USCIS Shortens Validity of Employment Authorization Documents to 18 Months
US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that, effective December 5, 2025, it will shorten the validity of Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) in a number of categories to 18 months. This follows the recent elimination of automatic extensions for many EAD categories on October 30, 2025, which we detailed in a prior Alert, and serves to further restrict the validity of EADs.
Background
In order to reduce the number of EAD applications to help improve processing times and clear backlogs, in September 2023 USCIS increased the maximum validity of certain EADs to five years. This five-year validity applied to both initial EAD applications and renewals in eligible categories, which included refugees, asylees, and applicants for adjustment of status.
Updated Policy
Citing the need for more frequent vetting of foreign nationals applying for employment authorization following the Washington, DC attack on National Guard service members, USCIS has introduced a policy change to reduce the maximum validity of certain EADs from five years to 18 months. USCIS indicated in the policy announcement that “[v]etting an alien more often will enable USCIS to deter fraud and detect aliens with potentially harmful intent so they can be processed for removal from the United States.” The EAD categories affected by this policy change are:
- Aliens admitted as refugees;
- Aliens granted asylum;
- Aliens granted withholding of deportation or removal;
- Aliens with pending applications for asylum or withholding of removal;
- Aliens with pending I-485 applications for adjustment of status under INA 245; and
- Aliens with pending applications for suspension of deportation, cancellation of removal, or relief under the Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act (NACARA).
This change affects applications for employment authorization that are pending or filed on or after December 5, 2025 in any of these categories.
The policy announcement also reaffirms EAD validity changes mandated by H.R. 1, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, Pub. L. No. 119-21, 139 Stat. 72, signed into law on July 4, 2025. Pursuant to H.R. 1, the validity period for initial and renewal employment authorization documents will be one year or the end date of the authorized parole period or the duration of Temporary Protected Status (TPS), whichever is shorter, for the following categories:
- Aliens paroled as refugees;
- Aliens granted TPS;
- Aliens granted parole;
- Aliens with a pending TPS application; and
- Alien spouse of entrepreneur parole.
USCIS published a Federal Register Notice on July 22, 2025 implementing the maximum one-year validity period for EADs issued in the above categories. These validity period requirements apply to any Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, pending or filed on or after July 22, 2025.
Conclusion
Foreign nationals who are employed under an EAD should file extensions as early as possible, which is typically 180 days prior to expiration. Shortened EAD validities, coupled with the prior elimination of most automatic EAD extensions and lengthy USCIS processing times, may make it difficult for some foreign nationals to avoid interruptions in employment authorization.
Please contact a member of the Mintz Immigration Team for more information.
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