Asylum-Based EAD Renewal: What to Do When USCIS Pauses Decisions

USCIS has paused all asylum decisions across the United States, leaving thousands of asylum seekers unsure how long they can keep working and renewing their permits. The internal halt, in place as of late November 2025, means asylum officers are not approving, denying, or closing any asylum cases, including those for Afghans under “Operation Allies Welcome” and applicants from many other countries. While interviews and file reviews can still happen, officers have been told to stop once they reach the point of making a decision. In-person appointments where people would normally receive and discuss those decisions have also been canceled.

Scope and immediate effects of the pause

• The pause is described inside the agency as indefinite, with no public end date.
• For many asylum seekers, the most urgent question is not only what happens to their protection claim, but what happens to their job and their family’s income if their work permit expires.
• Most asylum seekers rely on an asylum-based Employment Authorization Document (EAD) — the standard work card known as an EAD — which must be renewed every one or two years depending on the category.
• When a federal agency suddenly stops a key part of its asylum system, people who build their day-to-day lives around the ability to work feel the shock first.

How the pause interacts with work permits

According to analysis by VisaVerge.com, the way this pause touches work permits is complicated.

• On paper, asylum decisions and work-permit renewals are handled through different processes.
  • An asylum seeker usually files the asylum application on Form I-589.
  • They then apply for an EAD using Form I-765, which is the main application for an Employment Authorization Document.
• Different staff: USCIS staff who review asylum cases are not the same officers who approve most EADs.
• Practical linkage: In practice, those two tracks are tightly linked for anyone whose right to a work permit depends on a pending or approved asylum case.

Cases where asylum is already approved

For asylum seekers whose protection claims have already been approved, the picture is somewhat clearer.

• Their legal status no longer depends on a new asylum decision, because that decision has already been made.
• In these cases, USCIS may still process EAD renewals in the normal way.
• Example: If someone was granted asylum last year and is simply renewing an existing card, the renewal should go forward unless the government issues a new, separate policy that changes how post-approval renewals work.
• These applicants are worried like everyone else, but the current pause on decisions does not directly block their renewals.

Cases with pending asylum claims

The situation is more tense for people whose asylum cases are still pending.

• If an EAD is based on a pending asylum claim, and USCIS has paused the final step of deciding that claim, the renewal can become tangled in that stoppage.
• Internal guidance seen by lawyers says officers can move a case along up to the point of hitting the “decision” button, then must hold it.
  • That means a person might still receive an interview and answer detailed questions, then wait months without a written outcome.
• If the current work permit is tied to that pending status, and the asylum file cannot move to a final yes or no, the renewal may be delayed until USCIS restarts decisions.

Official policy vs. practical effects

• The agency has not publicly posted a separate policy saying all asylum-based work permit renewals are frozen.
• In practice, USCIS may continue to process many EAD renewals where eligibility does not depend on a new asylum decision:
  • People whose asylum was already approved
  • People who qualify for an EAD on another basis (e.g., certain family or humanitarian categories)
• But for those whose only path to work is through a pending asylum case, the line between “paused asylum” and “paused renewal” is worryingly thin.

Immediate risks and automatic extensions

Lawyers say the most common fear they hear is from people whose current card is about to expire.

• If the EAD runs out and the renewal is still pending, a worker may:
  • Lose their job, or
  • Be pulled off the schedule by cautious employers.
• Some asylum seekers may be eligible for an automatic extension of their work permit for a limited time if they:
  1. Filed their Form I-765 renewal before the old card expired, and
  2. Their case is still pending.
• USCIS describes these automatic extensions in its public guidance on the Employment Authorization Document: https://www.uscis.gov/i-765.
• Advocates warn that not all categories receive the same protection, and the details can change through new instructions.

Practical advice from immigration attorneys

Immigration attorneys are urging clients to take the following steps:

1. Check case status often using USCIS online tools: https://www.uscis.gov.
2. Keep copies of all receipts and notices.
3. Give employers the official receipt notice for the EAD renewal — this can help HR confirm a renewal is in process.
4. Rely on receipts and automatic extensions only where company policy and federal rules permit continued employment.

• Note: In some cases, employers can keep a worker on staff based on that receipt and any automatic extension, but this depends on the company’s policies and their interpretation of federal employment rules.

Special impact on Afghan parolees (Operation Allies Welcome)

The pause has a special impact on Afghans brought to the United States 🇺🇸 under Operation Allies Welcome.

• Many arrived with short-term parole and then filed for asylum.
• Their path to a stable life relies first on a pending case and then on eventual approval.
• Without decisions, they remain in long-term limbo.
• Without smooth work-permit renewals, they risk losing income that supports families in the United States and abroad.
• Community groups working with Afghan parolees report rising stress as people watch permit dates approach with no clear word from USCIS.

Why the pause may have happened — and the need for clarity

Policy experts note that the government has not said why exactly USCIS paused all asylum decisions or when it plans to restart them.

• In the past, similar pauses have been tied to:
  • Internal reviews
  • Court rulings
  • New rules that needed to be rolled out across field offices
• Because there has been no formal public notice fully explaining the current halt, asylum seekers and their lawyers are left to read between the lines of canceled decision appointments and stalled files.

“When a pause affects core parts of life such as work and housing, people deserve detailed public guidance, not only quiet internal messages to officers.”

Calls for action and best-practice checklist

Some legal aid groups are calling for clearer communication from the agency. They argue that when USCIS actions affect employment, housing, and family stability, people need public guidance that explains:

• What is paused and what is continuing
• Which categories receive automatic extensions
• How employers should treat receipt notices and extensions

For now, the best advice lawyers can give:

• File EAD renewals as early as allowed
• Watch for any automatic extension
• Keep employers informed with official receipts and notices
• Follow every new USCIS notice closely — even a short delay in reopening asylum decisions can change whether a family can keep a roof over their heads and food on the table

If you’d like, I can:
– Convert the practical checklist into a printable one-page handout for affected clients, or
– Create an employer-facing summary explaining receipt notices and automatic extensions.