As the US administration announced the end of automatic extension of employment authorization starting from October 30, immigration attorneys questioned the move and asked why the new rule was announced without any notice and public comment period.
What changes from tomorrow?
In a Biden-era rule, certain immigrants can keep working legally even after their work permit expires, as long as they have filed a renewal application on time. From tomorrow, there will be no automatic extension, and there will be a fresh screening and vetting of those workers before their work permit is extended. Migrant workers who file to renew their work permit on or after October 30, 2025 will no longer receive an automatic extension.The administration said that this would allow them to deter fraud and detect aliens with potentially harmful intent.
Major blow to H-4 visa holders ?
Green card holders and H-1B or O-1 visa holders do not need work permits. But the spouses of H-1Bs, the H-4 visa holders, come under the new work permit rule. Immigration experts raised an alarm that under the new rule which allows no automatic extension if the administration takes too long to process the renewal, which now includes fresh vetting, the applicant will lose their work permit. “Another rule imposed immediately without notice and public comment periods because it is somehow an emergency to stop people from working solely because of government ineptitude,” David J Bier, immigration expert at the Cato Institute, said.“The Trump Administration is removing automatic extensions for Employment Authorization (EADs), a move that will hurt thousands of H-4 visa holders, mostly highly-skilled spouses of legal immigrants,” Indian-origin investor Sidharth wrote. “These are law-abiding families already stuck in endless backlogs. Instead of relief, they get anxiety, uncertainty, and job loss. America shouldn’t punish those who followed the law. Radical voices inside this administration are sabotaging the skilled-immigration system, handing talent and innovation leadership straight to China.”“If proper vetting was actually the issue, why has@USCIS been waiting until people renew their EADs to complete a screening? USCIS can review an alien’s background at any point. This just harms the people who are actually following the law and are not a security threat. Also, we wouldn’t need automatic extensions of EADs if USCIS would just process the application! It’s the agency’s own inefficient processing times that created the need for auto extensions in the first place,” immigration attorney Emily Neumann wrote.
