A new rule issued by the Department of Homeland Security will allow immigrants with expired work permits to continue working as they await renewals.
The rule appeared on the federal register this week and will go live on Friday. Under it, immigrants whose work visas are expired will be able to work for another 18 months while their renewal is in process.
Citizenship and Immigration Services has been working to scale back a processing backlog causing long delays for various immigration services, including work permits. The new rule is intended help ensure immigrants caught in that process can continue working as they wait.
Immigrants needing to renew work authorization are typically given an automatic extension for an additional 180 days. Under the new rule, that extension will be 540 days. It applies to work permits for immigrants including asylum applicants, and goes into effect next month.
