E-Verify News: TPS beneficiary

Temporary Protected Status and Expired Employment Authorization Documents

One must accept a Temporary Protected Status (TPS) beneficiary’s expired Employment Authorization Document (EAD) if DHS has automatically extended its validity in a Federal Register notice. Automatically extended EADs are listed on the USCIS web site. EADs issued to TPS beneficiaries will include one of two category codes: “A-12” or “C-19.” You must not require an employee to provide proof that he or she is a national of a country that has been designated for TPS.

When creating a new case in E-Verify for newly hired TPS beneficiaries, select “Employment Authorization Document (Form I-766)” as the document presented and use the date to which the EAD was automatically extended as the expiration date. We recommend that you read the TPS information on the USCIS web site carefully, as the EAD automatic extension is usually shorter than the TPS extension date.

When re-verifying an existing TPS beneficiary’s employment authorization in Section 3 of Form I-9, write down the date to which the EAD was automatically extended as the expiration date. Never use E-Verify to re-verify an existing employee’s employment authorization.

Once the automatic extension of the EAD expires, re-verify the employee’s employment authorization again in Section 3 of either the original Form I-9 or a new Form I-9. The employee may choose to present a new, unexpired EAD, or any other document from List A or C of Form I-9 that shows he or she continues to be authorized to work in the United States. Federal contractors with the FAR E-Verify clause must follow special rules for verifying new and existing employees, including employees in TPS status. Federal Contractor needs to check the Supplemental Guide for Federal Contractors for more information.