Kamal Ghorui
The US senate is expected to shortly vote on a bill that would reinstate automatic extension of work permits for those who file timely renewals. Nearly a lakh Indian spouses of H-1B visa holders (largely women) hold these employment authorisation documents (EADs) aka work permits – at present the risk of job loss owing to processing delays and lack of automatic extensions looms large. The bill if passed by the US parliament, will mitigate their anxieties and prevent disruption of business activities.TOI had earlier covered that a group of Democratic-party senators including Alex Padilla, member of the Senate Judiciary Immigration Sub-committee; Jacky Rosen and several others, had moved a resolution to reverse an ‘interim final rule’ which came into force from Oct 30, last year and ended automatic renewals of work permits for certain categories of legally authorised non-citizens including spouses of H-1B visa holders.
Read Also: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/several-us-senators-challenge-a-rule-that-ended-automatic-extension-of-work-permits-for-spouses-of-h-1bs-and-others/articleshow/125945948.cmsThis group of US senators had moved the resolution under the Congressional Review Act (CRA) – it enables a federal agency rule to be quickly overturned by passing a joint resolution of disapproval within a limited time after the rule is issued. Legal experts explain that generally a resolution under the CRA requires the President to sign off. But Congress can attempt to override the President’s veto with a super-majority vote.A 2016 rule provided for automatic extension of up to 180 days from the date of expiry of the EAD, this meant that the spouse could continue to work pending processing of the EAD renewal application. In spring 2022, USCIS temporarily increased the automatic extension to 540 days. Later with effect from Jan 2025, this extended period was made permanent, to prevent any job disruptions caused by processing delays. A few months later, in Oct, via an interim final rule, the automatic extension mechanism was abruptly terminated.H-4 spouses can file EAD renewal applications only within 180 days before their current work permit expires, and that this timing is often outside their control. Because an H-4 spouse’s status extension must be filed along with the H-1B worker’s extension, any delay by the employer in filing the H-1B petition automatically shortens the window available to the dependent spouse.Even in cases where applications are filed as early as the rules allow, USCIS processing delays routinely exceed 180 days, making job loss inevitable if automatic extensions are not available. The Trump administration has justified the rollback on national security and public safety grounds, citing the need for additional vetting before extending work authorisation.American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) points out that the 540-day automatic extension, protected workers and their US employers from work stoppages due to bureaucratic delays and inefficiencies. An estimated 3.8 million workers now hold EADs that are no longer eligible for an automatic extension and are at risk of losing their jobs while they wait for USCIS to issue a decision.The Association in a ‘vote recommendation’ has called on senators to support this key resolution which seeks to overturn the termination of the 540-day automatic extension of EADs.
