Filing a renewal alone no longer lets you keep working, so file about 180 days before your card expires, without delay
Many people can work only if they hold the employment authorization document (EAD, or work permit card) issued by USCIS: people with a pending green card application, people who have applied for asylum, and spouses (H-4) of people holding H-1B work visas. In the past, if you met the requirements and filed a renewal in the same category before your card expired, you could keep working for up to 540 days after the expiration date printed on the card, even if the decision was delayed. This is called an automatic extension. For renewal applications filed from October 30, 2025, the automatic extension no longer exists. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which USCIS belongs to, finalized this change, which had been in effect on an interim basis, as a permanent regulation, unchanged, on October 14, 2026.
If the Decision Comes After the Date on Your Card, You Must Stop Working From That Day
"Here is an example under the final rule. Suppose a green card applicant whose card expires on May 30 files a renewal on February 4, more than three months ahead. Even though the application was filed early, if it is not approved by May 30, then unless the person has some other basis for work eligibility, the person cannot continue working at the company from the next day, May 31."
The "other basis" refers to visa status such as H-1B, explained below. If the renewal is approved, you are again eligible to work for the new card period. However, the paper that tells you the renewal was approved (the approval notice) is not, in principle, a document to show your employer, so there can be a gap in which you cannot work until you receive the new card. DHS stated that it will not provide separate relief for such gaps.
Unless separately provided, such as in a Temporary Protected Status (TPS) notice, an employer can no longer accept a receipt notice (the paper confirming that your application was received) together with an expired card as proof of eligibility to work. However, an automatic extension obtained through a renewal application that reached USCIS by October 29, 2025 remains valid as is, and ends when the 540 days run out or a denial notice is issued. H-4 spouses must also have a valid I-94 (arrival/departure record).
Federal regulations require the employer to re-verify eligibility to work in documents (Form I-9) no later than the date the employee's employment authorization expires, and provide that the employer cannot continue to employ the person if it cannot verify.
Starting December 5, 2025, USCIS shortened the maximum validity of newly issued cards for people with pending green card applications, asylum applicants, and others from five years to 18 months. You therefore have to renew that much more often.
The Government Itself Acknowledged That Hardship May Result
"In the final rule, DHS acknowledged that 'when employment authorization is interrupted, real hardship can result for the individual, their family, their employer, and the community.'"
In the section where DHS summarized the public comments, it recorded lost jobs and reduced income, rent and loan payments, loss of health insurance, and worries about living expenses in households that rely on two incomes. There were also comments that many people need a driver's license in order to work.
Lawsuit complaints (the documents filed with a court to start a lawsuit) describe similar circumstances. A 39-year-old woman in Houston, who obtained relief under the immigration program that protects victims of domestic violence (VAWA) and has been using a work permit card, has been raising her 8-year-old U.S. citizen daughter alone while working as an interpreter and substitute teacher. Because hers is a single-income household, her daughter's child care assistance and her own health insurance also depend on her income.
She applied to renew her card, which expires on June 23, 2026, seven months ahead, but there was no decision by April, when she filed suit. In November 2023, a renewal she had filed four months ahead was decided only about three months after the card expired, but she was able to keep working then thanks to the automatic extension. On June 2, she withdrew her lawsuit without giving a reason.
An H-4 spouse in Charlotte, North Carolina, was a developer working on a child welfare computer system for Maryland's state welfare department. On November 3, 2025, this spouse applied for an extension of stay and a renewal of the work permit together.
According to the complaint, the extension of stay was approved, so the spouse holds H-4 status until August 2028, but there was no decision on the work permit after seven months, and two expedite requests (requests to process the case quickly) drew no response. Saying that the spouse was about to lose their job, the spouse filed suit on June 3, 2026, and on July 2 withdrew the suit, saying that the government had acted favorably on the application.
In a lawsuit brought by seven H-4 spouses, a federal court in California ruled on September 10, 2026 that the interim rule violated proper procedure, and issued a preliminary injunction (a temporary order issued before the final judgment) barring the government from applying the rule to those seven. It has no effect on anyone else.
DHS estimated that, for 18 months starting in May 2027, about 20,000 to 33,000 cards will have gaps and 1,700 to 2,800 employers will be affected. Because this figure counts only people who filed earlier than 90 days before their card expired, the number of people who actually experience a gap may be higher.
As for actual data, from February through June 2026, 12,547 people avoided a gap thanks to automatic extensions obtained by filing renewals before October 30, 2025.
DHS stated that the automatic extension was originally meant to stabilize the income of working people and to prevent employers' turnover costs, but that it now puts public safety and national security first. It took the view that allowing people to work only after identity checks and screening are complete matters more than the gaps that some applicants will experience.
People Who Work on the Basis of Their Status Itself Can Work Regardless of the Card Date
"The final rule states that a person with refugee status or one who has already been granted asylum can continue to work while maintaining that status, regardless of the date printed on the card."
This does not apply to people who can work only if they receive a card, such as green card applicants, asylum applicants who are still waiting for a decision, and H-4 spouses. Conversely, some people can work on the basis of their visa status itself, even without a card. A person working in H-1B or investor (E-2) status works for the designated employer under that status. A person who has applied for a green card and also maintains H-1B status can keep working, with or without a card or after the card expires, for the company that filed the H-1B petition.
Spouses (L-2) of intracompany transferees (L-1) and spouses of most treaty trader and investor visa (E) holders are also permitted by immigration law to work on the basis of their status itself. They are eligible to work for as long as they hold status even after the card expires, but an expired card cannot prove that. In that case, if the I-94 has a notation identifying the person as a spouse (such as L-2S or E-2S), it can be presented together with an ID such as a driver's license to show eligibility to work. Which documents to present can be chosen by the employee from a set list, so talk with your employer before the card expires.
Automatic extensions that are separately provided remain, such as the extension of up to 180 days for students who timely file for the STEM OPT (science and technology practical training) extension.
File About 180 Days Before Your Card Expires and Prepare for a Gap
"USCIS recommends filing a renewal starting 180 days before the card expires, and DHS said to file as early as permitted."
For renewals of green card applicant, asylum, and H-4 cards, no regulation prevents filing earlier, but STEM OPT extensions can be filed starting 90 days before expiration. USCIS generally does not move the start date of the new card back to the day the current card expires. DHS explains that, as a result, early approval reduces the risk of a gap, but the total period during which you can work may become shorter by the amount the two cards overlap.
An H-4 spouse can file the work permit renewal together with the H-1B spouse's extension petition and the H-4 spouse's own extension of stay. However, USCIS decides the extension of stay first and then processes the work permit. The employer files the extension petition, so discuss the timing with the employer in advance.
According to government data, the median time to decide a renewal from November 2025 through March 2026 was 3.7 to 4.4 months. The processing times posted monthly on the USCIS website show the time in which 8 of 10 cases decided over the most recent six months were completed, so they may be longer than this. You can request expedited processing, but whether to grant it is at USCIS's discretion.
Continuing to work after the card date has passed, without an automatic extension or some other basis, is unauthorized employment. DHS wrote that if a person with a pending green card application works in this way, the person may in some cases be unable to obtain a green card within the United States. Decide in advance with your company's HR department what to do if the decision is delayed.
Closing
A person who can work only with a card must, unless the card is extended separately, get the new card before the current one expires in order to avoid an interruption in work. First, check the expiration date printed on your card and file the renewal about 180 days before, without delay, with all the required documents in order. Second, confirm whether you can work on the basis of your visa status alone, without a card, or whether you need a card in order to work, and talk with your employer in advance about the date your card expires. Third, in case a decision is delayed, look in advance at several months of living expenses, your health insurance, and the date your driver's license must be renewed.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. Did the automatic extension also end for renewal applications filed before October 30, 2025?
No. An automatic extension obtained through a renewal application that reached USCIS by October 29, 2025 remains valid as is. It ends when the 540 days run out or a denial notice is issued. Renewal applications filed from October 30, 2025 get no automatic extension, so the renewal must be approved before the card expires for you to keep working without interruption.
Q. When is the best time to file a work permit renewal?
USCIS recommends filing starting 180 days (about six months) before the card expires, and DHS said to file as early as permitted. No regulation prevents filing earlier, but because USCIS generally does not move the start date of the new card back to the day the current card expires, the total period during which you can work may become shorter if the renewal is approved early. It is best to submit all the required documents, complete, from the start.
Q. If I have H-1B or L-2 status, do I still have to stop working when my card expires?
No. A person who maintains H-1B status can work, even without a card, for the company that filed the H-1B petition, and L-2 spouses and spouses of treaty trader and investor visa (E) holders can work regardless of the card date for as long as they hold status. Green card applicants, asylum applicants, and H-4 spouses, who can work only if they receive a card, can work again only after the renewal is approved, unless the card is extended separately.
Disclaimer: This column provides general information and is not legal advice for a particular case. Individual immigration matters should be discussed with a qualified immigration attorney.
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