Work Permit Expiring, Renewal Pending: Can I Work?

For years, many people in Wisconsin kept working on an expired work permit because the law gave them an automatic extension while USCIS decided the renewal. That extension grew to as long as 540 days. It no longer exists for most categories. On October 14, 2026, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published the final rule that confirms, without changes, the interim rule that took effect on October 30, 2025. This article explains what it means for you and what to do now.

What changed

Before, if you filed your work permit renewal (Form I-765) before your card expired, and your category was on a list, you could keep working with the expired card plus the USCIS receipt, for up to 540 days.
Since October 30, 2025, renewals filed on or after that day no longer receive that extension. The rule says the permit expires the day after the date printed on the card, even if the renewal is pending. In other words: you may work through the last day printed on the card. From the next day, you may not.
On October 14, 2026, DHS published the final rule. It changed nothing from the interim rule: it made it permanent. It took effect the same day.
The renewal receipt (Form I-797C) is not proof of employment authorization, by itself or together with an expired card. That is what USCIS tells employers.

Who is affected

The rule affects the categories that used to have an automatic extension. The most common among our clients are:

Pending asylum application (category C08). It is one of the two largest groups nationally, together with adjustment of status.
Pending adjustment of status (category C09), meaning people who already filed Form I-485 and are waiting for the green card.
Pending cancellation of removal or suspension of deportation (category C10).
Approved VAWA petition (VAWA self-petition, category C31).
Asylees and refugees (categories A05 and A03). In their case the card expires, but the authorization to work comes from the status, not the card. They can prove their authorization with other documents. Ask before it expires.
Spouses of H-1B workers in H-4 status (category C26). Other categories are affected too; ask about yours.

Who is NOT affected

Renewals filed before October 30, 2025. If your receipt is dated before that day and before your card's expiration date, you keep the extension of up to 540 days.
Extensions already granted before October 30, 2025. The rule does not cancel them.
DACA (category C33). DACA never had an automatic extension. If your DACA and your permit expire, you cannot work until the new ones arrive. Read how to renew DACA.

If you have TPS: the extension comes from your country's notice, not from the renewal

With TPS (Temporary Protected Status; categories A12 and C19) the situation is different. Since October 30, 2025, filing the renewal also does not, by itself, extend a TPS permit.
What does extend the permit is your country's official notice in the Federal Register or an individual notice USCIS sends you. That notice states the new expiration date, and the expired card keeps working for employment until that date.
Under the 2025 federal law (H.R. 1), that extension lasts up to one year or until TPS ends, whichever comes first.
If your country has no notice in force, there is no extension. That is what is happening today with El Salvador: read our article on TPS for El Salvador.

What happens the day your card expires

Your employer must reverify your authorization (Form I-9) on or before the expiration date printed on the card. If you do not have a valid document that day, the employer cannot legally keep employing you.
You do not lose your immigration case. Your asylum, green card, or cancellation application stays pending. What stops is the permission to work.
Working without authorization can have consequences, and they depend on your case. The adjustment of status law says that someone who accepts unauthorized employment cannot adjust, except immediate relatives of U.S. citizens (spouse, unmarried children under 21, and parents of a citizen who is at least 21) and some other exceptions. If your green card is through an employer's petition, the law tolerates up to 180 days total of violations (out of status, unauthorized work, or others), counted from your last lawful entry. For asylum there is no equivalent bar, but the court or USCIS may take it into account. Do not decide on your own: ask before continuing to work.
Check your driver's license. In Wisconsin, the license of a person with temporary presence expires when the authorization the DMV used to issue it expires, or one year after issuance if that document has no end date, and to renew it the DMV requires proof that the federal government extended that status. Many people with pending asylum or adjustment have a license with the same date as their work permit. Look at both dates together.

When to file the renewal

USCIS recommends filing the renewal up to 180 days before the expiration date. Do not wait for the last 90 days. With the automatic extension gone, the advice is clear: file as early as USCIS allows.
An example with dates: if your card says “Card Expires 04/30/2027”, you can file the renewal starting November 1, 2026. If you wait until March, the card will probably expire before the decision.
USCIS does not backdate or postdate the new card to line up with the old one. If it approves early, the new card starts when approved.
Since October 16, 2026, new fees apply to several categories. An application with the old fee, postmarked on or after October 16, 2026, is rejected, and you lose the time you had gained. For several categories there are two separate payments: the regular Form I-765 fee ($520 on paper or $470 online) plus the fee under the 2025 federal law (H.R. 1). Examples with the fiscal year 2027 amounts: renewal for asylum applicants, $520 (or $470 online) plus $275, in two payments; first permit for asylum applicants, $0 plus $570; TPS permit renewal, $520 (or $470) plus $280; first TPS permit, $520 (or $470) plus $570. If you have a pending adjustment of status (I-485 filed with a fee on or after April 1, 2024), the renewal costs $260. Other categories have their own fee; confirm it with the attorney before mailing.

Checklist for this week

Take out your card and write down the “Card Expires” date and the category (for example, C08 or C09).
Count 180 days back. If you are already inside that window, file the renewal now.
Keep copies of the card, the receipt of the application that supports the permit (asylum, I-485, cancellation, VAWA), and every USCIS notice.
Talk to your employer before the expiration. Explain the date and that the renewal is in process. The employer has to follow the rule; do not take it personally.
If your case has been pending for years, ask whether another path exists that gives you a more stable permit or the green card. A work permit is not a status: it depends on the application behind it.

Frequently asked questions

My asylum work permit expired last week and the renewal has been pending for four months. Can I keep working? No, if the renewal was filed on or after October 30, 2025. The permit expired the day after the date on the card. Your employer cannot keep employing you until the new card arrives.

I filed the renewal in September 2025, before the change. Does it affect me? No. If the receipt is dated before October 30, 2025 and before the card's expiration, you keep the extension of up to 540 days, counted from the card's expiration date.

I have TPS. Do I lose the extension? The rule eliminated the extension based on filing a renewal, for TPS too. What remains is the extension granted by your country's official notice (or an individual USCIS notice), up to one year or until TPS ends, whichever comes first. If there is no notice in force for your country, there is no extension.

Can I ask USCIS to expedite my renewal? Yes, but USCIS accepts it only in limited situations. It is called an expedite request. One example: severe financial loss to the employer or to you. USCIS says that needing a work permit, by itself, is not enough, and it does not accept financial loss as a reason if the urgency comes from filing the renewal late. It is not commonly granted. The attorney reviews whether your situation fits those criteria and how to document it.

Are there lawsuits against this rule? Yes. There are lawsuits pending. But, as of the date of this article, the rule remains in force for the general public. If a court changes something, we will try to update this article.

Does my Wisconsin driver's license expire with the permit? Often, yes. The license of a person with temporary presence expires when the authorization the DMV used to issue it expires, or one year after issuance if that document has no end date, and to renew it the DMV requires proof that the federal government extended the status. Check your license date together with the permit date.

How Lugo Law LLC works

Attorney Javier Irizarry Lugo reviews your permit category, the date you can file the renewal, and the current fee, and schedules the filing so it goes in as early as possible. If your main case has been pending a long time, he reviews whether another path to a green card or a more stable status exists. Read more about the work permit and marriage-based green cards.

Sources

DHS, "Removal of Automatic Extensions for Certain Employment Authorization Documents", final rule, 91 Fed. Reg. 65306 (Oct. 14, 2026), federalregister.gov/d/2026-20955.
DHS, interim final rule of Oct. 30, 2025, 90 Fed. Reg. 48799, govinfo.gov.
8 C.F.R. § 274a.13(d) and (e).
USCIS, I-9 Central, "Interim Final Rule Published to End the Practice of Automatically Extending Certain Employment Authorization Documents", uscis.gov.
USCIS, Form I-765 page (last updated Oct. 7, 2026), uscis.gov/i-765.
USCIS, "Fiscal Year 2027 Inflation Adjustment to H.R. 1 Immigration Fees", 91 Fed. Reg. 62540 (Oct. 1, 2026), federalregister.gov/d/2026-20187; fees effective Oct. 16, 2026.
USCIS, Form G-1055, Fee Schedule, edition of Oct. 16, 2026, Appendix C (I-765), uscis.gov/g-1055.
USCIS, TPS page (last updated Oct. 20, 2026), uscis.gov.
USCIS Policy Manual, Vol. 1, Part A, Ch. 5 (expedite requests).
8 U.S.C. § 1255(c)(2), (c)(8) and (k).
Wis. Stat. §§ 343.20(1m) and 343.165(4)(c).

← All articles

My work permit is expiring and the renewal is still pending. Can I keep working? (October 2026 final rule)