Employers may accept expired TIPS-related EAD with auto-extension

TPS (Temporary Protected Status) is a special status that the U.S. grants to nationals of other countries who are already present in the U.S. from time to time. In general, the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) may designate a foreign country for TPS when the country conditions make it dangerous for its nationals to return to, or the country is unable to handle the return of its nationals safely or adequately. TPS is usually granted when there is ongoing armed conflict (such as civil war), an environmental disaster (such as earthquake or hurricane), or other extraordinary and temporary conditions. During a designated TPS period, eligible foreign nationals are not deportable from the United States, cannot be detained by DHS, can obtain an employment authorization document (EAD), and may apply for travel authorization. Countries that were designated for TPS include El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Somalia, Sudan, and most recently, Haiti.

The USCIS has issued the following instructions to employers regarding the use of TPS-related EAD by employees:

"Employers: If presented for completion of Form I-9 by your employee, you must accept a TPS-related EAD that is expired on its face if it nevertheless remains unexpired based on an auto-extension of the EAD by DHS as announced in a notice published in the Federal Register. Also, the card must reasonably appear on its face to be genuine and to relate to the employee presenting it to be acceptable. The following
information will appear on the card:
1. The notation “A-12” or “C-19” appears on the face of the EAD under “Category.”
2. The expiration date of the most recent TPS extension period on the face of the card. This date will appear in the Federal Register notice announcing the auto-extension of EADs and may also be found at www.uscis.gov/tps.
Employers should enter the document name, number, and expiration date in Section 2 under List A, noting the end of the auto-extension period. You may not request that an employee provide proof that he or she is a national of a country that has been designated for TPS. When the automatic extension of the EAD expires, you must reverify the employee’s employment authorization. The employee may choose to present an unexpired EAD with an updated expiration date, or any other document from List A or C of Form I-9 evidencing that he or she continues to be authorized
to work in the United States. You should enter the document name, number and expiration date in Section 3 of the Form I-9. In addition to completing the Form I-9 process described above, employers that participate in E-Verify may also confirm the employment authorization of the TPS beneficiary by submitting the required data from the Form I-9 to E-Verify. However, the employer may only check the employment authorization of new hires through E-Verify. If the TPS beneficiary is a current employee, the employer may not use EVerify to confirm employment authorization and should complete only the reverification required in Section 3 of the Form I-9."