Homeland Security’s citizenship agency said Thursday it is slashing the standard validity period of work permits issued to migrants from 5 years to 18 months in many cases, saying the shorter times will give the government more opportunities to vet people.
The move expands on changes ordered last summer by President Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill budget law, which cut the validity period for work permits issued to migrants granted “parole” or who were seeking or granted Temporary Protected Status.
Under the new changes, migrants in the asylum or refugee process will only be able to get work permits for up to 18 months, down from the previous 5-year limit.
Joseph Edlow, director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, said the need for more frequent vetting was driven home by last week’s ambush shooting of National Guard soldiers near the White House. The person accused in the attack is an Afghan evacuee.
“Reducing the maximum validity period for employment authorization will ensure that those seeking to work in the United States do not threaten public safety or promote harmful anti-American ideologies,” Mr. Edlow said in announcing the changes Thursday.
Work permits for migrants have become a major issue this decade, after the Biden border surge saw millions of new arrivals apply to be able to work here while they try to sort out their iffy legal status.
USCIS recorded 3.5 million initial work permit applications and 1.3 million renewals in fiscal year 2024, the last full year under Mr. Biden.
By contrast in 2020, the last full year in Mr. Trump’s previous administration, there were fewer than 2 million applications received.
For many unauthorized migrants, the permits are the main goal. They bring with them legal permission to work, along with some taxpayer benefits.
The Trump administration has been battling states over issuance of commercial driver’s licenses to unauthorized migrants who had work permits, and so were able to obtain licenses in states such as California.
Several fatal accidents involving those illegal immigrant drivers have drawn attention to that issue.
In October, USCIS made another change to work permits, scrapping the automatic renewal that had granted those whose permits were about to expire a 540-day extension as long as they had applied in time for another permit.
Mr. Edlow said that automatic extension also hindered efforts to provide frequent re-vetting of migrants here under less-than-full status.
