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On November 18, 2016, as part of DHS's efforts to implement the American Competitiveness in the Twenty-first Century Act of 2000, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a regulation that created a 180-day automatic extension period for expiring employment authorization documents (Forms I-766 or EADs). The automatic extension period automatically extended the validity period of certain categories of EADs for up to 180 days if an applicant timely filed a renewal EAD application on Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) was still processing the renewal application after the EAD’s expiration date. Once USCIS adjudicated the renewal EAD application, the automatic extension period no longer applied. On May 4, 2022, DHS published a temporary final rule (TFR) to temporarily increase the automatic extension period from up to 180 days to up to 540 days. This temporary increase applied to eligible EAD renewal applicants with pending Forms I-765 as of May 4, 2022, including those applicants whose employment authorization may have lapsed following the initial 180-day extension period, and any eligible applicant who filed a renewal Form I-765 during the 540-day period beginning on or after May 4, 2022, and ending October 26, 2023. DHS published a second TFR on April 8, 2024, to again temporarily increase the automatic extension period from up to 180 days to up to 540 days. The second TFR applied to eligible EAD renewal applicants who had a pending EAD renewal application between Oct. 27, 2023, and Sept. 30, 2025. On December 13, 2024, DHS published a final rule (89 FR 101208) to permanently increase the automatic extension period from up to 180 days to up to 540 days. The final rule was informed by public comments received on the 2024 TFR.