There is a question I am hearing constantly right now, from newly married immigrants, from international students on OPT and CPT, from TPS holders, from H-4 dependents, from anyone who is watching their work permit expiration date creep closer while waiting on a green card application to move:

If I file my I-485 adjustment of status, will USCIS give me a new work permit while I wait?

The answer used to be a reliable yes. In 2026, the answer is: it depends, and you need to know what it depends on before you file anything.

Let me tell you what I am seeing in my practice, and then let me tell you what happened in a real case that I handled from start to finish, with an update May 4, 2026.

A Real Case: I-485 Approved in Five Months. I-765 Terminated.

Here are the facts from an actual case filed through KVisaXpress:

• I-485 and I-765 filed concurrently: June 24, 2025
• Request for Evidence (RFE) issued for financial disclosures
• RFE responded to completely and strategically
• I-485 Case Status: Card Was Produced — January 20, 2026
• I-765 Case Status: Case Was Terminated — May 4, 2026

Read that again. The green card was approved in approximately five months. The work permit was terminated two and a half months after that.

Why? Because the I-485 was approved so quickly that by the time USCIS got to the I-765, the green card had already been issued. The work permit became unnecessary. Case closed. Green card in hand.

A terminated I-765 is not always bad news. When it follows an I-485 approval, it means the green card replaced it. Your permanent resident card is your work authorization.

But here is what nobody is talking about: what happens to everyone who does not get that fast approval? What happens to the people whose I-485 is sitting in a backlog while their work permit expires?

What Is Actually Happening With EADs in 2026

USCIS is experiencing significant delays and outright denials for I-765 work permits in 2026. This is not speculation. This is what attorneys across the country are reporting, and it is what I am seeing firsthand.

I-765 renewals now take anywhere from 10 to 14 months to process. For context, an EAD that expires tomorrow and was renewed six months ago may still not have been processed. That gap is real and it has serious consequences.

Meanwhile, green card processing on family-based I-485 cases is moving in some instances. Not always. Not predictably. But fast approvals, even after an RFE, are happening. Which means the two timelines are increasingly out of sync, and filers who counted on their I-765 to bridge the gap are being left without work authorization while they wait.

Who This Affects Most

Newly Married Immigrants

Many of the couples I work with include a foreign-born spouse who is already in the United States on some form of temporary status, working legally, building a life, paying taxes, and contributing to their community. They are hard working people who are doing everything right. When they get married and file for a green card, they assume the work permit will come through. In 2026, that assumption is no longer safe.

If your current work authorization is tied to a visa status that is expiring, do not wait to file. And do not assume the I-765 will arrive before the gap opens.

OPT and CPT Students

International students on F-1 visas who are using Optional Practical Training (OPT) or Curricular Practical Training (CPT) to work in the United States face a particularly tight timeline. OPT has a defined endpoint. CPT is tied to enrollment. When either expires, so does work authorization.

If you are in a relationship with a U.S. citizen or permanent resident and your OPT or CPT is ending, the interaction between your student visa status, your work authorization, and a concurrent I-485 and I-765 filing is genuinely complex. Filing at the wrong moment, or in the wrong sequence, can create gaps you cannot bridge after the fact.

The question I hear most often from this group: can I file my I-485 before my OPT expires and use the pending I-765 to keep working? The answer requires a careful look at your specific situation, your employer, your STEM extension eligibility if applicable, and the current processing times at your service center. There is no universal answer. There is only your answer.

TPS Holders

Temporary Protected Status holders are among the most directly affected by EAD delays in 2026. TPS work permits are already under pressure from policy changes and litigation. If you hold TPS and are eligible to adjust status through a qualifying family relationship, the timing of your I-485 filing relative to your TPS EAD expiration matters enormously. A gap in work authorization on a pending I-485 can complicate the case in ways that are difficult to explain after the fact.

H-4 Dependents

H-4 EAD holders have seen processing times become increasingly unpredictable in 2026 following the expiration of concurrent adjudication requirements that previously kept H-4 and H-4 EAD cases moving together. If you are an H-4 holder who has filed or is planning to file an I-485 through a qualifying relationship, understand that your H-4 EAD and your I-765 filed concurrently with an I-485 are not the same thing and do not move on the same timeline.

Anyone With an Expiring Work Permit Who Is Counting on the I-765

This is the broadest category and the one I want to address most directly. If your current work permit is expiring and you are planning to file an I-485 and I-765 together and simply wait for the I-765 to come through before your current EAD expires, you may be planning around a timeline that no longer exists.

The I-765 is not guaranteed to arrive before your current authorization expires. It may be delayed. It may be denied. And if it is denied or significantly delayed, you need to know what your options are before that happens, not after.

The Factor Nobody Wants to Talk About: Moral Character

Here is something I want to say clearly because I believe in giving people honest information even when it is uncomfortable.

If you have any criminal history, an arrest record, or any incident that could touch the question of good moral character, particularly anything involving domestic violence, you should expect a longer processing time on your I-765, and potentially a denial.

USCIS adjudicators are scrutinizing moral character in ways that have become significantly more rigorous in 2026. Cases that might have moved through quickly in prior years are sitting longer. Some are receiving RFEs. Some are being denied outright.

The practical consequence of this is that people in this situation are going to work anyway because they have to. Bills do not stop. Children do not stop needing things. Life does not pause while USCIS takes its time.

If you have worked without authorization, even briefly, even because you had no other choice, your I-485 will ask you about it. You must answer honestly. How that question is handled can make or break your entire case.

This is not the time to guess. This is not the time to leave a line blank and hope nobody notices. The I-485 is a federal form signed under penalty of perjury. An attorney who has seen these cases knows how to frame the response in a way that tells the truth and gives your case the best possible chance.

What to Do Before Your Work Permit Expires

I am going to be direct with you because I think you deserve a straight answer.

• Do not wait until your work permit has expired to start thinking about this. By then, your options are significantly narrower.
• Do not assume that filing an I-485 and I-765 together guarantees you will have work authorization during the wait. In 2026, it does not.
• Do not rely on processing time estimates from USCIS as a planning tool. They are averages based on recently completed cases and they can and do change.
• Do not work without authorization and say nothing about it on your I-485. Answer every question honestly. Let your attorney help you frame the response.
• Do call an attorney before you file. Not after you have a gap. Not after you receive an RFE. Before.

The couples and families I work with who have the smoothest cases are almost never the ones who come to me after something has gone wrong. They are the ones who called before they filed, understood their timeline, and made decisions based on their actual situation rather than what they read on a forum at midnight.

What This Means for You

If you are newly married, on OPT, holding TPS, or watching your work permit expiration date approach while your green card is pending, the most important thing you can do right now is understand exactly where you stand. Not generally. Specifically.

We filed an I-485 in June 2025. We got an RFE. We responded. We got the green card in January 2026. Five months. That is what the right strategy looks like.

Not every case moves that fast. But every case benefits from the right preparation, the right filing sequence, and an attorney who has seen enough of these cases to know what USCIS is looking for before they look for it.

Your work authorization is not something to leave to chance in 2026. Call before the gap hits. Not after.

KVisaXpress serves clients in West Virginia, Virginia, California, and nationwide. Consultations available by phone, Zoom, WhatsApp, and FaceTime.

(800) 650-9097 | kvisaxpress.com | Where love and law collide.

About the Author

Chelsea Walker is the founding attorney of KVisaXpress by Walker Legal Service, LLC, West Virginia and Virginia’s only immigration-only law firm, with offices in Charleston, WV, Alexandria, VA, and Sacramento, CA. A former West Virginia Assistant Attorney General and prosecutor, Chelsea has practiced exclusively in federal immigration law since 2022, representing couples, families, and international students in K-1 fiancé visas, marriage-based green cards, adjustment of status, and consular processing. KVisaXpress has a 100% win rate for family-based green card petitions.