Asylum seekers are eligible for an Employment Authorization Document (EAD) while their application is pending. Although EADs are issued for 5 years, most applicants need to renew their employment authorization because the wait is so long.
Up until last week, if you filed to renew before your current EAD expired, you received an automatic 540-day extension of the current card. This was important, since USCIS often processes renewals slowly, and without the extension, many asylum seekers would lose the ability to work. But now, a new rule has eliminated the automatic EAD extension for asylum seekers (and others), and so when your card expires, you can no longer work lawfully.
Why has USCIS made this change? According to the Agency, non-citizens were being granted automatic EAD extensions “without the completion of appropriate vetting and screening.” While “these applicants were screened in the context of their initial EAD application(s), the automatic extensions allows them to have their EADs extended, for up to 540 days, without the complete and proper vetting that would be done when adjudicating the renewal application.” USCIS posits that this delay “could impede DHS from timely identifying derogatory information or other concerns that may have arisen since the adjudication of the initial EAD.”
USCIS manages to cite one example to illustrate their supposed concern about vetting: On June 1, 2025, “an alien firebombed and assaulted demonstrators at a peaceful Jewish event to support hostages in Gaza.” The attacker had come to the United States where, according to USCIS, he “obtained an EAD based on a pending asylum application which was then automatically extended for a period of up to 540 days.”
This attack was a horrific event, but how it relates to the automatic EAD extension is not explained, and to me, USCIS’s justification seems utterly disingenuous. Moreover, USCIS fails to account for the harm that will befall non-citizens and citizens alike due to the new rule.
The most obvious harm is to non-citizens, who will lose the ability to work if their EAD expires before USCIS processes the renewal. USCIS expresses little concern for this group, though in a footnote buried within the new rule, the Agency “acknowledges that the loss of employment authorization for asylum applicants may pose additional challenges given that they may be in a precarious financial situation due to circumstances such as fleeing persecution in their home country.” No duh.
Further, potential employers are already wary of hiring asylum seekers due to their immigration status. This new policy will likely make employers even more hesitant, as they could be held liable if they mistakenly employ someone who is ineligible to work.
A less obvious harm is to Americans with health care needs. As I have written before, non-citizens–including hundreds of thousands of “illegals”–make up a disproportionate share of our nation’s healthcare providers. If they are prevented from working, Americans who rely on them will suffer and die needlessly.
Who is affected by the new rule? Anyone who is not authorized to work incident to their status is no longer eligible for the automatic EAD extension. This means that asylum seekers and people granted Withholding of Removal (among others) will no longer receive an automatic extension when they file to renew their EAD. Such people will not be able to work lawfully after the expiration date listed on their EAD card. Do remember that people who filed to renew prior to October 30, 2025 are eligible for the automatic extension; the new policy only applies to people who file to renew after the rule went into effect.
People who have been granted asylum and people who arrived in the United States as refugees are not affected.
What can you do? Unfortunately, the wait time to renew an EAD is unpredictable and ever-changing. According to the USCIS website, the expected wait time to renew an asylum-pending EAD is 6.5 months. This means that 80% of EAD renewals will be processed within that time frame; 20% of renewals will take longer.
The best way to protect yourself and avoid gaps in employment eligibility is to apply early to renew your EAD. USCIS “generally recommends filing a renewal EAD application up to 180 days before the current EAD expires.” This is not what I recommend, however. Since the average wait time to renew an EAD is 6.5 months or about 195 days, you can expect a 15-day gap in employment eligibility if you file to renew 180 days before your current EAD expires.
The safer approach–recommended by the Asylum Seekers Assistance Project (a non-profit that helps asylum seekers) and by me–is to apply to renew at least one year before the current EAD expires. This should allow enough time to get the new work permit, even if your case is one of the 20% that takes longer than 6.5 months.
The end of the automatic extension is obviously bad news for asylum seekers and many others. However, for the most part, the harm can be avoided by applying early to renew your EAD. We can only hope that USCIS will be satisfied with this change and will not further restrict the ability of asylum seekers to work while their applications are pending.
[…] EAD expires, they will become ineligible to work. The shortened validity period combined with the end of the automatic 540-day EAD extension means that people with pending applications will face a real risk of losing work eligibility while […]
Hello Jason. I’m very thankful for your help
My attorney put wrong dates and made some typos in the cover letter/legal summary of my case. But on the actual application all dates and information is accurate. Can this affect my case with USCIS? What are your recommendations in such situations?
I doubt it would have an effect, but I do think it would be worthwhile to write a letter explaining and correcting the errors in the cove letter. You can submit that in advance (through the USCIS portal or by mail) or bring it to the interview to give to the officer. Take care, Jason
If is it taken to the interview, should it be provided immediately or in case they ask about it?
Thank you.
If you bring it to the interview, I think it is best to give it to the officer at the beginning before you get started. The issue is, I think it is better for your to tell them the correction before they ask about it. Take care, Jason
Got it.
Last question
Based on your expertise
Does the officer usually review corrections during the interview and move on or this will necessarily require a separate review after the interview and potential decision delay?
Normally, they would do that at the interview, and if you give them the corrections in advance, that will make it easier for them and you, and should avoid the possibility that they will use the errors against you. Take care, Jason
Hi Jason,
For an asylum that was filed May 2025, they sent interview notice after 28 days, it was asked to reschedule then they send it again for 33 days. It was again asked to reschedule stating that they did not allow enough time for the applicant to prepare. Now it has been about 3 months, they have not send a new interview date. Does that mean they close the case or will they send it to court? Can the person apply for EAD under that asylum, it has been about 180 days. And for clarification, it is only business days for the 180 days counting or weekends are also included?
Thank you
You can enter the receipt number in the Check Case Status page of http://www.USCIS.gov to see whether the case is still pending. The receipt for an asylum case usually starts with the letter Z. You can email the asylum office directly to ask about the status of the asylum clock. You can find their email if you follow the link under Resources called Asylum Office Locator. As long as the clock has more than 180 days (or more than 150 days if it is still moving), you are eligible for an EAD. If you caused a delay in the case, by asking for more time for the interview, the clock may be stopped, and if it is stopped with less than 180 days, you are not yet eligible for a work permit. These are calendar days and not work days. Take care, Jason
Hi Jason,
My nephew was detained by ice. NTA was not filed by dhs with immigration court so he never had a hearing scheduled, and so far no hearing schuduled for him since his arrest last werk. He filed his asylum case with the USCIS when he crossed the border.
What’s the process of hiring a lawyer for him? I talked with one lawyer who said my nephew should come for initial consultation nd gave us an appointment 2 months from now. This obviously not possible as my nephew is in detention and we can’t afford that long 2 months wait.
He needs to move much more quickly if he is detained. It is common for ICE to detain a person in one state, and then move him to another state in order to get the person away from family, friends, and lawyers. Depending on the situation, it will likely be difficult to get your nephew out of detention. Under a new rule, basically anyone who entered at the border is subject to mandatory detention. It may still be possible to get him released, but he also may need to present his asylum case while detained, which is more difficult than if he is not detained. I think he needs to get a lawyer as soon as possible. Our firm can probably assist if you want – you can email me at jason@murrayosorio.com if you want to arrange a consultation. Take care, Jason
Hi Jason. The last time i talked with my lawyer she said USCIS has not lifted the pause of adjustment of status for asylees and refugees or she does not know maybe. Can you please confirm it that now the pause has ben lifted and applications are going as normal so that i can show her. Thank you so much.
USCIS is not releasing info about these things, and so we don’t know for sure, but I believe the pause was ended. I wrote about that on August 6, 2025. Take care, Jason
Just FYI, USCIS releases quarterly reports for I-485 processing per field office.
You can find it through the following link:
https://www.uscis.gov/tools/reports-and-studies/immigration-and-citizenship-data
This data doesn’t differentiate between asylees & refugees, but I assume the majority of cases are asylees.
Interesting – Thank you. I see that the other categories seemed to complete many more cases than I-485 forms in the humanitarian category. Maybe that reflects the “pause.” If they release a report about the next quarter, we will see how things change, but I expect asylee and refugee green card applications will continue to move more slowly than other categories. Take care, Jason
Hi Jason. Thanks for you efforts and assistance. Last time i talked to my lawyer, she said that she is not aware of the pause lifted by USCIS for adjustment of status for asylees and refugees. Can you please confirm that it has been lifted and applications are going as normal as before.
USCIS is not releasing info about these things, and so we don’t know for sure, but I believe the pause was ended. I wrote about that on August 6, 2025. Take care, Jason
Hi Jason. I entered US last year as a refugee in November and my i-94 shows my class of admission as PAR instead of RE. I am now applying for my adjustment of status. How should I correct my i-94 and does it affect my application as error was made by them and their side. I currently reside in NY. My lawyer says they have made request for correction but there is still no reply from there side.
I do not know about that, sorry. I would think that even if the I-94 has an error, you should have sufficient documents to show that you entered as a refugee and are eligible to adjust status. However, I have not done this for anyone and I do not know for sure. Take care, Jason
Hi Jason, thank you for your work!
Can we file or amend the applications to ask for protections from being detained by their agents while having pending asylum? If you look at what they do, well, it’s what the asylum applications are about, what an irony.
It is pretty ironic that people have fled government persecution only to be persecuted and terrorized by our government. I am not sure what you can do with your application to reduce the likelihood of being detained here. Some people are more vulnerable to detention than others, but that depends on how they entered the US, if they have criminal issues or deport orders, etc., and so I am not sure what could be changed in the application to ameliorate those. Take care, Jason
Hello Jason thank you for your dedication and help.
I am an American citizen, I obtained it through asylum. I traveled to my country twice, each time for 5 days. I never had any problems returning. Do you think that with this new administration, it’s advisable not to return to my country? I’m afraid they won’t let me in.
thank you
I think you will be able to return to the US; that is not really an issue. The question is how aggressively the Administration will be pursuing de-naturalization (taking citizenship away) from people. They had some type of announcement about that last summer, but I have not seen any movement and I have not heard about anyone being targeted for de-naturalization. I suppose a return trip to your country could cause the US government to suspect that the original asylum case was fake, and so you should be prepared to explain why you returned and how you stayed safe, in case they ask. It is quite difficult to take a person’s citizenship away, and so I am not sure this is a major concern, but keep an eye on the news and if you hear about the government trying to de-naturalize people, you can see who is being targeted and (if necessary) adjust your travel plans. Take care, Jason
Jason, on USCIS website I read that court ordered stay on AAF (Annual Asylum Fees) on Oct 30th. Can you please give general idea with this court order? Does it mean that now with this order , AAF is no more needed to pay?
The annual fee is on hold and you do not need to pay now (this does not apply to the initial fee – you have to pay that if you are filing a new I-589). However, it is unlikely that the stay will last for very long, and so I am just advising my clients to pay, since they will have to do that eventually anyway, and I don’t want them to wait and then forget to pay. Take care, Jason
My case is with BIA, there is no option for BIA cases. Which option should I select to pay fees?
Supposedly, they will send a notice explaining how to pay, but otherwise, you should be able to pay for the annual asylum fee here: https://epay.eoir.justice.gov/. Take care, Jason
Hello Jason,
I believe we are all in awe of all the information and the help you’re providing. Do you happen to know if asylum officers typically wait for security checks before referring asylum seekers to court, or do they refer them directly after the interview, within a few weeks, without conducting any checks?
My understanding is that they wait for the checks. However, I have heard that there is some type of hold on countries from the “banned” travel list. For those cases, what I have heard is that they will hold potential grants until they can be approved by headquarters. However, for denials, they will send those to court. I have not heard that it works this way for regular security checks, and I think for non-banned cases, they will wait for the background check before issuing a decision, good or bad. Take care, Jason
Hi dear Asylum approved community and dear Jason, Would you mind telling me if anyone received asylum based greencard card recently like when did you filed and which month did you received it?
Trying to see if anyone received a greencard card between April 2025 to Now Nov 2025.
Also is anybody successfully expedited it recently aswell?
I put will be very much appreciated.
Thank you!
I don’t remember the details, but we have had asylee clients receive their GCs within the last 6 months. I don’t remember the time frame, but as far as we can tell, the USCIS pause on granting green cards to asylees has ended. I wrote about that on August 6, 2025. Take care, Jason
Hi Jason, hope all is well. I received my green card based on an approved asylum case in January 2024, and I can apply for citizenship in January 2029. I have a girlfriend who is on a student visa until 2027. I just want to know if sponsoring her for a green card based on marriage (a real marriage) would affect my citizenship process or not?
Always appreciate for your help
I do not see how that would have any effect on your citizenship case. Take care, Jason
Good morning Jason,
We have received our marriage-based Green Card interview letter and would like to know your opinion, or the opinions of people on this platform who have gone through the same situation, especially in this era of the Trump administration. My wife and I are from the same country. She is in the military and currently in a very advanced stage of pregnancy (twins). We live together.
I had previously applied for asylum, but that case was terminated before the immigration court. Our attorney will not be available to attend our interview because he has another hearing before the immigration court on the same day. He wants to request that our Green Card interview be rescheduled, which we do not want.
He mentioned that he would not be available but did not comment on whether it is safe for us to attend without him. I have a clean record.
We were fortunate to have our Green Card interview scheduled in barely a month, which surprised us to the point that we even thought it might have been an immigration error.
We would like to know whether it is safe to attend the interview without our attorney, and would greatly appreciate your opinion or the opinions of others who have recently experienced a similar situation.
Thank you in advance!
If ICE wants to detain you, I do not think that having a lawyer there would help much, and so I do not know that it matters. However, given what you have written, it seems like there is no reason to detain you. The marriage seems true, you have no criminal issues, and the Immigration Court dismissed the case so you could get your green card based on marriage. Assuming you entered the US legally, you should be eligible for the GC and I do not see why ICE would want to detain you. Take care, Jason
Hello Jason,
I am wondering if we apply for EAD renewal earlier than 180 days before the expiration date, USCIS rejects our application, or doesn`t touch it until 180 days before the expiration date. How likely is it?
It is difficult to find very clear guidance on this, but it seems that the 180 days is a recommendation and you can file earlier than that. Many people did that before Trump came into office, as there was a fear that USCIS would stop issuing EADs. And so I think you can file any time. The worry is that if you want until 180 days before the current card expires, USCIS will not process the renewal quickly enough and you will have a gap in employment eligibility. Take care, Jason
I showed up to my N-400 interview and was told that it got descheduled without giving a reason. It’s making me very anxious thinking if there’s something with my case or really an unforeseen circumstance as they claim to be. There were others there who went about completing their interviews as usual. Does this happen for individual reasons? I have a clean immigration record and don’t see any specific reason to worry about but want to know if they get into details about my underlying asylum case or how to prepare for the interview? Please advise.
There is no way to know for sure, but interviews do sometimes get rescheduled, and in most cases, it has nothing to do with the case; instead, it is related to the officer’s schedule or other office issues that cause the case to be rescheduled. In short, I would really not worry about this, and prepare for your interview as normal once it gets rescheduled. Take care, Jason
I-485 form. Part 9 Questions.
Jason, I know you typically recommend to circle any “Yes” answers and adding “See Cover Letter” to explain the circumstances.
Can you advise why you prefer cover letters over Part 14, which provides you with space for such explanations?
Would you recommend circling and adding “See Part 14” if using that instead of cover letters?
No reason – that is how I have done it for years and it works, but it is exactly the same to add it to the supplement part at the end. I would call it “personal preference” and the fact that old habits die hard. Take care, Jason
Hi Jason,
I have a problem and not sure what i should do, i applied for asylum in 2019, got denied by New Jersey office in 2020, they transferred my case to the court in NJ and my case scheduled for 2023. Six months before my court date i got a reschedule notice stating that my case scheduled for 2025. Today was my court day, i went there and they told me the Judge can not see my case today, he only can see 10 cases and my case is not one of them, i asked why i can’t be part of the 10 cases, they told me they prioritize singles over married people, and since my case includes my wife and daughter so they will reschedule my case, i tried to push back but it didn’t work and asked me to leave the court, which i did and the later today i checked my case status online, i found they rescheduled my case for 2028??
I really don’t know what am i supposed to do at this point, can i appeal this issue anywhere? Can i fight their rescheduling my case for more than 8 years now? There is a friend advised me to move to California and try to stay around Santana Court as they move faster. Is that a good advice?
Some courts are faster than others, but if you move, you may have to start over with a Master Calendar Hearing, which could make things slower. I think your better bet may be to ask the judge to advance your hearing date, so you get an earlier date. I wrote about this on April 20, 2017, and maybe that article would help. Take care, Jason
To make his case weaker ?
Sometimes I notice the govt deliberately delay the hearing so that the situation that qualifies the applicant for asylum materially changes…
Hello Mr. Jason,
I am applying for asylum on political grounds. I am married to a European citizen and my spouse is in Europe while me being in the US. I am applying for asylum individually and I will not add my husband to my file. My husband has his valid ESTA. Can my husband keep visiting me when my asylum application is in process?
Thank you.
I am not sure that the border authorities would know that he is your spouse, but if they did, they may deny him entry, since he could be added to your asylum case once he is here, and from their perspective, that would violate his status. In short, it is not easy to know what will happen when he comes here; I expect he will likely be able to enter normally, but if they know about your case, it may cause them to deny him entry. Take care, Jason
Hello sir. I want to know if someone got a removal order in immigration court and they are in detention, and they want to appeal with the BIA. How quick is the process? I imagine it is quicker since they are in detention. Thank you
It varies, but an appeal is quicker when the person is detained. I would expect it would be at least a few months. Take care, Jason
Mr. Jason,I have two questions
1. When one can apply COR, is it applied before master hearing or it can be applied later at individual hearing?
2. Can I apply COR on the base of my US citizen minor child on grounds of him getting same threat in my home country and facing hardship on these grounds. My lawyer said the kid must have a medical condition whereas my child is healthy and well.
Also can me and my spouse and other dependent kids benefit from this COR or it’s just for the main applicant.
I appreciate your response Thanks.
1 – Cancellation of Removal? If you are in court, you would normally submit the form at the Master Hearing or at least before the Individual Hearing (according to the rules in the Immigration Court Practice Manual and any requirements set by the judge). You also have to pay the fee and submit the fee receipt, plus submit all supporting evidence. 2 – If COR is based on your US child, you have to show that the child will suffer exceptional and extremely unusual hardship if you are deported, and that could be for any reason. So if you were to be deported and you had to take your child with you, and the child would face harm in your country for some reason, that could be a basis for COR. 3 – To win COR, you must have a US citizen or green card parent, child or spouse who will suffer this hardship if you leave (among other requirements). And each person would need to show that independently. So if you have other children in Immigration Court, they could not qualify for COR unless they have a parent, child or spouse who is a US citizen or who has a green card. In other words, COR is only for the one person and it cannot benefit any dependents; the dependents would need to win COR on their own. Take care, Jason