After calls from Maine officials, immigrant work permits will be automatically extended

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security permanently increased the automatic extension period of work authorizations for immigrants and asylum seekers following calls from officials, including Maine’s governor and two members of Congress.

“This final rule is a major win for Maine’s businesses and immigrant workers,” said Lisa Parisio, policy director of the Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project, which provides free and low-cost immigration legal assistance in Maine. 

DHS released a rule on Tuesday that codifies the automatic extension of expiring Employment Authorization Documents for up to 540 days, which Democratic U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree, independent U.S. Sen. Angus King and Democratic Gov. Janet Mills requested in a letter to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Ur Jaddou on Friday.

“This extension provides much-needed stability as states like Maine continue to address labor shortages, ensuring that immigrants and asylum seekers can maintain employment without unnecessary interruptions caused by application backlogs,” Pingree, King and Mills wrote in a joint statement following the announcement on Tuesday. 

The permanent change comes after two temporary rules had permitted the 540-day automatic renewal period, an increase from the previous 180-day period. DHS had issued the latest temporary rule in April, when applicants had seen processing times of up to 16 months, well beyond the targeted three-month wait.

While processing times have reduced since, USCIS received and processed a record number of EAD applications this year, which the department cited when explaining why the permanent increase is needed.

In Maine, immigrant workers and their employers have been left in limbo due to USCIS processing delays when new work permits don’t arrive before the expiration of a previous work permit , Parisio said.

“This final rule solves this problem by automatically extending existing work permits for the time it will take to process renewal work permits, ensuring there are no gaps in work authorization, which have previously cost Maine workers their jobs and have cost Maine businesses their workers,” Parisio said.

The final rule will become effective on January 13, 2025. It will apply to eligible applicants with renewal applications pending or filed on or after May 4, 2022. 

While applauding President Joe Biden’s administration for the rule, Pingree, King and Mills vowed to continue to work with the administration and in Congress to advance comprehensive immigration reform. 

“There is still much work to be done to reform our broken immigration system, streamline work authorization processes, and create a fair and efficient pathway for all,” they wrote. 

Pingree and King have each proposed legislation to expedite work authorizations. 

Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, asylum seekers currently have to wait 180 days after filing for asylum to obtain a work permit. Leaders of immigrant rights groups in Maine argue shortening the waiting period would help alleviate constraints in providing resources, such as housing to new arrivals, while also addressing the workforce shortage. 

In 2023, Pingree introduced a bill in the U.S. House to shorten the waiting period to 30 days, as well as eliminate the two-year renewal schedule, which she argues places unnecessary bureaucratic burdens on USCIS and creates costly delays for immigrants.

Her counterparts in the Senate, King and Republican Susan Collins, proposed similar legislation, however their plan would require asylum seekers to enter the U.S. through an official port of entry. For that reason, Pingree’s version has been the preferred choice of many immigrant rights groups in Maine.