The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has made a permanent change to extend the automatic renewal period for work authorizations for immigrants and asylum seekers. This decision follows calls from several officials, including Maine’s governor and members of Congress, who advocated for the measure.
“This final rule is a significant win for both Maine’s businesses and immigrant workers,” said Lisa Parisio, policy director of the Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project, which offers immigration legal assistance in Maine.
On Tuesday, DHS announced a new rule that extends the automatic renewal period of Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) for up to 540 days. The change follows a request from Democratic U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree, Independent U.S. Sen. Angus King, and Democratic Gov. Janet Mills, who sent a letter to DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Director Ur Jaddou last Friday.
“This extension provides much-needed stability as Maine and other states address labor shortages, ensuring that immigrants and asylum seekers can continue working without interruptions caused by application backlogs,” the three officials said in a joint statement.
This permanent change follows two temporary rules that had already extended the renewal period from 180 days to 540 days. The latest temporary rule was issued in April, when processing times for work authorization applications had stretched to as long as 16 months, far beyond the targeted three-month wait.
Although processing times have improved since then, USCIS has received and processed a record number of EAD applications this year, which the DHS cited as a key reason for making the change permanent.
In Maine, delays in USCIS processing have left immigrant workers and their employers in a difficult situation, with work permits expiring before new ones are issued. Parisio explained that the new rule solves this issue by automatically extending existing work permits while renewal applications are being processed, preventing gaps in employment authorization that have previously led to job losses for workers and staff shortages for businesses.
“This final rule ensures there will be no gaps in work authorization, which have previously caused Maine workers to lose their jobs and businesses to lose valuable employees,” Parisio said.
The new rule will take effect on January 13, 2025, and will apply to eligible applicants who have renewal applications pending or filed on or after May 4, 2022.
While the announcement was welcomed by officials like Pingree, King, and Mills, they emphasized that more work is needed to reform the nation’s immigration system. “There is still much to be done to fix our broken immigration system, streamline work authorization processes, and create a fair and efficient path for all,” they said.
Both Pingree and King have introduced legislation aimed at speeding up work authorization processes. Under current law, asylum seekers must wait 180 days after applying for asylum before they are eligible for a work permit. Immigrant rights advocates in Maine argue that reducing this waiting period would help address resource constraints, such as housing for new arrivals, while also easing the state’s workforce shortages.
In 2023, Pingree introduced a bill in the U.S. House to reduce the waiting period to 30 days and eliminate the two-year renewal schedule. She argues that the current system creates unnecessary bureaucratic delays and burdens both USCIS and immigrants.
King, along with Republican Sen. Susan Collins, has also proposed similar legislation, though their plan would require asylum seekers to enter the U.S. through an official port of entry. As a result, Pingree’s proposal has been preferred by many immigrant rights groups in Maine.
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