DHS Continues Work Authorization For Ukrainian, Sudanese TPS Beneficiaries; I-9 Guidance Remains Unclear

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has not issued formal determinations regarding the future of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Ukraine and Sudan, even though Oct. 19, 2026, was previously listed as the relevant expiration date for both designations. On Oct. 20, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) updated its TPS webpages to state that an announcement concerning each country’s designation will be made “at the appropriate time.” In the interim, USCIS states that individuals from Ukraine and Sudan who are present in the United States under TPS retain their protections, including work authorization.

Although these statements provide important information for affected TPS beneficiaries, they do not resolve a critical operational issue: USCIS has not updated its Form I-9, E-Verify, or Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) guidance to explain how employers and other users should document the continued employment authorization. As a result, employers may face uncertainty regarding reverification, expiration dates, and the documentation necessary to establish continued employment authorization.

What DHS and USCIS Have Announced

As of Oct. 20, 2026, the USCIS webpages for TPS Ukraine and TPS Sudan contain substantially identical alerts, stating:

An announcement on [Ukraine’s/Sudan’s] TPS will be made at the appropriate time. Until such announcement is made, [Ukrainian/Sudanese] individuals present in the U.S. under TPS retain protection including work authorization.

The alerts also appear on USCIS’s main TPS webpage. However, the individual country webpages continue to list Oct. 19, 2026, as the date through which Ukraine’s TPS designation remains in effect or Sudan’s TPS designation continues. No corresponding formal Federal Register determination has been identified in the materials addressed here. The practical significance is that USCIS is communicating continued protection and work authorization while leaving unresolved the administrative instructions employers ordinarily rely on to document that authorization. Employers may wish to distinguish the statement that TPS protections continue from the separate question of how continued employment authorization must be documented under the Form I-9 rules.

The Conflict with Existing Form I-9, E-Verify, and SAVE Guidance

As of Oct. 20, 2026, the most recent country-specific Form I-9, E-Verify, and SAVE instructions identified for Ukraine and Sudan remain those issued on Sept. 3, 2026. Those instructions were based on the premise that the designations would terminate on Oct. 19, 2026. They directed employers and agencies to use that date in their systems.

Form I-9

Employers were instructed to enter Oct. 19, 2026, in the applicable expiration-date fields in Sections 1 and 2 for employees who presented an Employment Authorization Document (EAD) with the relevant USCIS extension notice.

E-Verify

Employers were instructed to enter Oct. 19, 2026, as the expiration date when creating an E-Verify case.

SAVE

Agencies were advised that SAVE would return a status of “Temporary Protected Status – Employment Authorized – Temp Emp Auth,” with an employment authorization date through Oct. 19, 2026. These instructions now sit uneasily alongside USCIS’s Oct. 20 statements that TPS beneficiaries from Ukraine and Sudan retain work authorization until a further announcement is made. The existing instructions have not been withdrawn or replaced in the materials identified here. They also do not specify a new expiration date, identify a replacement document for reverification, or explain how employers should update existing records to reflect the continued authorization. The result is a gap between USCIS’s public statement concerning continued work authorization and the operational instructions employers ordinarily use to document that authorization. Under 8 C.F.R. § 274a.2, employers must comply with applicable Form I-9 verification and reverification requirements. Yet the current alerts do not explain how employers should reconcile the stated continuation of authorization with the expiration dates in the existing guidance. Employers should therefore avoid assuming that either the previously listed expiration date or the new alert, standing alone, resolves every Form I-9 question.

The El Salvador Experience Provides Relevant Context

The uncertainty is not unique to Ukraine and Sudan. On Sept. 9, 2026, USCIS posted an alert concerning TPS for El Salvador, stating that an announcement would be made at the appropriate time and that Salvadoran TPS beneficiaries would retain protection, including work authorization, until an announcement was made. However, the E-Verify guidance identified as current in the materials addressed here continued to direct employers to use Sept. 9, 2026, as the expiration date. This created a similar discrepancy between the public statement concerning continued authorization and the operational instructions available to employers. The El Salvador experience suggests that updated Form I-9 and E-Verify guidance may not necessarily accompany a public alert immediately. Employers may not assume, however, that the same timeline or ultimate outcome will apply to Ukraine and Sudan.

What the Statute and Prior DHS Actions Suggest

The statutory framework governing TPS provides important context for understanding the current uncertainty. Under INA § 244(b)(3)(B), a termination of a country’s TPS designation generally requires at least 60 days’ notice published in the Federal Register. Under INA § 244(b)(3)(C), where the secretary does not determine that a country no longer meets the conditions for TPS designation, the designation may be extended for an additional period of six, 12, or 18 months, as provided by statute and at the secretary’s discretion. Prior DHS actions demonstrate that delayed decisions have not produced a uniform result.

• Honduras: TPS was scheduled to expire on July 5, 2025. DHS announced termination on July 7, and the Federal Register notice was published on July 8, with termination effective Sept. 8, 2025.
• South Sudan: In May 2025, DHS published a Federal Register notice explaining that, because the secretary had not made a determination by the applicable statutory deadline, the TPS designation was automatically extended for six months.

These examples demonstrate that DHS has addressed delayed TPS determinations differently in different circumstances. They do not establish whether Ukraine or Sudan will receive an extension, face termination, or be subject to another form of official determination. Nor should employers infer an automatic extension solely from the absence of a termination notice or from the Oct. 20 alerts. Employers may wish to evaluate the precise legal and operational consequences against the applicable statutory provisions, current official notices, and any subsequent agency guidance.

The Status Change Report and EAD Validity

USCIS’s E-Verify Status Change Report identifies certain A12 and C19 EADs that DHS has invalidated, including invalidations associated with TPS designation terminations. In light of the Oct. 20 announcements, employers may not treat Oct. 19, 2026, alone as proof that a Ukraine or Sudan TPS-based EAD has been invalidated because of termination of the relevant designation. Instead, employers may wish to review applicable USCIS guidance and the circumstances of the individual employee. The status of a particular EAD should not be inferred solely from the date previously listed on a USCIS webpage.

Practical Employer Considerations

Employers with employees who rely on TPS-based employment authorization for Ukraine or Sudan should consider the following steps while awaiting further official guidance:

• Identify potentially affected employees. Review Form I-9 records for employees whose employment authorization documentation or extension notices reference the Oct, 19, 2026, date.
• Review the current official guidance. Preserve copies of the relevant USCIS country alerts and the applicable Form I-9 and E-Verify instructions available at the time of review.
• Do not assume the prior expiration date establishes invalidation. The Oct. 20 alerts expressly state that affected TPS beneficiaries retain protection, including work authorization, until a further announcement is made.
• Do not assume the alerts resolve every documentation issue. USCIS has not yet provided a replacement expiration date or comprehensive instructions for Form I-9 reverification and E-Verify records in the materials addressed here.
• Document the compliance analysis. Employers should maintain an appropriate record of the guidance reviewed, the issue identified, and the steps taken to obtain clarification.
• Monitor official updates. Check the Federal Register and USCIS’s TPS Ukraine, TPS Sudan, Form I-9 Central, and E-Verify webpages for changes to the designations, employment authorization guidance, and reverification instructions.
• Seek advice before taking action that affects employment. Employers should consider evaluating the facts and applicable requirements with immigration counsel rather than making employment decisions based solely on an outdated expiration date or an informal announcement.

Employers should be particularly cautious about applying a blanket approach to all affected employees. The appropriate analysis may depend on the employee’s specific EAD, any applicable extension notice, the current agency instructions, and the employee’s individual circumstances.

What Happens Next?

As of Oct. 20, 2026, DHS has not formally resolved the future of TPS for Ukraine and Sudan in the official determinations addressed in this alert. USCIS’s latest statements indicate that affected beneficiaries retain protection, including work authorization, while the agency’s existing documentation instructions continue to reference the prior expiration date. This leaves important questions unanswered, particularly for employers that must maintain compliant Form I-9 records and determine how to handle reverification. The experience involving El Salvador demonstrates that public assurances of continued protection may precede updated operational guidance. However, neither that experience nor the prior Honduras and South Sudan actions determine the outcome for Ukraine and Sudan. Employers should continue monitoring official announcements and might avoid treating the current information gap as proof either that employment authorization has ended or that every documentation issue has been resolved.