On Oct. 30, 2025, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published an Interim Final Rule (IFR) to end the practice of automatically extending the validity of certain Forms I-766, Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) when a renewal Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, application was timely filed. EAD renewal applicants will no longer receive an up-to-540-day automatic extension of their EAD and/or employment authorization for renewal applications filed on or after Oct. 30, 2025.

Certain situations, however, continue to extend the validity period of a facially expired EAD. An EAD is extended when an EAD beneficiary:

  • Presents a Form I-797C, Notice of Action, receipt notice showing the alien timely filed a renewal EAD application before Oct. 30, 2025. Such EADs maintain an up-to-540-day automatic extension;
  • Presents an EAD that has been automatically extended by Federal Register Notices (FRN) for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) category A12 or C19 EADs; or
  • Is covered under other EAD extensions provided by law, such as OPT Extension for STEM Students or F-1 to H-1B cap-gap.

SAVE Verification

SAVE will automatically verify certain extended EADs at initial verification, including TPS-related category A12 or C19 EADs extended by an FRN. In other cases, SAVE may provide an initial response with the EAD expiration date although the applicant is eligible for an up-to-540-day extension. Agencies should request additional verification for such cases to receive the extended expiration date.

For quickest response times, agencies should upload copies of a) the EAD indicating an eligible category code and b) a Form I-797C, Notice of Action, receipt notice showing the timely filing of a renewal I-765 EAD application in an eligible category prior to Oct. 30, 2025, with a comment stating that an automatic EAD extension may apply. The eligible category codes are A03, A05, A07, A08, A10, A17, A18, C08, C09, C10, C16, C20, C22, C24, C26, C31, and A12 or C19. The category code on the EAD and receipt notice must match, except for A12 and C19 which can be interchangeable. Timely filed means the Received Date on the receipt notice is on or before the Card Expires Date on the EAD, except that for the A12 and C19 EAD category, the Received Date must be during the re-registration period from the applicable Federal Register Notice.

For more information, see the USCIS News Release and refer  to SAVE’s Commonly Used Immigration Documents page and the SAVE Verification Response Guide, Section 4.3, EAD Category, available within SAVE at SAVE> Help> Resources. Additionally, SAVE added a Form I-766, Employment Authorization Document, Category List to the Commonly Used Immigration Documents page.

If you have questions, please reach out to SAVE.Help@uscis.dhs.gov with the subject line: [Insert Agency Name] Question about DHS Interim Final Rule.

Posted in: Immigration

posted on: November 4, 2025

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