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The U.S. government is weighing changes to the requirements for obtaining a work permit while an immigration decision is pending. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Feb. 23, 2026, unveiled a proposal that seeks to change the waiting periods for foreign nationals who applied for asylum and need work authorization to work legally in the country.
The proposal would extend the waiting period immigrants must observe before filing their initial work permit application from 180 to 365 days. In addition, USCIS would have up to 180 more days to process the application, meaning the total wait could reach 545 days from the receipt of a complete asylum application.
The measure also sets new eligibility conditions that could exclude certain applicants and affect their chances of getting legal work while they wait for an answer on their immigration status.
Which immigrants could lose work authorization in the United States
The Department of Homeland Security proposal (DHS) targets foreign nationals with pending asylum applications who are seeking an initial work permit under category (c)(8). The plan establishes new eligibility conditions that could prevent certain applicants from receiving work authorization while they wait for a decision in their case.
In particular, DHS is considering these conditions to determine who would not be eligible for an initial work permit:
- Applicants with certain criminal records: those for whom there is reason to believe they may be subject to the criminal bars to asylum.
- Foreign nationals whose asylum applications are denied: those who receive a denial from an asylum officer or an immigration judge before 365 days have passed or before their work permit application is decided.
- People who miss the one-year deadline: those who file their asylum application more than one year after arriving in the United States, unless they can show they qualify for an exception.
- Immigrants who enter without inspection: those who enter or try to enter the country without going through immigration inspection, except if they state their intent to seek asylum or express fear of persecution or torture to an officer within 48 hours, show good cause, or qualify for another listed exception.
Why USCIS is proposing a wait of up to 545 days to grant work permits
The proposal would change the current timelines for asylum seekers to obtain work authorization. Instead of the 180-day waiting period under the current system, DHS proposes that foreign nationals wait 365 days from the receipt of a complete asylum application before filing the initial request for employment authorization on Form I-765.
That period would be followed by up to 180 additional days for USCIS to process and decide the work permit application, pushing the wait to as much as 545 days from the date the asylum application is received. The agency also proposes to suspend acceptance of new initial applications under category (c)(8) when the average processing time for affirmative asylum cases exceeds 180 days for three consecutive months. The pause would apply to both affirmative and defensive asylum applicants.
What will happen to immigrants who already have a work permit or have applied to renew it
The proposal includes different rules for people who already have work authorization and for those with a pending initial application. Immigrants with an unresolved asylum case and a valid work permit before any final rule takes effect could keep working until their card expires, unless the authorization is revoked or canceled for one of the reasons set out in the rules.
For now, this is a regulatory proposal published by DHS in the Federal Register on Feb. 23, 2026. The changes are therefore not yet in effect, and whether they are applied will depend on the publication of a final rule and its effective date.