US Reduces Work Permit Validity for Refugees and Asylum Seekers

The Trump administration on Thursday slashed the validity of work permits for refugees, asylum seekers, and other eligible migrants, reducing the duration from five years to just 18 months.

The move marks the latest tightening of US immigration policy and comes days after a high-profile shooting involving a migrant in Washington, DC.

The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) said the new limit applies to refugees, individuals granted asylum, people with deportation suspensions, and others legally authorised to work.

The change affects pending cases and all new applications filed on or after December 5.

Government data shows the scale of the shift: as of June, 434,000 asylum seekers, 24,000 people granted asylum, and more than 12,000 refugees had pending work authorisation applications.

Policy tied to DC National Guard shooting

The announcement follows the shooting of two National Guard members in the US capital, allegedly by an Afghan man who entered the country under a resettlement programme after the 2021 US withdrawal from Afghanistan.

USCIS Director Joseph Edlow said the incident underscored the need for tighter screening.

“Reducing the maximum validity period for employment authorisation will ensure that those seeking to work in the United States do not threaten public safety or promote harmful anti-American ideologies,” he said, stressing the need for frequent vetting.

Broader immigration crackdown

The decision comes 48 hours after the administration froze immigration applications, including green cards and citizenship for citizens of 19 countries already on US travel-restriction lists, including Afghanistan, Yemen, Haiti, Venezuela, Sudan, and Somalia.

President Donald Trump said after the shooting that he planned to “permanently pause migration from all Third World countries,” reaffirming his pledge to scale back immigration and deport millions living in the US without legal status.

USCIS said the shorter work-permit validity would let the agency vet migrants more regularly and identify individuals with “potentially harmful intent.”

The administration framed the overhaul as vital for national security and to restore public trust in the immigration system.