US ends 540-day work permit extension, hitting H-1B spouses and foreign professionals

The United States has permanently ended the automatic 540-day extension that allowed immigrant workers to keep their jobs while waiting for work permit renewals.

A final rule published by the Department of Homeland Security scraps the Biden-era grace period that protected foreign professionals from abrupt unemployment when agency delays held up their paperwork. The regulation takes effect upon publication in the Federal Register on 14 October.

The measure directly affects foreign nationals holding Employment Authorisation Documents, most notably asylum applicants and spouses of H-1B visa holders on H-4 dependant visas — an immigrant category predominantly made up of skilled Indian professionals.

Why the grace period was cut

The Department of Homeland Security defended the removal of the 540-day window on national security grounds. Federal officials stated that ending the extended grace period allows authorities to conduct background checks and security reviews on applicants more frequently.

The policy was first paused on an interim basis last year under broader immigration measures aimed at heightening regulatory oversight. By making the change permanent, Washington ensures that immigrant workers lose valid work authorisation immediately on the date their permits expire, regardless of whether an extension request is already sitting with the authorities.

USCIS backlogs leave workers in limbo

The primary friction for foreign workers lies in rigid filing limits paired with lengthy federal processing times. Immigrants cannot file renewal petitions earlier than 180 days before their current documents expire. Yet US Citizenship and Immigration Services continues to struggle with substantial processing queues.

Because processing times often exceed 180 days, thousands of Indian families face mandatory leaves of absence or job losses while waiting for routine paper renewals, even though Indian tech talent remains central to American enterprise and innovation.

Legal battles and refugee curbs

The tightening of permit rules has already triggered pushback in federal courts. In January, a group of H-4 visa holders challenged the policy change under the Administrative Procedure Act, arguing that the government had ignored how heavily immigrant households relied on the extension.

In September, a federal judge in California issued a limited injunction blocking enforcement of the interim rule against the named plaintiffs, ruling that the agency had failed to meet procedural requirements. The rollout of the final rule, however, solidifies the policy nationwide.

Alongside the work permit changes, the administration shortened the window refugees have to challenge the termination of their status from 30 days down to 10 days, taking effect immediately. Authorities justified the shorter window as a measure to mitigate risks and address programme integrity, while reviewing roughly 185,000 refugee cases.