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On December 31, 2025, a federal court ruled that the Trump administration unlawfully ended Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Honduras, Nepal, and Nicaragua. This decision restored protections for approximately 60,000 TPS holders. As expected, the government has appealed to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Following the court order, US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) confirmed that certain TPS-related Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) for these countries have been extended. USCIS also updated each of the affected TPS webpages to state that it "vehemently disagrees" with the ruling from a "single judge in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California" and is working with the Department of Justice to determine next steps. Because the court did not specify an end date for the extension, employers initially expected the government to issue clarifying guidance.
And then employers waited.
Almost a month later, USCIS has not issued guidance on how to record such an extension to the Form I-9, including which expiration date to record. It is no longer expected that USCIS will comment further due the pending litigation. Employers have been left to determine on their own how to record the expiration dates for new hires or reverifications of existing employees. In discussions with USCIS, we have learned that E-Verify will produce an "Employment Authorized" result for these employees, although it may not be an immediate finding.
Automatically Extended EADs
- Honduras & Nicaragua: Original expiration dates: Jan. 5, 2018; Jan. 5, 2019; Apr. 2, 2019; Jan. 2, 2020; Jan. 4, 2021; Oct. 4, 2021; Dec. 31, 2022; Jun. 30, 2024; Jul. 5, 2025.
- Nepal: Original expiration dates: Jun. 24, 2018; Jun. 24, 2019; Mar. 24, 2020; Jan. 4, 2021; Oct. 4, 2021; Dec. 31, 2022; Jun. 30, 2024; Jun. 24, 2025.
What Employers Should Do
- Review your workforce: Verify whether employees' EADs fall under the automatically extended dates listed above;
- Allow for the hiring of new employees with these automatically extended EADs (if choosing not to do so, discuss implications with counsel);
- Work with your immigration compliance counsel to determine what date to record in Section 2 or Supplement B for the expiration date and keep it consistent so that these employees can be identified, especially if DHS wins on appeal or if concrete guidance is offered;
- Monitor Updates: Stay informed on USCIS guidance for Form I-9 completion and any DOJ/IER advisories regarding hiring practices;
- Consider operational plans for compliance adjustments if TPS status changes again; and,
- Internal Communication: Ensure HR and compliance teams understand the current protections and pending guidance to avoid errors in onboarding or reverification.
We will continue to provide updates as new guidance from USCIS or DOJ/IER becomes available.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
