The Department of Homeland Security recently announced a series of finalized rules to improve the employment-based non-immigrant and immigrant visa programs, some of which pertain to H4 EAD visa holders. Effective January 17, 2017, H4 EAD visa holders will no longer have to wait for the approval of their extension for them to continue working in the U.S.

Currently, to renew an EAD, visa holders can file a Form I-765 up to 120 days before the expiration date and wait to be approved. Under the new improvements, foreign nationals who are in the United States under temporary protected status and file for an EAD renewal in a timely manner will be granted with an automatic 180-day extension of their existing EAD while USCIS deliberates their renewal application. These new developments to the visa programs come as an effort to modernize and improve the system as a whole.