Interim Employment Authorization Documents Provided for Nationals of El Salvador

WASHINGTON – USCIS announced today that interim Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) will be issued to Salvadoran Temporary Protected Status (TPS) beneficiaries who have not yet received a final action on their re-registration applications and whose re-registration applications have been pending for more than 90 days.

Initially, the expiration date for Salvadoran EADs was March 9, 2009. USCIS automatically extended this EAD validity period to September 9, 2009.  Issuance of the interim EADs will allow TPS beneficiaries to continue working while USCIS completes the processing of their re-registration applications.

USCIS has already processed over 99.5% of the Salvadoran re-registration applications for the current TPS designation period ending September 9, 2010.  This includes a substantial number of re-registration applications filed after the re-registration period closed.  A small number of pending re-registration applications are still under review by USCIS and awaiting further information from the applicants.  Applicants who received requests from USCIS for additional information should respond promptly within the time period described in the USCIS notice received by the applicant.

Any applicant who receives an interim EAD must still respond to any USCIS requests.  This includes requests for additional evidence, documents, or biometric/fingerprint appointments.  In order to maintain employment authorization through September 9, 2010, an applicant must respond to any USCIS requests in order to resolve all issues so that a new EAD can be provided.

Applicants can check the status of their cases by visiting the USCIS website.  They can also call the USCIS National Customer Service Center toll-free number at 1-800-375-5283.

Related Files

• Interim Employment Authorization Documents Provided for Nationals of El Salvador (1KB PDF)