USCIS to Eliminate 30-day Timeframe for Processing Asylum EADs

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it is publishing a new final rule in the Federal Register to do away with its self-imposed 30-day timeframe for processing applications for employment authorization by asylum applicants [PDF version]. The new rule will also allow asylum applicants to file renewal employment authorization applications up to 180 days before their employment authorization is set to expire. Under current rules, applicants had to ensure that USCIS received renewal applications 90 days prior to the expiration of employment authorization.

The final rule is slated to be published in the Federal Register on June 22, 2020 [PDF version]. It will take effect 60 days after the actual publication date. We will publish more information about the new asylum employment authorization processing rules after the final rule is published.