Overview
- Homeland Security and USCIS are taking public comments on the proposed rule until April 24, and advocates urge both filing objections and submitting eligible work permit applications now.
- The plan would make asylum seekers wait 365 days before they can apply for an Employment Authorization Document and extend the government’s processing time for these applications to up to 180 days, pushing total waits as long as 545 days.
- A suspension trigger would let the government stop taking new initial work permit requests if average asylum processing exceeds 180 days, which the group ASAP estimates could freeze filings for years, even up to 173 years under current backlogs.
- Eligibility would tighten by barring many who entered between ports of entry after the rule takes effect, enforcing the one‑year asylum filing deadline, expanding criminal‑record bars, and requiring fingerprints for both first‑time and renewal applications.
- Experts say current work permits stay valid until their printed expiration dates, while the proposal would end future permits when asylum is denied and allow only 30 days after a judge’s denial if no appeal, a change immigration firms warn could deepen financial strain for families.