USCIS Issues Instructions for DED Liberians on Applying for 24-Month Extension of Work Authorization

On September 26, 2014, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) extended for an additional 24 months the deferred enforced departure (DED) of certain Liberians and provided for work authorization during that period.  The DED extension runs from October 1, 2014, through September 30, 2016.  USCIS published a notice in the Federal Register on October 1, 2014, providing instructions for eligible Liberians on how to apply for the full 24-month extension of employment authorization. The notice also provides instructions for DED-eligible Liberians on how to apply for permission to travel outside the United States during the 24-month DED period.

USCIS said it will issue new employment authorization documents (EADs) with a September 30, 2016, expiration date to Liberians whose DED has been extended under the Presidential Memorandum of September 26, 2014, and who apply for EADs under this extension.  Given the time frames involved with processing EAD applications, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said it recognized that not all DED-eligible Liberians would have received new EADs before their current EADs expired on September 30, 2014.  Accordingly, the notice also automatically extends for six months (through March 30, 2015) the validity of DED-related EADs that had an expiration date of September 30, 2014, and explains how Liberians covered under DED and their employers may determine which EADs are automatically extended and their impact on employment eligibility verification (Form I-9) and E-Verify processes.