Policy & RulesDHSKey#Refugees, asylum & TPS#Employment immigration & EAD

DHS Proposes Rule to Tighten Work Permit Rules for Asylum Seekers

Published Feb 20, 2026

DHS announced a proposed rule that would change filing and eligibility requirements for employment authorization documents (EADs) tied to pending asylum applications. The agency says the goal is to reduce fraudulent or meritless asylum claims and ease a backlog of more than 1.4 million pending cases. The rule is not final; a 60-day public comment period begins once it is published in the Federal Register.

Key points

DHS proposes changing EAD filing and eligibility rules for asylum applicants.
The goal is to reduce incentives for meritless asylum claims filed to obtain work authorization.
USCIS has more than 1.4 million pending affirmative asylum applications.
The proposal supports Executive Order 14159, 'Protecting the American People Against Invasion.'
The rule is not final or in effect; the 60-day comment period starts after Federal Register publication.

Who is affected

Asylum applicants seeking work authorization while their case is pending, and employers who may hire them, are affected.

What to do

Interested parties can review the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking once published in the Federal Register and submit comments during the 60-day period.

Full text

The complete official text was archived on this site on 2026-10-13. It stays available here even if the source link changes or is removed.

Release Date

02/20/2026

Changes to work permits would reduce meritless applications, processing times, and backlog

WASHINGTON – The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is proposing a rule to reduce the incentive for aliens to file fraudulent asylum claims so they can obtain work authorizations.

“For too long, a fraudulent asylum claim has been an easy path to working in the United States, overwhelming our immigration system with meritless applications,” said a DHS Spokesperson. “We are proposing an overhaul of the asylum system to enforce the rules and reduce the backlog we inherited from the prior administration. Aliens are not entitled to work while we process their asylum applications. The Trump administration is strengthening the vetting of asylum applicants and restoring integrity to the asylum and work authorization processes.”

Applications for employment authorization based on a pending asylum application have reached a historic high, straining U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services' (USCIS) resources. Nearly every illegal alien attempts to exploit the system by applying for asylum. USCIS currently has more than 1.4 million pending affirmative asylum claims, which is equal to the entire population of the state of New Hampshire.

This rule, if finalized, would reduce the incentive to file frivolous, fraudulent, or otherwise meritless asylum claims by changing filing and eligibility requirements for aliens requesting employment authorization based on a pending asylum application. The agency would focus more of its finite resources on reviewing pending asylum applications, including backlog cases and other pending applications and petitions, and allow our asylum system to prioritize those actually seeking refuge from danger.

The proposed rule supports President Trump’s Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion.

For more information, please see the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in the Federal Register. The 60-day public comment period starts following publication of the Notice.

02/20/2026

Original title: DHS Proposes Rule to Prioritize Americans' Safety by Strengthening Screening of Asylum Seekers
Read the official source ↗ Archived copy (if the original is removed)

This summary was produced with AI from the official announcement. Only the official source is authoritative.

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