Immigration Roundup: USCIS Announces NEW Form I-485 Application to Register Permanent Residence, and Increase of the Automatic Extension Period for EAD Renewals

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently announced some important updates for green card applicants, and those renewing existing employment authorization documents also known as EADs.

I-485 New Green Card Application Form

On December 10, 2024, USCIS published a new edition of Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Resident or Adjust Status. The new form includes updated questions and important instructions for green card applicants.

Beginning February 10, 2025, USCIS will only accept the 10/24/24 edition of Form I-485. The agency will reject any older editions submitted on or after that date.

The new edition of Form I-485 features the following major changes:

Requires applicants who need to submit a Form I-693, Report of Immigration Medical Examination and Vaccination Record, or a partial Form I-693 (such as a vaccination record), to submit the Form I-693 or partial Form I-693 with their Form I-485. If the applicant does not submit the Form I-693 with Form I-485 when it is required, the Form I-485 may be rejected
Enables applicants who are exempt from the Form I-864, Affidavit of Support Under Section 213A of the INA, requirement to request the exemption on Form I-485 rather than submitting a separate Form I-864W, Request for Exemption for Intending Immigrant’s Affidavit of Support. Form I-864W has been discontinued.
Contains clarifications for questions about the public charge ground of inadmissibility. The questions will now require an applicant to identify their immigrant category so that USCIS can determine whether or not they are exempt from this ground of inadmissibility and adjudicate the application accordingly
Streamlines the collection of information and clarifies instructions and applicant requirements.

To learn more, please click here.

Final Rule Increases Automatic Extension Period for EAD Renewal Applicants

A new final rule has been published in the Federal Register by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), permanently increasing the automatic extension period of employment authorization documents (EAD) from 180 days (6 months) to 540 days (17 months) for applicants filing requests to renew their work authorization.

This change was made to reduce lapses in employment authorization for noncitizens, preventing employment interruptions while USCIS processes renewal applications.

The Secretary of Homeland Security, Alejandro N. Mayorkas has said that “Increasing the automatic extension period for certain employment authorization documents will help eliminate red tape that burdens employers, ensure hundreds of thousands of individuals eligible for employment can continue to contribute to our communities, and further strengthen our nation’s robust economy.”

The final rule also benefits U.S. employers to retain workers who are essential to the continuity of workplace operations.

When does the final rule become effective?

The final rule will become effective on January 13, 2025, and will apply to eligible applicants with timely filed renewal EAD applications pending or filed on or after May 4, 2022.

Steps to Ensure Timely Processing of EADs

For their part, USCIS has been taking the following steps to reduce EAD processing times:

Reducing by half the median EAD processing times for individuals with pending applications for adjustment of status from fiscal year 2021 to date
Reducing EAD application processing times for asylum applicants and certain parolees to less than or equal to a 30-day median
Extending the EAD validity period for certain categories of applicants from two years to five years
Streamlining the processing of refugee EAD applications and
Expanding online filing of EAD applications to asylum applicants and parolees.

For more information about this announcement, please click here.

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