EAD automatic extensions and Form I-9 after the October 2025 rule

For most employees, the automatic extension of an expiring Employment Authorization Document is over. A DHS interim final rule effective October 30, 2025 ended automatic extensions for EAD renewal applications filed on or after that date. Extensions that began from renewals filed before October 30, 2025 still run, for up to 540 days, and TPS-related extensions announced in Federal Register notices still exist. In October 2026, many employers have both groups on payroll at once, which is why the date each renewal was filed now matters as much as the date on the card.

What the rule changed

Before the rule, an employee in an eligible category who filed to renew an EAD on time could keep working after the card's printed expiration date, for up to 540 days, while USCIS processed the renewal. The employee proved this by presenting the expired-looking EAD together with the Form I-797C receipt notice for the renewal.

The new 8 CFR 274a.13(e) says that, for renewal applications filed on or after October 30, 2025, the validity of an expired or expiring EAD, and for people not authorized to work incident to status their underlying employment authorization, is not automatically extended by the renewal request. The exceptions are extensions provided by law, by the older paragraph (d) for renewals filed before the cutoff, or by a Federal Register notice about TPS-related employment documents.

USCIS also notes that the 2025 budget law, Public Law 119-21, limited TPS-based employment authorization to the shorter of one year or the TPS designation, which can cut a TPS beneficiary's extension short of 540 days. For TPS cases, follow the specific Federal Register notice for the employee's country, and do not ask employees to prove they are nationals of a TPS-designated country.

Who can still present an extended EAD

For an extension based on a pre-cutoff renewal, the M-274 sets these conditions:

• The renewal Form I-765 was filed before the card expired (TPS renewals filed during the re-registration period are an exception) and before October 30, 2025, and is still pending.
• The category on the EAD matches the category on the Form I-797C. Ignore a trailing "P" on a code such as C09P. For TPS, A12 and C19 do not have to match each other.
• The category is one of: A03, A05, A07, A08, A10, A12, A17, A18, C08, C09, C10, C16, C19, C20, C22, C24, C26 or C31.
• For H-4, E and L-2 dependent spouses (C26, A17, A18), an unexpired Form I-94 showing that status accompanies the receipt, and the extension cannot run past the I-94 end date.

The document combination of expired EAD plus matching Form I-797C counts as an unexpired List A document. A receipt for a renewal filed on or after October 30, 2025 does not, alone or paired with the expired card; see the I-9 receipt rule for the receipts that are acceptable.

Where to find each date and code

Three fields decide every case, and the M-274 shows where they sit on the documents:

• "Card Expires" on the EAD (Form I-766). The printed expiration date, which is the starting point for the 540-day count. The category code appears on the card under "Category."
• "Received Date" on the Form I-797C. The date USCIS received the renewal. It must be before October 30, 2025, and normally on or before the "Card Expires" date.
• "Class Requested" or "Eligible Category" on the Form I-797C. The category of the renewal, which must match the card's category, apart from the TPS exception.

If any of the three does not line up, the document combination is not an extended EAD, and the employee may present something else from the lists instead.

Calculating the end date

The handbook's method is to add 540 days to the "Card Expires" date. For C26, A17 and A18, compare that date with the Form I-94 end date and use whichever is earlier. The extension also ends earlier if USCIS decides the renewal.

Example, with illustrative dates: an employee's EAD in category C09 shows "Card Expires" January 10, 2026. The Form I-797C shows a "Received Date" of October 15, 2025, in category C09. The renewal was filed before the card expired and before October 30, 2025, and the categories match, so the extension runs to July 4, 2027 (January 10, 2026 plus 540 days), unless USCIS decides the application first. If the same employee had filed on November 3, 2025, there would be no automatic extension, and the employee would need another acceptable document by January 10, 2026 to keep working.

How to record it on Form I-9

New hires

In Section 1, the employee selects "An alien authorized to work until" and enters the extended date (TPS beneficiaries follow the TPS-specific instructions; refugees and asylees whose status does not expire enter "N/A"). In Section 2, under List A, the employer enters:

• Document Title: "EAD";
• Document Number: the card number from the EAD;
• Expiration Date: the extended date you calculated;
• Additional Information: "EAD EXT".

For C26, A17 and A18 employees, also enter the Form I-94 in the second set of List A fields.

Current employees

When a current employee shows you the Form I-797C for a qualifying renewal, enter "EAD EXT" and the new expiration date in the Section 2 Additional Information field. If their original form is on an edition that is no longer valid, make the entry on the current edition of Form I-9 and keep it with the original form. You do not create a new Section 2 or a new E-Verify case.

Reverification when the extension ends

You must reverify on Supplement B when the automatic extension ends, and no later than the date employment authorization expires. The employee may reverify sooner by presenting any unexpired List A or List C document of their choice, such as a newly issued EAD. If USCIS denies the renewal, the extension ends with the decision, so ask employees to tell HR promptly about any decision on a pending renewal. See I-9 reverification for the Supplement B steps.

If an employee cannot present an acceptable document by the end date, they cannot continue working in a role that requires employment authorization. A late renewal, or a renewal filed after October 29, 2025 that is still pending, does not change that.

E-Verify employers

• No new case. E-Verify's user manual is explicit that reverification is done on Form I-9, not by creating a new case.
• The 90-day alert. E-Verify shows a "Work Authorization Documents Expiring" alert 90 days before an EAD or Form I-94 used for the original case expires, and for TPS EADs extended by DHS, before the extension period ends. It is a reminder only, and it fires once, for the document used in the original case.
• Do not rely on the alert alone. It does not know when a later document expires, so keep your own reverification calendar.

Avoiding the opposite mistake

The end of automatic extensions does not let an employer screen out people whose documents expire soon. USCIS's handbook tells employers not to refuse to accept a document, or refuse to hire someone, because the document has a future expiration date, and doing so raises citizenship and immigration status discrimination concerns. Keep work authorization out of interview questions beyond what the law allows; see work authorization questions in interviews.

A tracking checklist

• List every employee whose Form I-9 shows an EAD, with the card expiration date and any "EAD EXT" date.
• For each extension, record the renewal's "Received Date" and confirm it is before October 30, 2025.
• Recalculate extension end dates using the 540-day method and, for C26, A17 and A18, the I-94 end date.
• Send reminders well before each end date, explaining that any unexpired List A or List C document works.
• Complete Supplement B on or before the end date; never create an E-Verify case for reverification.
• Check the USCIS TPS page and the relevant Federal Register notice for every TPS-based EAD on file.