Facing termination in the coming weeks over a USCIS delay on H-4 EAD renewal — anyone from NYS ITS state service been through this?
I've worked in an NYS ITS IT-related title for New York State for around 7 years. I'm currently authorized to work via an H-4 EAD (work authorization). My renewal (I-765) was filed with USCIS well before my current card expired and is still pending — the delay is entirely on USCIS's end.
Because of a federal rule change in October 2025, H-4 EAD renewals filed after that date no longer get an automatic extension bridging the gap while a renewal is pending. So even though my renewal was filed on time, there's no valid document to show once my current card expires, and I'm now facing separation from my position in the coming weeks unless the new card arrives first.
Steps I've already taken:
- Filed a USCIS expedite request citing imminent loss of employment
- Retained an immigration attorney, who is evaluating USCIS action given how long the case has been pending
- Submitted an inquiry through my congressional representative's office
My employer's HR has told me discretionary leave/unpaid leave isn't available in this situation under internal policy. I'm trying to understand if that's consistent across state agencies or specific to how mine is handling it. In a similar gap I went through some years back, an unpaid leave arrangement was something my agency worked with me on — so I'm trying to understand what's different this time.
What I'm hoping to find out:
- Has anyone gotten a NYS agency to approve unpaid leave (LWOP) or a temporary hold on a position during a work-authorization gap like this, rather than separation?
- Does anyone know whether NYS Civil Service rules or GOER have any general provision that could apply here, independent of an individual agency's own policy?
- If you're PEF or CSEA — has your union successfully pushed back on something like this, or is a hard separation basically universal?
- Has a congressional caseworker inquiry actually moved a pending USCIS case for anyone here, and roughly how long did it take?
- Any other agencies, unions, or workarounds you've seen for this exact situation?
Given everything in motion — the expedite request, the attorney, the congressional inquiry — I'm genuinely hopeful the approval will come through and the new card could come through in the next few weeks. That's what makes full termination feel like such a disproportionate outcome here: this isn't an open-ended gap, it's a matter of bridging a short window while a process that's already moving catches up. Unpaid leave rather than separation would make all the difference. Any pointers or shared experiences would mean a lot.