US Citizenship and Immigration Services reported a notable increase in denials of Form I‑765 applications filed by foreign nationals seeking employment while their green‑card adjustment of status is pending.

In the April‑June 2026 quarter, USCIS denied 35,767 such work‑permit requests, a total that exceeds the combined denials recorded in the first six months of the fiscal year.

The refusal share rose to roughly 44 percent of all decisions in this category, compared with about 25 percent earlier in the year.

These permits are crucial for applicants already in the United States who need legal authorization to work while their permanent‑residence cases are under review.

The higher denial rate means many pending applicants may lose or be unable to obtain work authorization, potentially affecting their ability to maintain employment.

USCIS also highlighted extensive backlogs across immigration categories, noting that the overall I‑765 queue held nearly 1.1 million pending cases.

In contrast, other I‑765 streams such as asylum‑based applications and DACA renewals continued to show relatively low refusal rates, offering more favourable outcomes for those groups.