The administration of US President Donald Trump has finalised a policy ending automatic extensions of employment authorisation documents (EADs) for eligible foreign nationals who have applied to renew their work permits but are still awaiting decisions.
The change could affect more than 100,000 Indian spouses of H-1B visa holders, many of them women, who depend on employment authorisation to work in the United States while their families wait through lengthy green card backlogs.
The move comes amid a broader effort by the administration to tighten employment authorisation rules for foreign nationals. Last month, officials also indicated plans to eventually remove H-4 dependent spouses of H-1B workers from the categories eligible to obtain work permits.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has finalised the new rule without changes to an interim measure introduced in October 2025. That measure ended automatic extensions for certain EAD renewal applications filed on or after October 30, 2025.
Under the policy, submitting a renewal application before an existing work permit expires will no longer automatically allow eligible applicants covered by the rule to continue working while their applications are being processed. The administration said the change was intended to strengthen screening and vetting before employment authorisation is renewed.
Previously, eligible applicants could continue working for a limited period beyond the expiry of their permits while waiting for renewal decisions.
A framework introduced in 2016 provided an automatic extension of up to 180 days. The period was temporarily expanded to 540 days in 2022 and made permanent from January 2025 to reduce employment disruptions caused by delays in processing applications.
The interim rule issued in October 2025 reversed that protection for applications covered by the measure. The latest action formally establishes the change.
Indian spouses face potential work interruptions
The policy is particularly significant for certain H-4 visa holders, who are spouses of foreign professionals working in the US under H-1B visas.
The provision allowing eligible H-4 spouses to obtain employment authorisation was introduced in 2015 under former President Barack Obama. It was partly intended to help families facing prolonged waits for employment-based permanent residence, including many Indian households affected by green card backlogs.
Under the arrangement, certain H-4 spouses could apply for EADs if their H-1B partners were pursuing permanent residence or had secured extensions beyond the standard six-year limit for H-1B status.
However, the renewal process can leave applicants vulnerable to processing delays. H-4 spouses are permitted to submit EAD renewal applications only within 180 days of their existing permits expiring.
Their immigration status extensions must also be filed alongside those of their H-1B spouses. If an employer delays filing the H-1B extension petition, the available time for the dependent spouse to submit a renewal application can become even shorter.
With automatic extensions no longer available to applicants covered by the new rule, some H-4 spouses could be required to stop working when their current permits expire, even if their renewal applications remain undecided.
Immigration lawyers have repeatedly raised concerns about lengthy processing times and the risk of workers losing their jobs because of administrative delays.
Thousands of renewal applications remain pending
Data from US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) highlights the scale of the backlog.
As of June 30, 2026, the agency reported more than 432,000 pending EAD renewal applications, including applications submitted by H-4 visa holders, that had been awaiting decisions for at least six months.
Of that total, approximately 91,000 applications had remained unresolved for more than 18 months.
The figures have intensified concerns that applicants could face extended periods without work authorisation under the revised system.
The policy has also encountered legal opposition. According to an earlier report by The Times of India, a US district court in California issued a preliminary injunction on September 10, 2026, in a case brought by seven plaintiffs challenging the rule.
The court found that DHS had failed to follow the procedures required by the Administrative Procedure Act when introducing the measure.
However, the order applied only to the seven plaintiffs involved in the case and did not block the policy nationwide.
Some visa categories remain unaffected
The revised policy does not apply to every category of foreign worker or dependent.
Spouses of L-1 visa holders, who enter the US through intra-company transfers, are unaffected because eligible L-2 spouses can work without obtaining a separate EAD.
Mitch Wexler, senior counsel at global immigration law firm Fragomen, also noted that F-1 students applying for an extension of employment authorisation through the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) programme are not affected by the removal of the maximum 540-day automatic extension.
Such students continue to receive an automatic extension of up to 180 days after submitting their STEM EAD applications on time under a separate regulatory provision.
For eligible foreign nationals covered by the new rule, however, the end of automatic extensions means that a pending renewal application will no longer, on its own, protect their ability to keep working after their existing authorisation expires.
