The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has announced an Interim Final Rule (IFR) entitled Removal of the Automatic Extension of Employment Authorization Documents ending the current practice of automatically extending the validity of Employment Authorization Documents [...]
October 30, 2025 Update: USCIS Ceases EAD Auto Extension. Details. USCIS has just released a new new temporary final rule (link to rule) effective as of April 8, 2024 pursuant to which the EAD auto-extension period [...]
In a legal settlement USCIS has agreed to reinstate its procedure to “bundle” and review concurrently spouses’ H-4/EAD and L-2/EAD applications when such applications are filed concurrently with an underlying I-129 petition seeking H-1B (or L-1) for the [...]
Since the H-4 EAD rule became effective in May 2015, our office has assisted many eligible H-4 spouses secure work authorization under the H-4 EAD program. We continue to applaud USCIS’s efforts to allow certain H-4 spouses to apply for [...]
Our office has been receiving an increasing number of inquiries and reports of situations where USCIS would deny a pending I-539 H-4 application (sometimes with a concurrent I-765 H-4 EAD) based on a prior employer’s H-1B petition [...]
In a legal settlement effective as of November 10, 2021, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has agreed to change its policies regarding L-2 and H-4 employment authorization document (EAD) applications. USCIS was challenged in a lawsuit (Shergill et al, v Mayorkas, 21-cv-1296-RSM) as a result of long-delayed EAD applications for certain nonimmigrant spouses. Under [...]
Update (9/26/2023): USCIS is removing the biometrics requirement (and fee) for all I-539 applications starting October 1, 2023. Details here. USCIS has confirmed policy change that will temporarily suspend the biometrics [...]
The Biden Administration has withdrawn Trump's plan to rescind the H-4 EAD program. The proposed rule, “Removing H-4 Dependent Spouses from the Class of Aliens Eligible for Employment Authorization,” which was under review by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) has been withdrawn as of January [...]
Many of our clients and readers have recently experienced delays in production of Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR) cards (also "green cards") or Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) and many have attributed these delays to the COVID-19 closures. There is another reason having to do with vendor and staffing issues at USCIS. Green Card/EAD Production Vendor Contract [...]
What is the status of the H-4 EAD rescission rule? This is a very common question we have been hearing over the past months and, unfortunately, while the government still appears intent on rescinding the H-4 EAD work permit, [...]
