Interim EADs Issued to Salvadorans

USCIS announced that it will issue interim Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) 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 the EAD validity period to September 9, 2009. USCIS said that issuance of the interim EADs will allow TPS beneficiaries to continue working while the agency completes processing of their re-registration applications.

USCIS said it has already processed over 99.5 percent 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.

Any applicant who receives an interim EAD must still respond to any USCIS requests, including for additional evidence, documents, or biometric/fingerprint appointments. To maintain employment authorization through September 9, 2010, an applicant had to respond to any USCIS requests and resolve all issues so that a new EAD could be provided.