USCIS Drastically Reduces Validity Period for Certain EADs to 18 months
Today, December 4, 2025, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that starting December 5th, the maximum validity period for certain Employment Authorization Documents (EAD) categories will be reduced from five (5) years to eighteen (18) months to allow USCIS to enhance vetting, deter fraud, and identify potential threats of persons who apply for authorization to work in the United States. The EAD categories impacted by the new policy include applicants who are applying for, or have pending applications for adjustment of status (AOS) and asylum. The new policy will apply to both initial and renewal I-765 EAD applications that are pending or filed on or after December 5th.
What This Means for Our Clients
The drastic reduction in the EAD validity period will impact EAD renewal applications, particularly for adjustment of status (AOS) applicants who do not have an underlying employment-authorized nonimmigrant status and who rely on the AOS EAD for work authorization. On October 30, 2025, the USCIS ended its longstanding automatic EAD extension policy for timely filed EAD renewal applications. This means that EAD renewal applications must be filed as soon as AOS applicants become eligible to apply for renewal, which is 180 days prior to expiration of the previously-issued EAD, to avoid or lessen possible gaps in work authorization.
We will be reaching out to our clients who may be impacted by the new policy.