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Bhutoria protests Trump rollback of 540-day work permit extension
Affected groups include H-4 visa spouses, OPT STEM graduates, TPS nurses, and L-2 visa entrepreneurs.
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Pranavi Sharma - Thu, 06, Nov 2025
- 00:54 EST
- 14
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Donald Trump/Ajay Bhutoria / Wikipedia/X
Ajay Bhutoria, a former White House advisor, has condemned the Trump administration’s decision to end the 540-day automatic work permit extension, warning that the rollback will push over 100,000 South Asian families into sudden job loss and financial turmoil.
On Oct. 30, 2025, the Department of Homeland Security ended the rule that allowed automatic 540-day extensions of Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) for legal noncitizens awaiting renewal. Any application filed after that date will no longer qualify for the grace period, meaning workers lose their jobs as soon as their cards expire if renewals are delayed.
Ajay Bhutoria, a former member of President Biden’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders (AANHPI), said he was stunned by the decision. “I stared at the Federal Register on Thursday and felt the floor drop,” Bhutoria said. “The 540-day automatic EAD extension I personally fought to create—through sleepless nights, 37 drafts, and a direct recommendation approved by President Biden’s AANHPI Commission—was gone in one paragraph.”
Bhutoria had introduced the 540-day rule in 2022, describing it as a lifeline that kept about 1.2 million legal workers on payrolls while the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) cleared processing backlogs. Many of those affected are from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, China, and Nepal.
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Since the policy reversal, Bhutoria said he has received nonstop calls from anxious workers. “A software engineer from Hyderabad, a nurse from Kerala, a data scientist from Colombo and an ERP developer from Dhaka all asking the same terrified question: ‘If USCIS takes eight months, do I lose my job, my health insurance, my child’s school?’” he said. “The answer, unfortunately, is yes—unless you filed your renewal before Oct. 30.”
The impact extends beyond job losses. Bhutoria estimated that the economic hit could reach $3 billion, as families face income gaps averaging several months. “Card expires: March 1, 2026. File today: Nov. 3, 2025. USCIS average: 7.5 months. Approval: June 15, 2026. Your gap: 106 days × $280/day = $29,680 gone,” he wrote, illustrating how delays translate into lost wages.
Affected groups include H-4 visa spouses, OPT STEM graduates, TPS nurses, and L-2 visa entrepreneurs. Many South Asian women on dependent visas now risk immediate unemployment once their cards expire.
Bhutoria urged families to act quickly by filing renewals online, tracking receipts, and considering premium processing to avoid gaps. “Your story is still being written,” he said. “File early. Plan calmly. We built Silicon Valley with less than this. We will protect our families with more—one renewal at a time.”
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