USCIS Proposal Restricts Work Authorization for Asylum Seekers

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) proposed regulations Feb. 23 that would significantly limit access to employment authorization for asylum seekers in the U.S.

If finalized, the regulation would make it more difficult for an asylum applicant to obtain work authorization, delaying their ability to enter the workforce. In effect, asylum applicants would likely not be able to work at all while their application is pending, unless application processing times are reduced significantly. The proposal would also make it more difficult for work-authorized foreign nationals in immigration programs set for termination or expiration — such as Temporary Protected Status — to pursue asylum while continuing to work.

USCIS proposed the rule to reduce the incentive for foreign nationals to file fraudulent asylum claims just to obtain work authorization.

“For too long, a fraudulent asylum claim has been an easy path to working in the United States, overwhelming our immigration system with meritless applications,” the agency said. “Ultimately, reducing frivolous, fraudulent, or meritless asylum filings will enable USCIS to dedicate an increased share of its finite resources to adjudicating meritorious asylum applications, including backlog cases, and other pending benefit requests.”

Applications for employment authorization based on a pending asylum application have reached a historic high, straining USCIS resources, the agency said. USCIS said it would focus more of its finite resources on reviewing pending asylum applications, including backlog cases and other pending applications and petitions.

 USCIS is accepting public feedback on the proposed rule through April 24. Until a final rule takes effect, existing asylum-based employment authorization regulations remain in place.

Specialty Credential: U.S. Employment Immigration

Proposed Changes

The proposal rule would deny work authorization to asylum seekers who:

• Entered the U.S. unlawfully and did not express asylum intent within 48 hours.
• Filed their asylum application more than one year after arrival.
• Have certain criminal histories.

USCIS estimated that at least 96,000 people per year would be newly barred from work eligibility under these expanded restrictions.

Asylum seekers would have to wait one full year after filing a complete asylum application before they are allowed to apply for a work permit. Today, they can apply for an EAD after 150 days. The new rule more than doubles that waiting period.

USCIS would have 180 days to adjudicate the EAD application. Under current rules, the agency must process initial asylum‑based work permit applications within 30 days.

Additionally, the rule proposes to codify a policy in regulation that all asylum-based EAD applicants, including EAD renewal applicants, submit biometrics before they can receive a work permit, to verify identities, detect criminal history and prevent fraud.

“The most notable policy change the rule proposes, however, is a requirement that USCIS pause accepting EAD applications when processing times exceed 180 days,” said Elizabeth Jacobs, director of regulatory affairs and policy for the Center for Immigration Studies in Washington, D.C. “After such a pause is implemented, acceptance of initial asylum-based EAD applications would resume when the average processing time for affirmative asylum application adjudications over a consecutive period of 90 days is less than or equal to 180 days,” she said.

Jacobs added that because the current affirmative asylum processing times are significantly greater than 180 days, this change alone could end the agency’s receipt of asylum-based EAD application for years.

“If the status quo remained, USCIS could take between 14 and 173 years to reach a 180-day processing time,” she said. This estimate was made without accounting for the other policy changes proposed by the rule, which when taken together, is expected to significantly shorten processing times, she added.

Toolkit: Understanding and Obtaining U.S. Employment Visas

During any pause, new asylum seekers — whether in affirmative or defensive proceedings —would not be allowed to apply for work authorization. Affirmative asylum is a process for foreign nationals present in the U.S. to proactively request asylum before entering removal proceedings. Defensive asylum is a process where individuals in removal proceedings apply for asylum protection to avoid deportation.

Jacobs pointed out that USCIS currently faces a backlog of 1.4 million affirmative asylum cases — a historic high. The average processing time for an affirmative asylum case is 1,278 days.

The defensive asylum backlog is currently over 2.3 million cases. “Many of these applicants will wait many years, in some cases more than a decade, before their first immigration court hearing,” she said.

The rule revives a proposal from the first Trump administration in 2020 which was challenged in court and ultimately vacated. In October 2025, USCIS issued regulations ending automatic extensions of work permits.