Federal Court Halts OBBBA TPS Work Authorization Changes, Preserving 540-Day Extensions

As we noted last week, certain Temporary Protected Status (TPS) beneficiaries were set to lose work authorization tomorrow under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA). Earlier today, a federal court temporarily paused that change.

What does this mean:

For now, employers should not reverify, suspend, or terminate employees based solely on the anticipated July 22 loss of TPS-related employment authorization under the OBBBA amendments. If an employee was already eligible to rely on a 540-day automatic extension of an Employment Authorization Document (EAD) before the law took effect, that automatic extension remains available while the court’s order is in place.

Specifically, previously extended TPS Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) remain valid until their earlier extension dates. This means TPS beneficiaries who presented an A12 or C19 EAD with a Form I-797C receipt may continue working for the full 540-day extension period, even if that date falls after July 22, 2026.