India, Oct. 29 -- The US Department of Homeland Security has eliminated automatic extensions of employment authorisation documents, a move that will force foreign workers - especially Indians who make up a large portion of the expat workforce --- to stop working if their renewals are not approved before their current permits expire.

The interim final rule, published on Wednesday and coming into effect from Thursday, ends a practice that allowed workers to continue their jobs for up to 540 days while renewal applications were pending. Starting Thursday, anyone filing to renew their work permit will lose authorisation the day after their current document expires if the government has not yet approved the renewal.

The change is expected to...