In June 2024, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that they are extending the validity of certain Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) issued to Temporary Protected Status (TPS) beneficiaries under the designations of El Salvador, Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua, and Sudan through March 9, 2025. Current TPS beneficiaries from these countries must still re-register to maintain TPS and related benefits under the most recent extension.

In July, during a recent stakeholder meeting with USCIS and other TPS advocates and legal service providers, CLINIC learned that the number of applicants is far below the number of those who are eligible. USCIS shared the following statistics as of mid-July:

• Over 136,000 have applied for TPS El Salvador, when approximately 239,000 are eligible to re-register;
• Nearly 30,000 have applied for TPS Honduras, when approximately 76,000 are eligible to re-register;
• Over 4,600 have applied for TPS Nepal, when approximately 14,500 are eligible to re-register;
• Over 2,100 have applied for TPS Nicaragua, when approximately 4,000 are eligible to re-register; and
• Nearly 500 have applied for Sudan, when approximately 700 are eligible to re-register under Sudan’s previous designation.

These numbers are alarming to both USCIS and legal advocates. The concern is that eligible applicants may not be applying for a few reasons. For one, eligible applicants may not be aware that they are eligible or required to re-register. There is also a possibility that current TPS holders from these countries may already have pending applications to obtain another immigration benefit or have already obtained another immigration benefit. USCIS does note that individuals who currently have an application pending, i.e. application for asylum, can and are still encouraged to reregister for TPS. CLINIC encourages practitioners to share this information with clients from these particular countries who previously applied for TPS under the last extension announcement and in communities with a strong presence of nationals from these countries.

Also, for more information on how these TPS beneficiaries can show proof of authorization to their employers, practitioners and clients should take a look at the updates on TPS in the USCIS newsroom.

As service providers, CLINIC encourages agencies to reach out to their existing clients to be aware of their expiration dates and screen for more permanent relief. Agencies should continue to work with their local partners to encourage Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and TPS timely renewals and continue communication with CLINIC to assist with complex cases and issues with processing times if needed.