewal application as soon as the 180-day filing window opens.  If the employee’s renewal application is not approved before their original EAD expires, the employee must stop working until the renewal application is approved and the worker has been issued a new, unexpired employment authorization document. 

Information regarding this rule can be found here: https://www.uscis.gov/newsroom/news-releases/dhs-ends-automatic-extension-of-employment-authorization. 

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