More Form I-9 Confusion For Employers: TPS And Limited Automatic Extensions

With the recent slew of news from US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) concerning Temporary Protected Status (TPS), it is important employers know how to update Forms I-9 for TPS beneficiaries. Over the last several months, we reported on USCIS terminating TPS for El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Haiti while deferring a decision for Honduras. The debate in Congress surrounding the loss of status to almost 300,000 individuals continues to intensify. Employers are also affected by the phase out of TPS as they consider how to handle the TPS beneficiaries in their workforce, some of whom have been with companies for many years.

As described below, Nicaragua, Honduras, and, as of January 18, Haiti, have received temporary automatic extensions through the publication of their respective Federal Register notices; however, USCIS remains silent on how the automatic extensions will work for El Salvador (with TPS set to expire on September 9, 2019). Admittedly, tracking