On August 20, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit stayed a district court’s order postponing the termination of Temporary Protected Status for Nicaraguan, Honduran and Nepalese nationals.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security had terminated TPS for Nepal on August 5. The terminations for Honduras and Nicaragua were to take effect on September 8. The district court order had postponed termination until November 18 for all three countries.
The Ninth Circuit stay means that the DHS can move ahead with ending TPS protections and employment authorization.
The DHS has not yet issued updated guidance regarding employment authorization for these three countries. Prior notices had automatically extended employment authorization for certain eligible beneficiaries from Honduras and Nicaragua through September 8. For Nepal, the auto-extension expired on August 5.
See below for additional details regarding the automatic extensions:
Honduras
Honduran TPS beneficiaries can show their eligibility for an automatic extension with Employment Authorization Document cards that have category codes of A-12 or C-19, plus one of the following card expiration dates:
- January 5, 2018
- July 5, 2018
- January 5, 2020
- January 4, 2021
- October 4, 2021
- December 31, 2022
- June 30, 2024
- July 5, 2025
Nicaragua
Nicaraguan TPS beneficiaries can show their eligibility for an automatic extension with EAD cards that have category codes of A-12 or C-19, plus one of the following card expiration dates:
- January 5, 2018
- January 5, 2019
- April 2, 2019
- January 2, 2020
- January 4, 2021
- October 4, 2021
- December 31, 2022
- June 30, 2024
- July 5, 2025
For both countries, effective September 8, employers will need to reverify any affected employees. Employees who cannot provide valid I-9 documentation will no longer be able to work.
Nepal
Under the automatic extension issued previously, Nepalese TPS beneficiaries were able to show their eligibility for an automatic extension with EAD cards that had category codes of A-12 or C-19, plus one of the following card expiration dates:
- June 24, 2018
- June 24, 2019
- March 24, 2020
- January 4, 2021
- October 4, 2021
- December 31, 2022
- June 30, 2024
- June 24, 2025
However, in light of Wednesday’s decision by the Ninth Circuit, we expect that the DHS will revise its guidance for Nepal such that effective August 5, these individuals will no longer be authorized to work. Employers will need to reverify any affected employees immediately. Employees who cannot provide valid I-9 documentation will no longer be able to work.
We will keep you posted as the DHS issues guidance in response to Wednesday’s Ninth Circuit decision.
