Overview
- Under the draft regulation, USCIS would stop accepting new employment authorization applications from asylum seekers whenever average processing times rise above 180 days.
- The proposal shifts eligibility to apply for a work permit from 150 days after filing an asylum claim to 365 days.
- USCIS says new applications could be paused for an extended period, possibly many years, and DHS estimates based on current waits suggest a 14–173 year timeline to resume processing.
- The draft also proposes generally barring migrants who entered the U.S. illegally from obtaining or renewing asylum-based work permits, with narrow exceptions for those who promptly notify authorities.
- Immigrant advocates, including Conchita Cruz of the Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project, warn of severe harms to families and local economies, while the measure remains a draft subject to notice-and-comment and surfaces alongside DHS moves to curtail TPS and authorize detention of certain refugees.