Relief is on the horizon for immigrants struggling with work permit renewals, thanks to newly introduced regulations from the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Starting April 8, roughly 800,000 immigrants experiencing delays in permit renewals will receive an extension of one and a half years on their employment authorisation.
Work Permits Extension Brings Relief
This action comes amid calls from Democratic lawmakers, local elected officials, and immigrant activists for faster regulations to aid immigrants at risk of losing their legal employed status. Previously, immigrants had a grace period of six months following their work permits' official expiration date. Unfortunately, many renewal applications are experiencing up to 16 months of wait times on average.
To combat these delays, USCIS put forth a temporary rule in 2022, increasing the grace period to 540 days. Despite this, extended wait times persisted and work authorisations were at risk once the rule expired in October.
New Rules and Renewed Hope
USCIS has now addressed this by extending the automatic grace period to 540 days again. This ruling will encompass individuals applying to renew their work permits by the end of September 2025, approximately 18 months after it was publicly registered.
USCIS Director Ur Jaddou mentioned the agency's feats in reducing processing times for most work permit categories over the past year, all while receiving a record number of applications. She believes the temporary augmentation of the automatic their extension period will prevent lapses in employment authorization. She further mentioned that the rule aids USCIS in considering sustainable approaches, inviting public review, and finding strategies ensuring noncitizens eligible for employment authorization can conserve those benefits.
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Challenges and Calls for Change
However, this problem is not small. As recently as last September, over 279,000 renewal applicants had been waiting for over six months. Congressional Democrats cautioned the Biden administration that from April 24 onwards, thousands of immigrants' work permits could start expiring.
Although the new regulatory changes did not include the recommended permanent extension or effective regulations for a three-year minimum, the USCIS projects that this relief, together with measures like increasing work permits' validity period to up to five years, will help lighten the agency's workload. These measures include streamlining the process for refugees applying for work permits and adding online filing options for asylum seekers and parolees.
Effects Beyond Administration
Political representatives have also expressed concerns over the ripple effects that delays could have on local economies, given ongoing labor shortages. Continuation of work permits could also strain immigrant services and might risk their access to health insurance and other public benefits.
Last month, President Joe Biden sanctioned a Homeland Security funding bill that provided $34 million explicitly allocated to tackle work permit processing delays - a first-time item. This funding will support the USCIS's efforts to address backlogs, like increasing specific work permits' validity periods.
Helen Muradyan, an Armenian doctor and asylum seeker, openly praised these measures, expressing her relief that no immigrants would have to leave their jobs as she did for two months during the Covid-19 pandemic. "Backlogs have caused considerable unnecessary suffering in the past," said Muradyan, also a member of the Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project. "I salute the government for taking action before any more immigrants lose their jobs."
