Employers Must Keep up with Work Authorization Expiration Dates and TPS Status

If you employ a worker with TPS status, you should pay attention to the work authorization expiration date. 

You know a worker has TPS status based on the category description on the Employment Authorization Document (EAD). The EAD for a TPS worker will have a category code of either A12 or C19.  The country of the worker also should be stated on the EAD. Based on information available as of March 10, 2025, the work authorization for workers from the following countries will expire this year:

With respect to Venezuela, there are two categories of TPS workers. For those who obtained TPS status based on the 2023 designation of Venezuela for TPS, their work authorization expires April 7, 2025. For those workers who obtained TPS based on the 2021 designation of Venezuela for TPS, their work authorization expires March 10, 2025, but their status is extended through September 10, 2025. 

There is litigation pending that may affect the TPS workers from Haiti and Venezuela.  On Monday, March 31, 2025, a federal district court postponed temporarily the April 7, 2025 deadline for TPS workers under the 2023 designation. 

A worker who has an EAD with a category code of C08 may continue to work in accordance with the expiration date on the EAD and any extensions authorized by the federal government. Category code C08 is for a worker who has an asylum application pending. 

A worker who formerly had TPS or other status and who presents an unrestricted Social Security card or other unexpired List A or List C documentation has work authorization. A Social Security card that includes any of the following restrictive wording is not acceptable to demonstrate work authorization:

• NOT VALID FOR EMPLOYMENT
• VALID FOR WORK ONLY WITH INS AUTHORIZATION
• VALID FOR WORK ONLY WITH DHS AUTHORIZATION

This article is part of our April 2025 Newsletter. 

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