New measures will take effect from May 4. It is expected to benefit about 260,000 people, while at the same time avoiding further deterioration of the enterprise workforce shortage and then leading to economic disruption.

According to the official statement of the Immigration Bureau and the report of boundless.com , the director of the Immigration Bureau Jaddou (Ur Mendoza Jaddou) said that the department is still trying to deal with the backlog of cases. Considering that the original 180-day extension time is not enough, there is a new arrangement - the extended time is equivalent to one and half a year. Judd said this move could help foreign people maintain employment and continue to take care of their families, but also ensure that businesses operate normally; thus，business won’t come to a standstill because of a sudden loss of workforce

In recent years, the Department of Immigration has been financially unstable, which affects its working efficiency. During this period, the department stopped hiring, allowing the natural loss of staff, and the outbreak of the COVID-19 has exacerbated the problem. Still, last year's new applications for work permits and renewals have increased sharply, making the department overwhelmed.

Data show that the overall backlog of cases has reached 9.5 million as of February, which has a significant increase from 5.7 million at the end of 2019, with work permit applications accounting for about 1.5 million, leaving countless parties in a dilemma.

The new measure only applies to renewal cases filed on Form I-765, and the parties themselves need to be eligible for an automatic 180-day extension. The authorities expect to hire additional staff during this time and improve efficiency to reduce the processing time for each work permit case to less than three months by the end of the fiscal year in 2023.

The maximum 540-day automatic work permit extension provision applies only to EAD (Employment Authorization Document) categories eligible for the original extension policy (180 days), including refugees, H-4, L-2, etc. The specific applicable categories can be checked at the USCIS website https://www.uscis.gov/eadautoextend.

For applicants waiting for an EAD extension, USCIS will automatically extend their work permits to 360 days (for a total of 540 days) on the base of the automatic 180-day extension starting from May 4. For those who apply for an EAD extension after May 4, 2022 through October 26, 2023, their cards are automatically extended to 540 days from the date of expiration.

Requirements for receiving the 540-day automatic extension:

Individuals must have obtained EADs listed by the USCIS that applies to the categories described in this provision. Please note that DACA and F-1 OPT-based work cards are not included in the scope of automatic extension;

Individuals must file I-765 EAD application forms before the expiry date of the EAD to apply for the extension of the EAD;

The EAD category on the I-765 EAD Extension Application Form must be the same as the expiring/ overdue EAD category (unless it is TPS-based; in this case, A12 and C19 can be used interchangeably).

The I-765 EAD Card Extension Request must be pending and not rejected. (Once the request for an I-765 extension is denied, the extension period will end automatically)