Biden Administration Announces Immigrant Work Permit Extensions Spearheaded by Espaillat and Warren

NEW YORK, NY –  Today, Representative Adriano Espaillat (NY-13) announced the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) would be implementing a rule to preserve thousands of immigrants’ work permits that were at risk of lapsing in light of ongoing processing backlogs within DHS’s U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCSIS) subagency. This change comes on the heels of Congressman Espaillat and Senator Warren’s March 2024 bicameral letter to USCIS, which 70 Members of Congress signed, and after months of congressional advocacy which began when Espaillat issued his first October 2023 congressional letter to USCIS. 

The new temporary rule from USCIS will lengthen the current 180-day automatic extension period for immigrants’ work permits (EADs) to 540 days, which will allow USCIS sufficient time to process immigrants’ work permit renewal applications. This action will help sustain American businesses amid nationwide labor shortages and prevent immigrants from losing their jobs at no fault of their own due to USCIS’s application processing times frequently exceeding 180-days.

“Today’s announcement represents a win for working immigrants and their families across the country,” said Congressman Espaillat. “Immigrant workers, who represent the backbone of our country, can now rest easy knowing that their work permits, jobs, and livelihoods will no longer be at risk due purely to processing delays. I was proud to work with Senator Warren to lead the congressional outreach effort to the Biden Administration calling for this critical new rule, and I am grateful that President Biden and USCIS Director Ur Jaddou have now answered the call and delivered for our immigrant communities.”

“Temporarily lengthening the existing automatic extension up to 540 days will avoid lapses in employment authorizations,” said USCIS Director Ur Jaddou. “At the same time, this rule provides DHS with an additional window to consider long-term solutions by soliciting public comments, and identifying new strategies to ensure those noncitizens eligible for employment authorization can maintain that benefit.”

The full USCIS press release announcing the new rule can be read here.

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Representative Espaillat is the first Dominican American to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives and his congressional district includes Harlem, East Harlem, West Harlem, Hamilton Heights, Washington Heights, Inwood, Marble Hill and the north-west Bronx. First elected to Congress in 2016, Representative Espaillat is serving his fourth term in Congress. Representative Espaillat currently serves as a member of the influential U.S. House Committee on Appropriations responsible for funding the federal government’s vital activities and serves as Ranking Member of the Legislative Branch Subcommittee of the committee during the 118th Congress. He is also a member of the House Budget Committee and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC), where he serves in a leadership role as the Deputy Chair as well as Chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI). Rep. Espaillat is a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) and serves as a Senior Whip of the Democratic Caucus. To find out more about Rep. Espaillat, visit online at https://espaillat.house.gov/.

Media inquiries: Candace Person at Candace.Person@mail.house.gov