US Ends Automatic Work Permit Extensions as 63 Lawmakers Push to Clear Green Card Backlog

Washington — Thousands of immigrants in the United States, including Indian H-4 visa holders and employment-based green card applicants, could face interruptions in their ability to work following a Department of Homeland Security rule ending automatic extensions of employment authorization documents.

The final rule, published in the Federal Register on October 14, confirms an interim regulation introduced on October 30, 2025, that eliminated automatic work permit extensions for certain categories of immigrants who submit timely renewal applications.

Under the previous policy, eligible applicants could continue working for up to 540 days while their employment authorization renewal requests remained pending.

The new regulation ends “the practice of automatically extending the validity of employment authorization documents” for affected applicants, potentially requiring them to stop working if their existing permits expire before renewal applications are approved.

DHS said the policy “enhances benefit integrity and prioritizes the proper vetting and screening of aliens before granting a new period of employment authorization.”

The changes are particularly significant for Indian professionals and their families, including H-4 dependent spouses of H-1B visa holders and immigrants awaiting decisions on applications to adjust their status to permanent residency.

Indian nationals account for a substantial portion of the employment-based immigration backlog, largely because of country-specific limits on green card issuance.

For affected families, delays in employment authorization renewals could result in temporary job losses, interruptions in household income and uncertainty over continued employment.

The regulation does not affect employment authorization extensions available to eligible international students under the STEM Optional Practical Training program or the H-1B cap-gap provisions.

Meanwhile, a bipartisan group of 63 members of Congress, led by Representatives Yvette Clarke and Raul Grijalva, has urged U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to accelerate the processing of pending green card applications.

The lawmakers raised concerns that immigrants legally residing in the United States are experiencing disruptions to health insurance coverage and other hardships while waiting for their applications to be processed.

The congressional appeal comes amid continued concerns over lengthy employment-based immigration backlogs, which have disproportionately affected Indian applicants.

Separately, the Trump administration’s proposed $100,000 fee for certain H-1B visa applications remains the subject of a legal dispute in federal court.

U.S. District Judge Haywood S. Gilliam Jr. of the Northern District of California vacated the policies implementing the fee on September 30.

The administration appealed the decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on October 9.

A joint case management statement is due in district court on October 20, with a case management conference scheduled for October 27.

Indian nationals have historically represented the largest share of H-1B visa beneficiaries, making changes to the program particularly significant for Indian technology professionals and U.S. companies that employ them.

Together, the work authorization changes, congressional concerns over green card processing delays and ongoing H-1B litigation highlight the uncertainty facing foreign professionals and their families as U.S. immigration policies continue to evolve. (Source: IANS)