Good News! Indians with pending EAD applications of H1-B visa holders get 540 days extension.

Highlights: Indians with pending EAD applications of H1-B holders get an extension of 540 days

• The USCIS has extended the automatic extension period for expiring EAD applications.
• Indians with pending EAD applications get a 540-day extension instead of 180 days for renewal applications.
• The extension applies to H-4 visa holders, green card applicants, and US asylum seekers.
• The extension aims to prevent employment gaps and job loss due to processing delays.

 

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Extension of validity tenure

The USCIS has temporarily extended the automatic extension period of expiring EAD holders. Indians with pending EAD applications will benefit from the extended validity tenure, which was set at 180 days to 540 days.

 

The extension applies to H-4 visa holders, including spouses of certain categories of H1-B visa holders, asylum seekers, and green card applicants. It is aimed at easing processing delays, which often lead to employment gaps or job losses.

 

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USCIS aims to reduce processing times

The extension rule proposed by the USCIS aims to reduce processing delays and ensure that work authorization documents remain valid while the application is processed. With the new extension rule, USCIS anticipates preventing an employment lapse of around 8 lakh EAD renewal applicants.

 

Data by immigration experts show several EAD applications of Indian spouses of H1-B Visa holders were stuck in the processing backlog. Green card applicants from India are to benefit from renewing their EADs periodically.

 

Also read…

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Need for extension of validity tenure.

Advocacy groups, business leaders, and several congressmen pointed out that the validity tenure extension was urgently needed. The current EAD application renewal process for green card holders takes over nine months.

 

H-4 visa holders, along with spouses of certain categories of H1-B visa holders, are now eligible for EAD renewal six months before expiry. The new extension rule allows applicants whose EADs had an expiry date of October 27 to work for another 360 days while their EAD is being renewed.

 

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Eligibility criteria for extension

The USCIS mentioned that the 540-day extension period applies to top EAD applicants who properly filed renewal applications on or after October 27, 2023, provided these applications are pending as of April 8, 2024. It is also necessary that their present EAD or 180-day auto extension period is still valid.

 

The extension also applies to applicants applying for renewal between April 8, 2024, and September 30, 2025.

 

Who are not eligible?

 

The following category of applicants would be ineligible to avail the new extension rule:

• Initial applicants for EAD
• International students, including STEM students who are eligible for a 3-year Optional Practical Training (OPT)

According to Mitch Wexler, partner at Fragomen, “Such students continue to be eligible for an auto-extension period of up to 180 days”. STEM renewal applicants can also request faster application processing with an additional fee, added Wexler.

 

Note: If the renewal application is denied, the 540-day maximum auto extension period will automatically cease as reported by Wexler.

 

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