The United States extends the validity of work permits for around 800,000 immigrants

The Citizenship and Immigration Service of U.S (USCIS) said this Thursday that it has temporarily extended the validity of work permits for about 800,000 immigrants, as part of the agency’s efforts to end the backlog of cases.

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The extension from 180 days to 540 days applies to immigrants who applied to renew their work authorization from October 27, 2023.

It’s a statement USCIS said that without this measure, nearly 800,000 immigrants, including asylum seekers, Temporary Protected Status (TPS) beneficiaries and permanent residency applicants, are at risk of losing their jobs.

Extending the validity of work permits also benefits approx. 80,000 employers that they would have to do without migrant workers.

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USCIS Director Ur M. Jaddou said in a statement that the temporary extension gives the US government an additional window to “consider long-term solutions” to resolve the impasse.

He highlighted that last year USCIS reduced processing times for most categories of renewing and issuing work permits. “However, we also received a record number of work permit applications, which affected our renewal mechanisms.”

The announcement comes after a group of more than 60 Democratic congressmen last week urged the US government to extend the automatic extension period for work permits.

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Lawmakers warned in a letter that despite USCIS’ efforts to catch up, there are still delays in processing work permit renewals, which will affect thousands of immigrants. In September 2023, there were 279 thousand applications stopped.

Illinois Representative Jesús ‘Chuy’ García, one of the signatories of the letter, applauded the USCIS announcement this Thursday.

“This new rule provides some stability for many immigrants. “I will continue to fight to resolve backlogs and protect and expand access to work authorizations for newcomers and long-term immigrants.”

Source: Elcomercio

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I am Jack Morton and I work in 24 News Recorder. I mostly cover world news and I have also authored 24 news recorder. I find this work highly interesting and it allows me to keep up with current events happening around the world.