Does a Social Security Card With DHS Authorization Expire?

A Social Security card marked “VALID FOR WORK ONLY WITH DHS AUTHORIZATION” does not expire. The card is permanent, and the number printed on it is yours for life. What expires is the separate Department of Homeland Security document the card refers to, most often an Employment Authorization Document (EAD, Form I-766). When that document’s printed expiration date passes, your right to work ends, even though the Social Security card in your wallet still looks the same.

That split is the whole answer to the question, and mixing up the two is what causes real problems: lost jobs, immigration consequences, and, for employers, penalties.

What the DHS Notation Is Actually Telling You

The notation is a message to employers. It says the card alone does not prove you can work. Your work authorization lives on a separate, time-limited document from DHS, and that document carries its own expiration date.¹

Some older Social Security cards show a date on the front. That is an issue date, not an expiration date, and it will always be in the past. A card with a printed date is still valid.

How the Expiration Shows Up at Work

Every U.S. employer verifies new hires on Form I-9. The acceptable documents fall into three lists. A restricted Social Security card, including one with the DHS notation, cannot be used as a List C document to prove employment authorization.² Most workers with this type of card just present their EAD, which counts as a List A document and proves identity and work authorization in one step.³

As your authorization approaches its end date, your employer has to reverify you using Supplement B of Form I-9. Reverification is due by the earlier of the expiration date you wrote in Section 1 or the document expiration date in Section 2.⁴ If you cannot show proof of continued authorization by that date, the employer is legally required to stop letting you work.

Renewing Your Work Authorization Before It Runs Out

If your EAD is nearing expiration and your underlying status still allows work, you renew it by filing Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, with USCIS. USCIS recommends filing no more than 180 days before your current EAD expires, and at least 90 days before expiration to reduce the chance of a gap.⁵

Filing fees depend on your EAD category and were adjusted for FY 2026 effective January 1, 2026. Initial EAD applications for asylum, parole, and Temporary Protected Status applicants are $560, and TPS and parole EAD renewals are $280.⁶ Check the current USCIS fee schedule for the exact amount in your category before you file.

The Automatic Extension Has Changed

For renewal applications filed before October 30, 2025, USCIS extended EAD validity automatically for up to 540 days past the printed expiration date while the renewal was pending, as long as the category was eligible. The Form I-797C receipt notice had to show a received date before the EAD expired, and the category code on the receipt had to match the code on the current EAD.⁷

DHS then issued an interim final rule effective October 30, 2025, that ends automatic EAD extensions for most categories going forward. If you file your renewal on or after that date, you generally will not receive an automatic extension while USCIS processes your case. Extensions provided by law or through Federal Register notices for TPS-related documentation still apply.⁷ Filing early matters more now, because a gap in authorization has fewer safety nets.

If your renewal was filed before October 30, 2025, and you qualify for the automatic extension, you prove it to your employer by showing the expired EAD together with the Form I-797C receipt notice. The employer records the date that is 540 days from the “Card Expires” date on your EAD and notes “EAD EXT” in the Additional Information field on Form I-9.⁸

What Happens If You Work After It Expires

Working past the end of your DHS authorization can follow you for years. Immigration law treats any work performed after your EAD expires or your work-authorized status lapses as unauthorized employment. USCIS reads that definition broadly.⁹

The heaviest consequence is the adjustment-of-status bar. Anyone who has engaged in unauthorized employment may be permanently barred from adjusting to lawful permanent resident status inside the United States. Limited exceptions apply to immediate relatives of U.S. citizens, VAWA applicants, special immigrant juveniles, and certain members of the armed forces.⁹ Leaving the country and coming back does not clear it. Even a few days of unauthorized work can trigger the bar, and filing an adjustment application does not, by itself, authorize you to work while the case is pending.

Employers face exposure too. Knowingly employing someone whose work authorization has expired can bring civil penalties and cease-and-desist orders from DHS.

When to Replace the Card Itself

The card does not expire, but there are two moments when you should get a new one that reflects a change in your status.

After You Receive a Green Card

Once you become a lawful permanent resident, you are eligible for an unrestricted Social Security card with no DHS notation. If you filed Form I-485 to adjust status, you may have already had the option to request a new card through that application. If not, visit a Social Security office with your green card and an identity document to update your status and request the unrestricted card.¹⁰

After You Naturalize

After becoming a U.S. citizen, apply for a replacement card to remove the DHS restriction. You can start the application online, and the SSA will schedule an appointment where you bring proof of identity and your new citizenship status. The updated card arrives by mail in five to ten business days.¹¹

Updating the card promptly is worth doing. A mismatch between SSA records and what your employer reports on your W-2 can cause electronic tax return rejections and confusion during future I-9 checks.¹²

1
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Final Rule Permanently Increases Automatic Extension of Employment Authorization and/or EADs for Certain Individuals
2
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. List C Documents That Establish Employment Authorization
3
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form I-9 Acceptable Documents
4
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Completing Supplement B, Reverification and Rehires
5
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-765, Application for Employment Authorization
6
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Announces FY 2026 Inflation Increase for Certain Immigration-Related Fees
7
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Automatic Employment Authorization Document (EAD) Extension
8
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. 5.1 Automatic Extensions Based on a Timely Filed Application to Renew Employment Authorization
9
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Chapter 6 – Unauthorized Employment
10
Social Security Administration. Your Social Security Number and Card
11
Social Security Administration. Update Citizenship or Immigration Status
12
Internal Revenue Service. Age, Name or SSN Rejects, Errors, Correction Procedures