Immigration
Good news for Green Card holders: A new rule regarding the extension of employment authorization is coming in January 2025
A new USCIS rule will grant an extension of employment authorization to Green Card beneficiaries: to whom does it apply?
A Green Card is the key to permanent residency for non-citizens in the United States. In addition to allowing non-citizens to work legally, it can also make them eligible for other benefits, including Social Security, assuming they are eligible.
In some cases, immigrants with a Green Card are granted Temporary Protected Status (TPS), allowing them to apply for an Employment Authorization Document (EAD). According to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the EAD is officially valid for 180 days. However, this period is about to be extended.
The good news for those who have already applied
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and USCIS have approved a new rule to extend the validity of the EAD to 540 days. According to official information, the extension will be given automatically starting January 13, 2025, and will be valid for those whose EAD renewal is pending or who submitted the application on or after May 4, 2022.
With this adjustment, the government agency in charge of immigration procedures will reduce processing times for work permit applications, reducing problems and conflicts between immigrant workers and American employers eager to hire them.
The new rule highlights the critical role immigrants play in the American labor force. Some states, including Florida, have passed laws that require employers to verify the legal status of workers they are looking to hire in immigration databases. For workers living in states with these laws, this extension ensures they can work if their authorization lapses, but they have submitted the necessary documentation for it to be extended.
According to a Department of Homeland Secuirty press release, the new rule “will support U.S. employers, foster economic growth, and improve access to employment authorization documents (EAD) for eligible individuals by permanently increasing the automatic extension period of employment authorization and employment authorization documentation from up to 180 days to up to 540 days for eligible noncitizens who file a timely request to renew their work authorization.”
The federal agency said the rule was changed after receiving “feedback from the business community,” which was looking for “more certainty” regarding hiring non-citizens.
For more information, visit the official USCIS website.
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