A federal rulemaking process concluded on Wednesday, ending the policy under which certain visa holders had been able to receive an automatic 540-day renewal of their work authorisation documents, a broadcast news outlet reported. Where an interim rule issued on October 30 of the preceding year had laid out the policy in provisional form, the current final rule converts that framework into binding regulatory language.

Overseas workers with renewal applications still under review face the prospect of losing their authorisation to remain employed in the interim. A 540-day extension took effect under the Biden administration's authority in May 2022. The measure was put in place to streamline the renewal process, helping people maintain their eligibility to work without interruption from administrative backlogs. Reinstated in April 2024 after a period of lapse, the arrangement was subsequently extended without a set end date by December of that year.

The updated regulation withholds automatic extension eligibility from several groups, among them adjustment-of-status applicants, H-4 spouses, those pursuing asylum, refugees, asylees, and TPS beneficiaries. Among those holding H-4 dependent status tied to an H-1B visa, the ability to work lawfully rests on obtaining an Employment Authorization Document — a pathway that leaves this visa category disproportionately exposed to any adjustment in that policy. An expired EAD without a pending renewal would leave the holder without authorisation to remain employed.

The burden of any given impact tends to fall unevenly across different groups. Those pursuing an F-1 visa STEM work-authorisation extension retain access to a 180-day automatic continuation of their existing permission, so long as the renewal paperwork reaches the relevant office by the required deadline. Holders of L and E category visas whose spouses accompany them on that status carry built-in work authorisation, making a separate Employment Authorisation Document unnecessary.

A separate rule under consideration by the administration would place new constraints on visa renewals for overseas workers, with H-1B holders among those facing tighter conditions. Under the proposal, extension requests filed by certain non-immigrant visa holders would lose the long-standing practice of deferring to earlier rulings on comparable cases. Regardless of any prior USCIS approval on a visa, the extension application will be evaluated by officers on its own merits rather than treated as settled by that earlier determination.

Under the revised regulation, applicants may face a higher volume of Evidence Requests, along with added paperwork and associated fees. Written submissions on the proposed rule are being accepted by the Department of Homeland Security through November 13. That decision has not yet been formalised, in contrast to the work permit adjustment.

Ajay Jain Bhutoria, an immigration attorney and one-time White House adviser, voiced opposition to the ruling, stating that the administration's move to formally codify the removal of the 540-day automatic work permit extension drew his unequivocal objection. He characterised the policy shift as a blow to H-4 spouses, healthcare workers, and others holding legal immigration status whose household finances depend on their right to employment.

Those whose permits are nearing expiry face a pressing practical uncertainty: whether renewal applications will be handled before their documentation lapses. Feedback gathered during the public comment window — open through November 13 — will reveal how both employers and immigration advocacy organisations weigh in on the second proposal. Households dependent on the agency's timeline are navigating decisions without a clear path forward, their financial stability tied to when a ruling arrives.