U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that nationals of Nepal who wish to extend their temporary protected status (TPS) through the June 24, 2019, termination date must reregister during the registration period running from May 22, 2018, through July 23, 2018. Although USCIS has automatically extended the validity of employment authorization documents (EADs) issued under the TPS designation for Nepal through December 21, 2018, applicants who need work authorization through June 24, 2019, must submit a completed Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, as directed in USCIS' notice. Reregistration procedures can be found in the Federal Register or on the USCIS website.
Employers may want to be mindful of the automatic extension when hiring these TPS beneficiaries or reverifying the employment authorization of affected employees on Forms I-9. Automatically extended EADs will bear the annotation "A-12" or "C-19" under "Category" and an expiration date of June 24, 2018, for Nepali TPS beneficiaries. Individuals with documents that meet the Federal Register requirements are employment authorized through December 21, 2018, according to the Federal Register announcement. Nepali TPS beneficiaries are encouraged to present a copy of the applicable Federal Register notice to employers to establish employment authorization during the six-month extension period.
Ogletree Deakins' Immigration Practice Group will continue to monitor developments and will post updates on the Immigration blog as additional information becomes available.
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