Temporary Protected Status (TPS) may be designated for a foreign country when conditions temporarily prevent the country’s nationals from returning safely (among other reasons). U.S. Citizenship and immigration Services (USCIS) may grant TPS to eligible nationals of certain countries (or parts of countries), who are already in the United States and/or eligible individuals without nationality who last resided in the designated country. There are currently eight countries with TPS designation (El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, and Syria).
Recently, USCIS announced an extension for the current TPS countries of Honduras and Nicaragua. The extension for both countries extends TPS for an additional 18 months, effective 1/6/15 through 1/5/16. If you are employer with TPS beneficiaries in those countries, you may want to consider informing those individuals of the need to extend their TPS by re-registering during the 60-day re-registration period that runs from 10/16/14 through 12/15/14. The 18-month extension also allows TPS re-registrants to apply for a new Employment Authorization Document (EAD). Eligible TPS beneficiaries (or persons without nationality who last habitually resided in Nicaragua) who re-register during the 60-day period and request a new EAD will receive one with an expiration date of 1/5/16.
A similar training opportunity can be found with the recent automatic extension of existing EAD’s for Liberians eligible for deferred enforced departure. The Liberia EAD extension as announced in the Federal Register notice, along with the TPS extension provide a great opportunity to train your staff on procedures in handling both new hires and existing employees status.
Equifax Workforce Solutions will continue to monitor guidance related to Form I-9 compliance and E-Verify to keep you up to date on announcements and best practices.
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