The Department of Homeland Security announced that the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designations for El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua and Sudan will be automatically extended through October 4, 2021.
Under the terms of ongoing lawsuits, the employment authorization of TPS holders from those countries is automatically extended without the need for them to apply to USCIS for new work permits. The December 9, 2020 Federal Register notice, combined with their expired work permits or their USCIS form I-797 notices, is sufficient for employers for Form I-9 employment authorization verification purposes. Specific details on this for employers can be found here.
TPS is offered to individuals who are in the U.S. when the U.S. government determines that due to natural disaster or civil strife, they should be allowed to stay and work in the U.S. until the situation in their` home country significantly improves.
The Trump administration moved to end TPS for citizens of El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua and Sudan, despite State Department and Department of Homeland Security staff determining that conditions in those countries warranted extending, not ending, their TPS.
The termination announcements led to multiple lawsuits. Federal courts blocked the terminations, and ordered the administration to maintain TPS for citizens of those six countries while the lawsuits continued. The most recent TPS extension was due to expire on January 4, 2021.
By the time the TPS extension through October 4, 2021 ends, the Biden administration will be at the helm, and may well decide to heed the advice of State Department and Department of Homeland Security staff and no longer pursue terminating TPS.
At least 250,000 of the affected TPS holders have lived in the U.S for more than 20 years, working, paying taxes, putting down roots, raising their U.S. citizen children, and contributing to their communities. Congress is overdue to pass legislation that will offer a path to permanent residency for those who have had TPS long-term.