Effective June 20, 2024, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) extended the validity of Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) for beneficiaries in Temporary Protected Status (TPS) from the nations of El Salvador, Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua, and Sudan.1 The prior extension is scheduled to expire on June 30, 2024. Beneficiaries who are eligible to apply for TPS, and those who have a pending application for either TPS or a TPS EAD, will be notified by USCIS of the new extension that runs through to March 9, 2025.
(For prior coverage, see GMS Flash Alert 2023-137, 30 June 2023.)
WHY THIS MATTERS
This decision is critical to nationals of the five countries who qualify for TPS, as it permits them to remain work-authorized in the United States if they are unable to return home due to the ongoing peril affecting their home country. Eligible beneficiaries are reminded to carefully track the re-registration periods for their respective home countries to help ensure that their TPS does not lapse.
Underlying Re-Registration Periods for TPS
Eligible beneficiaries must make sure they re-register for TPS by filing Form I-821, Application for Temporary Protected Status, if they have not already done so. Although the re-registration periods applicable to the five countries do not all end on the same date, the automatic extension of EADs will run through March 9, 2025, for TPS beneficiaries from all five countries. USCIS will notify beneficiaries of the automatic extension by sending them a Form I-797, Notice of Action.
Below is a list of deadlines for re-registration for each of the five countries which benefit from the new TPS auto-extension2:
- El Salvador: Through March 9, 2025
- Honduras: Through July 5, 2025
- Nepal: Through June 24, 2025
- Nicaragua: Through July 5, 2025
- Sudan: Through April 19, 2025.
Eligibility for Re-Registration and I-9 Verification
Eligibility to re-register for TPS applies only to those beneficiaries who have held the status through an application that was previously approved by USCIS under the designations given to these five countries. In addition, any applicants who entered the U.S. after the continuous residence dates for the five countries are not eligible for TPS. Eligible TPS beneficiaries seeking to extend their status must apply in a timely manner and receive an approval of their application(s) in order to remain in TPS and/or continue to work in the U.S. pursuant to a TPS EAD.
Employees can complete I-9 employment verification for work authorization through March 9, 2025, by presenting the new Form I-797 to be sent by USCIS, along with their current TPS EAD annotated with code A12 or C19 and reflecting one of the expiry dates shown on the USCIS I-9 Central website3, to their U.S. employer.
KPMG INSIGHTS
The Department of Homeland Security is likely planning an independent extension of its TPS designation for Haiti, which is set to expire on August 3, 2024. It is expected that such an extension of the TPS designation will be coordinated with an auto-extension of associated EADs as well, which are currently set to expire on June 30, 2024.
KPMG Law LLP in Canada will be tracking this matter closely. We will endeavor to keep readers of GMS Flash Alert informed on any important developments as they occur.
FOOTNOTES
1 USCIS, “USCIS Extends Employment Authorization Documents under Temporary Protected Status Designations of El Salvador, Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua, and Sudan,” June 20, 2024.
2 Ibid.
3 USCIS, "USCIS Issues Notices Extending Certain TPS EADs Through March 9, 2025" at the USCIS I-9 Central website.
Please note the KPMG International member firm in the United States does not provide immigration or labour law services. However, KPMG Law LLP in Canada can assist clients with U.S. immigration matters.
The information contained in this newsletter was submitted by the KPMG International member firm in Canada.
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