What's changed

The final rule, published at 91 FR 65306, adopts the interim final rule of October 30, 2025 (90 FR 48799) "without any changes." That interim rule ended the practice under which a timely filed renewal application extended an expiring EAD for up to 540 days while U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) decided the renewal. DHS states that the change lets USCIS complete vetting and screening before granting a new period of employment authorization.

The October 14 rule does not reopen the policy. It responds to the 653 public comments submitted on the interim rule during its 33-day comment period. No new comment period is open. DHS waived the usual 30-day delay before a final rule takes effect, stating that the rule makes no substantive or non-substantive changes to the interim rule in force since October 30, 2025.

Who's affected

The rule applies to renewal applicants in the employment authorization categories that previously received the automatic extension. DHS identifies applicants with pending asylum applications (category C08) and pending adjustment of status applications (category C09) as the largest affected groups. According to the rule, those two categories made up about 80% of all Form I-765 applicants between January 2025 and June 2026.

Automatic extensions already granted on renewals filed before October 30, 2025 are unaffected. The rule also leaves in place automatic extensions provided by law or by a Federal Register notice for Temporary Protected Status documentation, such as the six-month extension of Lebanon TPS through November 27, 2026. A separate statutory rule applies to TPS: the July 2025 reconciliation law (H.R. 1) limits employment authorization for TPS holders to one year or the length of the designation, whichever is shorter.

Kristen T. Burke of Greenberg Traurig wrote on October 20, 2026 that a pending renewal alone generally does not authorize work after the expiration date shown on the EAD.

Where it stands

On September 10, 2026, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California set aside the interim rule for the seven named plaintiffs in Jane Doe 1 v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security, a group of H-4 visa holders. The court declined to issue a nationwide injunction and certified the question for appeal. The final rule does not mention the case.

DHS states that it expects some EADs to lapse while renewals are pending. In its regulatory analysis, DHS estimates that between about 20,000 and 33,000 EADs would lapse over an 18-month window starting in May 2027. DHS dates that window to when initial EADs filed after the change first come up for renewal, citing the USCIS policy alert of December 4, 2025, which cut the maximum validity of C08 and C09 EADs, among other categories, from five years to 18 months.

As of October 22, 2026, the final rule is in effect and no further Federal Register action on automatic extensions has been published.