USCIS Reduces EAD Validity to 18 Months: What Employers Must Do Now

Effective December 5, 2025, USCIS has reduced the maximum validity period of Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) for key immigration categories—cutting durations from 5 years down to just 18 months in many cases. This change brings immediate I‑9 reverification and compliance implications for U.S. employers in 2026.

The move, announced December 4, 2025, comes just months after the agency was granted expanded enforcement powers—including authority to investigate and prosecute immigration violations directly, without ICE. As we warned in “USCIS Expands Enforcement Powers: What Employers Must Know”, this is further proof that USCIS is now operating as both gatekeeper and enforcer in the employment authorization system.

“Reducing the maximum validity period for employment authorization will ensure that those seeking to work in the United States do not threaten public safety or promote harmful anti-American ideologies,” said USCIS Director Joseph Edlow.

What Changed and Why?

Effective December 5, 2025, USCIS will reduce the maximum validity of Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) from 5 years to 18 months for certain core categories. Another subset of categories will shift to 1-year max validity as required by H.R. 1.

USCIS says more frequent renewals allow for enhanced vetting, biometric checks, and cross-agency enforcement coordination.

For employers, this translates to increased Form I‑9 reverification events and shorter employment authorization timelines for a significant portion of their foreign-national workforce.

Which EAD Categories Are Affected?

EADs Limited to 18 Months:

For EADs filed on or after December 5, 2025, the following categories are now capped at 18-month validity:

Refugees
Asylees
Those granted withholding of deportation or removal
Applicants with pending asylum or withholding claims
Applicants with pending Form I‑485 (adjustment of status under INA 245)
Applicants for suspension of deportation, cancellation of removal, or NACARA relief

EADs Limited to 1 Year (or Less):

Per H.R. 1, as of July 22, 2025, the following categories are capped at 12 months or less (whichever is shorter):

Paroled refugees
TPS holders
Paroled aliens (general)
TPS applicants with pending applications
Spouses of entrepreneur parole recipients

Employers must pay close attention to filing and expiration dates starting now, as USCIS has stated the policies apply to all pending or future Form I‑765 applications as of the respective implementation dates.

What This Means for Employers

The most immediate impact: more frequent I‑9 reverifications.

Where EADs once carried multi-year validity—sometimes five years—employers now face shorter work-authorization durations, increased documentation renewals, and tighter onboarding compliance checks.

Key impacts include:

Increased HR workload: More Form I‑9 reverifications will be required, likely triggering quarterly or even monthly check-ins on EAD expiration timelines.
Onboarding delays: Some new hires may experience lags in EAD processing as USCIS volumes increase.
Greater ICE audit exposure: Mismanaged reverification tracking could result in expired work authorization on file—a red flag in audits.
Higher legal risk: Failure to reverify correctly or timely may violate IRCA and anti-discrimination laws.
Watch out for discriminatory overreach: HR teams must avoid making employment decisions solely based on country of origin or EAD type. Mass terminations or policy shifts that disproportionately impact protected nationalities could violate federal anti-discrimination laws—and increase legal risk.

Related: What is I-9 Compliance?

Employer Compliance Checklist

To adapt to the new EAD timelines, employers should immediately:

1. Review all current employees with EADs

Generate a list of foreign-national employees with Forms I‑9 based on EADs.
Sort by category (refugee, asylee, TPS, etc.) and expiration date.

2. Update reverification protocols

Adjust internal policies to flag upcoming EAD expirations 120 days out.
Assign HR team members to monitor and follow up on renewals.

3. Automate tracking tools

Use I‑9 compliance software or ATS systems to schedule reverification alerts.
Avoid relying on manual spreadsheet tracking for EAD categories.

4. Coordinate with immigration counsel

Verify correct eligibility codes for EADs under the revised rules.
Ensure applicants file renewal requests within USCIS timeframes to avoid gaps.

5. Train HR and recruiters

Educate internal teams on new validity limits.
Caution against assumptions that EADs are valid for years by default.

Best Practices for EAD Management in 2026

Centralize I‑9 documentation and tracking: Don’t let reverification dates get buried in local HR files.

Standardize onboarding scripts: Clarify that some EADs now expire in as little as 12 months.

Prepare for possible delays: Encourage workers to file renewal requests early, and budget for work-authorization gaps.

Audit at least quarterly: Stay ahead of potential ICE enforcement or compliance errors.

Stay informed: Watch for further USCIS changes, especially under ongoing legislative mandates.

Book a Free I-9 Compliance Call

Need help adapting your I‑9 and EAD tracking workflows to the new rules? Schedule a free 15-minute compliance call with an i9 Intelligence advisor. We’ll walk you through: