December 22, 2023

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently issued a Federal Register notice extending the re-registration period for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) beneficiaries. These beneficiaries include the El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua, and Sudan designations. 

According to the DHS in a September announcement, the re-registration period would extend beyond the 60 days of the original period. The notice claimed the period would run the full length of the current TPS designation extension. The 18-month re-registration period for current beneficiaries of TPS status is already open for each designation and will run through the following:

• El Salvador: March 9th, 2025;
• Haiti: August 3rd, 2024;
• Honduras; July 5th, 2025
• Nepal: June 24th, 2025;
• Nicaragua: July 5th, 2025; and
• Sudan: April 19th, 2025.

As such, eligible beneficiaries may re-register for TPS using an Application for Temporary Protected Status (Form I-821). The extensions also allow beneficiaries to apply for an Employment Authorization Document (EAD) at any time during the extension period. Current beneficiaries may do this by filing an Application for Employment Authorization (Form I-765).

Interested employers must understand the extended timeframes for work authorization under these TPS extensions. For most extensions of TPS status, the DHS will automatically extend any associated EADs that contain a specific “Card Expires” date and either the category codes A12 or C19.

For automatic extensions, employers may refer to the Federal Register notice for a specific extension. This notice will contain detailed information on how to complete or update the Form I-9. Employers must remember that they cannot ask employees for proof concerning their TPS designation. They also cannot request additional documentation during the employment eligibility verification (Form I-9).

The Employers must take specific steps when newly hired employees present EADs that a Federal Register notice has automatically extended. These steps include the following:

1. Enter “EAD” as the Document Title;
2. Record the EAD’s document number and either Category A12 or C19 as appropriate;
3. Enter the EAD’s automatically extended expiration date.

The employer must also enter the updated information for existing employees with documentation that the FRN has automatically extended. They may input this data in the Additional Information field. This field should include the “EAD EXT” and the extension date due to the recently introduced new version of the Form I-9. Employers may need to re-complete the form entirely to update to the current version.

With frequent changes like these, employers must review their I-9 processes frequently. This vigilance ensures they remain compliant. The best way to help ensure compliance is by using an electronic I-9 management system. This system can guide personnel through every step of the process, helping to ensure uniform compliance.

Learn more about automating your employment eligibility verification and ensuring compliance with I-9Compliance.

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