Trump Administration Moves to Cut Work Permit Validity Amid Immigration Crackdown
- US President Donald Trump has moved to shorten work permit validity for refugees, asylees and immigrants with pending cases, citing national security concerns
- Officials linked the policy shift to last week’s deadly attack in Washington, D.C., which involved an Afghan national whose asylum was recently approved
- The new rules, effective December 5, form part of a broader immigration crackdown that includes freezing asylum requests and expanding the travel ban
The Donald Trump administration announced on December 4 that it would shorten the length of time work permits remain valid for refugees, asylees and other immigrants with legal protections in the United States.
According to CBS, officials said the move was part of a wider effort to tighten immigration procedures following a deadly attack in Washington, D.C. last week.
Source: UGC
Trump reduces work permits to 18 months
Under the new rules, US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) confirmed that work permits would now last for a maximum of 18 months, compared with the current five-year period.
The change also applied to immigrants with pending asylum or green card applications, processes that often take years due to a backlog of unresolved cases.
USCIS cites public safety concerns
In its announcement, USCIS linked the policy shift to the attack against two National Guard members in Washington, D.C. last week. Officials argued that shorter work permit periods would allow the agency to vet and screen immigrants more frequently when they applied for renewals.
According to Fox, the suspect in the attack, 29-year-old Afghan national Rahmanullah Lakanwal, entered the U.S. in September 2021 under the Biden administration. His asylum application was approved in April 2025, several months after President Trump began his second term.
USCIS Director Joseph Edlow said: “Reducing the maximum validity period for employment authorization is necessary.”
The new rules will apply to all work permit applications filed after Friday, December 5, as well as those already pending on that date.
Trump's wider immigration crackdown
In the wake of the Washington shooting, which killed one National Guard member and left another in critical condition, the Trump administration expanded its immigration crackdown.
Measures included freezing all asylum requests overseen by USCIS, pausing visa and immigration applications filed by Afghan nationals, and halting legal immigration cases such as citizenship ceremonies for nationals of the 19 countries listed under Mr. Trump’s travel ban.
US officials told CBS News on December 2 that the administration was considering extending the travel ban to cover 30 nations in response to the attack.
Source: Getty Images
US crackdown: 19 countries to be re-examined
Legit.ng earlier reported that the Donald Trump administration announced that it would reexamine all green cards issued to people from 19 countries identified as nations “of concern.”
According to CNN, the move followed the shooting of two National Guard members in Washington, DC, allegedly carried out by Rahmanullah Lakanwal, an Afghan national.
Joe Edlow, director of US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), wrote on X Thursday: “At the direction of @POTUS, I have directed a full scale, rigorous reexamination of every Green Card for every alien from every country of concern.”
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Proofreading by James Ojo, copy editor at Legit.ng.
Source: Legit.ng
