The Department of Homeland Security has issued a notice extending Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) beneficiaries from El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua, and Sudan through December 31, 2022.

The automatic extension is intended to ensure continued compliance with preliminary injunction orders that have been entered in the various cases challenging the Trump Administration’s attempted termination of TPS for these countries.

The EADs that will be automatically extended must be category A-12 or C-19 and have one of the following expiration dates:

2017:    July 22, November 2

2018:    January 5, January 22, March 9, June 24, July 5, November 2

2019:    January 5, April 2, June 24, July 22, September 9

2020:    January 2, January 5, March 24,

2021:    January 4, October 4

Beneficiaries from the countries in question also are entitled to an automatic extension of their other TPS-related documentation (I-94 Arrival/Departure Records and I-797 Notices of Action) if they applied to re-register during one of the previous DHS-announced registration periods.

Should litigation be concluded prior to December 31, 2022, with the determination that TPS should be terminated prior to that date, there will be at least a 120-day notice or winddown period. Based on a separate agreement, TPS beneficiaries from El Salvador will be entitled to a 365-day winddown period.

Although those from Haiti are entitled to this new automatic extension, they also are eligible to apply for TPS under the new 18-month TPS designation for Haiti effective August 3, 2021, through February 3, 2023. Eligible Haitians are encouraged to apply for the new designation as soon as possible to ensure they do not have any gaps in authorization.

To demonstrate the automatic extension for I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification purposes, the beneficiary must only show an expired EAD (in the correct category with one of the listed expiration dates) along with the Federal Register notice. Any beneficiary who would like to have an EAD with the actual December 31, 2022, expiration will have to apply for a new EAD and pay the required fee or request a fee waiver.