Business Immigration Insights

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that because the conditions in El Salvador  no longer support its designation for Temporary Protected Status (TPS), the designation set to expire on March 9, 2018, will terminate on September 9, 2019.  This conclusion is at odds with the State Department travel advisory, which says that travelers should reconsider travel to El Salvador due to violent crime (murder, assault, rape, armed robbery, gang activity, etc.).  The travel advisory can be found here.

TPS allows qualifying persons inside the United States to remain and work lawfully in the United States until conditions in their home countries improve following civil war, natural disaster or similar extraordinary situations.  The final period of designation gives those unable to acquire another legal status time to prepare to depart the United States by the TPS termination date.

Nationals of El Salvador holding TPS status have until March 19, 2018, to re-register to extend their status through the designation end date of September 9, 2019.   Employment authorization documents held by qualifying individuals already set to expire on March 9, 2018, are automatically extended through September 5, 2018, providing applicants time to apply for new employment authorization documents valid through the termination date. Employers can rely on the Federal Register notice for I-9 employment verification and re-verification purposes, which can be found here.