EAD Card Work Permit Processing Has Slowed Down. What Can You Do?

I'm now seeing EAD cases sit for ten months or more before a decision comes through. This isn't a one-off. It's a pattern, and it's affecting people who did everything right and are simply waiting for USCIS to do its job.

Key Statutes

• Application for employment authorization: 8 CFR § 274a.13
• APA authority to compel unreasonably delayed agency action: 5 U.S.C. § 706(1)
• Mandamus jurisdiction to compel a federal officer's duty: 28 U.S.C. § 1361
• Removal of automatic EAD extensions for renewal applicants: 90 Fed. Reg. (Oct. 30, 2025)
• Six-factor unreasonable delay test: Telecommunications Research and Action Center v. FCC, 750 F.2d 70 (D.C. Cir. 1984)

How We Got Here

USCIS once operated under a regulatory expectation, built into 8 CFR § 274a.13, that EAD applications would be decided within 90 days, with an interim card issued if that deadline slipped. That structure is long gone. For years, USCIS instead leaned on automatic extensions to bridge the gap between an expiring card and a pending renewal.

As of October 30, 2025, that safety net disappeared too. DHS ended the automatic extension for most EAD renewals. If your card expires while your renewal is still sitting in the queue, you can lose your work authorization outright, even though you filed on time and did nothing wrong.

Layer that change on top of processing times that were already stretching out, and you get where we are now. As of the end of 2025, roughly 1.67 million EAD applications were sitting in the pipeline, and about 64 percent of them had already been waiting six months or more. Some categories are now averaging well over a year.

This Isn't Just Slower Government

I want to be direct about something. A delay here and there is normal in any large bureaucracy. What we're seeing now is different in scale and in pattern.

Cases that used to move in weeks are sitting for the better part of a year. Biometrics requirements have been added to categories that never needed them before, adding more months to files that were already moving slowly. And the safety net that used to soften the blow, the automatic extension, is gone.

Whether you call this deliberate policy or just the predictable result of a system under strain, the effect on real people is the same. Someone waiting on a renewal can lose their job, lose income, lose the ability to support their family, simply because a government agency hasn't gotten to their file yet.

You have two real choices when this happens to you. You can wait and hope. Or you can use the tools the law actually gives you to push back.

What a Mandamus Action Actually Is

A writ of mandamus is a request to a federal court, asking it to order a government agency to do something it's legally required to do. In this context, that means asking a judge to order USCIS to actually adjudicate your pending EAD application, rather than leaving it sitting indefinitely.

The legal basis comes from two sources working together. The Mandamus Act, at 28 U.S.C. § 1361, gives federal district courts the authority to compel a federal officer or agency to perform a duty they owe you. The Administrative Procedure Act, at 5 U.S.C. § 706(1), separately allows a court to compel agency action that has been unreasonably delayed. Immigration attorneys typically bring both claims together in the same lawsuit.

Courts don't use a fixed number of months to decide whether a delay crosses the line into "unreasonable." Instead, they generally apply a six-factor test that originated in Telecommunications Research and Action Center v. FCC, looking at things like how long the delay has actually gone on, whether Congress has given any timetable for the agency to follow, and what harm the delay is causing you personally. Ten months with a lost job on the line is exactly the kind of fact pattern that test was built to address.

One thing worth being honest about: a mandamus action doesn't force USCIS to approve your case. It forces USCIS to make a decision, one way or the other, on a timeline set by the court rather than by whatever backlog your file happens to be sitting in. For most EAD renewals, where eligibility isn't seriously in dispute, getting USCIS to actually look at the file is most of the battle.

You Have a Right to a Reasonably Prompt Decision

This is the part I want people to actually internalize. Filing a complete, properly documented application isn't the end of your obligation, and it isn't supposed to be the end of the government's either.

You are entitled to a decision within a reasonable period of time. That's not a courtesy USCIS extends when it feels like it. It's baked into the same administrative law framework that governs every other agency action in this country. When an agency sits on a decision indefinitely, with no explanation and no end in sight, the law gives you a way to do something about it.

Too many people treat a ten-month wait as just something to endure. It isn't. It's a problem with a legal remedy, and that remedy exists specifically for situations like this one.

What Our Firm Has Seen Filing These Cases

We've filed mandamus actions in immigration delay cases approaching 200 times at this point, and the pattern is consistent. Once a federal lawsuit is on file, USCIS moves. Cases that had been sitting untouched for the better part of a year often get adjudicated within weeks of the government being served with the complaint.

That's not a guarantee for every case, and it shouldn't be treated as one. But the consistency of that pattern tells you something real about how these delays actually work. They aren't usually about your specific file being uniquely complicated. They're about where your file sits in a queue that has no real accountability attached to it, until a federal judge is watching.

What to Do If Your EAD Has Been Pending Too Long

Start by confirming your actual filing date and comparing it honestly against current processing times for your specific category, since "too long" looks different depending on the type of EAD you filed. From there, get a clear picture of what's actually at stake: your job, your income, your ability to stay in status, any deadline bearing down on you.

If your case has been sitting well past the normal range with no RFE, no request for additional evidence, and no explanation, that's exactly the kind of case a mandamus action is built for. It's worth an honest conversation with an attorney before you simply keep waiting.

If your work authorization has lapsed, or is about to, and your renewal has been pending for months with no movement, contact the Law Offices of Shawn S. Sedaghat at (818) 382-3333.

FAQ

How long is USCIS currently taking to process an EAD renewal?

It varies by category, but many renewals are now taking well over six months, and cases stretching to ten months or longer are increasingly common.

Will my work authorization automatically extend while my renewal is pending?

Not anymore, for most categories. DHS ended the automatic extension for EAD renewals effective October 30, 2025, so a card can lapse before a renewal is decided.

What does a mandamus action actually force USCIS to do?

It forces USCIS to make a decision on your case within a timeline set by the court. It doesn't force a specific outcome or guarantee approval.

How long does my case need to be pending before a mandamus action makes sense?

There's no fixed number. Courts look at several factors, including how far your wait has stretched past normal processing times and what harm the delay is causing you. A case sitting well past average processing time with no explanation is usually a strong candidate.

Does filing a mandamus lawsuit risk a denial out of spite?

No documented pattern of retaliation exists. The far more common outcome is that USCIS simply adjudicates the case once served with the complaint.

This article discusses general legal principles. It does not describe any specific client or matter. Nothing here constitutes legal advice or creates an attorney-client relationship. USCIS processing times and policy change frequently; confirm current information before relying on this article.

Shawn S. Sedaghat is an immigration attorney at Law Offices of Shawn S. Sedaghat focused on deportation defense, immigration appeals, asylum, family-based immigration, and employment-based immigration, including federal mandamus litigation against USCIS. He is the firm's founder and principal attorney and has more than 30 years of experience handling U.S. immigration matters.