USCIS temporarily extends work permits for 800,000 immigrants

• USCIS extends work permits
• Benefits for immigrants and employers
• Measure seeks job stability

Good news for immigrants in the United States, as it has been reported that the validity of work permits has been extended.

The news was announced on Thursday, April 4th, when authorities decided to extend the duration of the permits.

Now, they confirm who will benefit from this extension, allowing them to continue their activities.

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Extension of work permits

In an unprecedented move, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has made a significant announcement.

It consists of the temporary extension of the validity of work permits for approximately 800,000 immigrants.

This action is part of the agency’s efforts to address the backlog of cases and provide job stability to this large population.

The news agency EFE has reported on who will benefit from this extension and how long they will receive it.

Who are the beneficiaries?

The extension, spanning an additional period of 180 days to a total of 540 days, is aimed at immigrants who submitted their work permit renewal applications starting from October 27, 2023.

This measure positively impacts various groups, such as asylum seekers, Temporary Protected Status (TPS) beneficiaries, and applicants for permanent residency.

These individuals were at risk of losing their jobs due to the expiration of their permits.

According to the statement issued by USCIS, this extension not only benefits immigrants but also around 80,000 employers who would otherwise have to do without valuable workers.

Measure to address case backlog

USCIS Director Ur M. Jaddou emphasized the importance of this measure in providing the US government with an additional window to consider long-term solutions to effectively address the backlog of cases.

Jaddou pointed out that USCIS has managed to reduce processing times for most categories of work permit renewals and issuances in the past year.

However, despite these achievements, the record increase in the number of applications has impacted their renewal mechanisms.

This situation has led to significant delays in processing applications, affecting thousands of immigrants whose job stability depends on these permits.

Measure urged by Democrats

The announcement of the temporary extension of work permits comes after more than 60 Democratic congresspeople urged the US government to automatically extend the extension period.

In a letter sent last week, lawmakers warned about persistent delays in renewal processing.

Which had an estimated 279,000 stalled applications by September 2023.

Congressman Jesús ‘Chuy’ García, representative for Illinois and one of the signatories of the letter, expressed his satisfaction with the measure announced by USCIS.

Importance of extension

García stated that this new rule provides some stability to many immigrants and reiterated his commitment to continue fighting to address delays in work permit processing.

As well as to protect and expand access to these permits for both newcomers and long-term immigrants, according to EFE.

The temporary extension of work permits represents a significant step towards protecting the labor rights of a significant portion of the immigrant population in the United States.

And reflects USCIS’s ongoing efforts to mitigate the effects of the backlog in the country’s immigration system.