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1. According to a Federal Register notice on March 1, 2019 by U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services (USCIS), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) may not terminate Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Sudan, Nicaragua, Haiti and El Salvador while the preliminary injunction order of Ramos V. Nielsen remains in effect. The notice explains that the DHS is automatically extending the validity of TPS-related Employment Authorization Documents (EADs), Forms I-797, Notice of Action, and Forms I-94 through January 2, 2020, provided that the affected beneficiaries remain otherwise eligible for TPS.
2. The notice states that beneficiaries under these TPS designations may present the Federal Register notice cited above and their EAD to their employer to demonstrate identity and continued TPS-related employment eligibility for the Form I-9 requirements. The presented EAD must contain a category code of A-12 or C-19 and have one of the following expiration dates: 07/22/2017 11/02/2017 01/05/2018 01/22/2018 03/09/2018 11/02/2018 01/05/2019 04/02/2019 07/22/2019 09/09/2019
3. USCIS reminds employers that they may not reject an employee's document based on a future expiration date, nor may they require documentation that does not appear on the Lists of Acceptable Documents.
4. The employer is required by law to ask the current employee about his/her continued employment authorization, and the employee will need to present the evidence stated above in point 2.
5. What to do on Form I-9:
-Determine if EAD has been auto-extended if it contains a category code of A-12 or C-19 and one of the expiration dates listed above in point 2.
-If eligible for auto-extension: draw a line through expiration date in Section 2 (or 3), write January 2, 2020, Sign and Date correction.
-Put a copy of the linked notice in the I-9 file.
-Calendar re-verification for updated work authorization by January 3, 2020.
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The information provided here does not constitute legal advice. It is general information regarding law and policy that may be applicable to your particular HR issue or legal problem. Information provided in this blog, or any of our other public posts, does not create an attorney-client relationship. For specific advice you can rely upon, please contact your attorney.