In late October 2025, the Trump administration issued a new interim final rule that would eliminate automatic extensions of permission to work for refugees, asylees, immigrant survivors of domestic violence, asylum seekers, people with Temporary Protected Status (TPS), and many other legally work-authorized immigrants who have applied for renewal but whose applications have not been processed due to serious delays by the government. The automatic extension rule was first adopted in 2016 and later expanded to prevent harm to applicants and employers from backlogs in the government’s processing system. 

Now, that critical safety net is under threat, even though processing delays continue. The administration has provided only 30 days for the public to weigh in.

Available documents & links