Twenty-nine people sued DHS over delayed work permit renewals. Nineteen days after the governmentwas served, eighteen of them had their cards and dismissed their claims. Those applications had been pending an average of 161 days first. The longest wait was 286 days.

What should worry employers is that five plaintiffs had their applications approved and still could not work, because the physical card had not arrived.

That gap did not exist a year ago. Let’s understand why it exists now.

Until October 30, 2025, a timely-filed EAD renewal carried an automatic extension of up to 540 days. The expired card, the I-797C receipt notice, and an unexpired I-94 for H-4 spouses, satisfied reverification. The employees kept working while USCIS took its time.

DHS eliminated that by interim final rule, effective the day it published, for any renewal filed on or after October 30. There is no bridge now. When the card expires, work stops.

Here is what catches HR teams: an approval does not put the employee back to work.

The employee may be authorized to work before the card arrives, but you cannot reverify against a case status. An I-765 approval notice is not on the List of Acceptable Documents, and an H-4 spouse has nothing else to present. Until the Form I-766 is in hand, there is nothing to enter in Supplement B of the I-9. Five people in this filing are sitting in exactly that space. Approved, yet still off payroll, waiting on the mail.

One more detail shows how little margin is left. Another plaintiff received her H-4 extension and EAD showing an expiration of October 1, 2026 instead of October 1, 2029. That’s a three-year clerical error. Under the old rule that was an annoyance. Now she is in federal court over it, arguing the agency never issued a decision letter explaining the partial denial.

One caveat. These are people who sued because they were outliers, so you cannot read general processing times off a litigation record.

What we would take from this anyway:

• Track EAD expiration dates further out than you used to. Six months is no longer “early.”

• Tell managers now that an approval email does not put someone back on the schedule.

• Settle your unpaid leave policy before you need it, not while someone is sitting at home approved and unable to work.

The rule is still in effect. Lawsuits challenging it are pending in at least two district courts, a final rule is expected this year, and eighteen state attorneys general and the U.S. Chamber both told DHS it got this wrong.

None of that helps the employee whose card is in the mail.

*[Kari, et.al. vs. United States Department of Homeland Security, Notice of Voluntary Dismissal and Status Update, No. 2:26-cv-00262-GWC (D. Vt., filed Aug. 27, 2026)].