Consistent with the Biden Administration’s extensions for other countries, the Department of Homeland Security announced an 18-month extension and redesignation of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for both Sudan and South Sudan due to conditions in those countries that temporarily prevent their nationals from returning safely.

The specifics for South Sudan are published in the Federal Register. TPS for South Sudan was last extended in December 2020. Now, the benefit has been redesignated and extended through November 3, 2023. (The specifics for Sudan have not yet been announced.)

South Sudanese holders of TPS (approximately 700 individuals) should re-register and renew their Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) during the re-registration period that runs from March 3, 2022, through May 2, 2022. Any TPS holder from South Sudan who has an EAD that expires on May 2, 2022, and renews an EAD during the re-registration period will be eligible for an automatic 180-day extension of work authorization until November 1, 2022, while waiting for a newly issued EAD that will expire on November 3, 2023. This is intended to eliminate any possible gap in employment authorization due to processing delays.

Based on the redesignation, South Sudanese nationals and individuals having no nationality who last habitually resided in South Sudan may file an initial TPS application and apply for employment authorization if they have continuously resided in the United States since March 1, 2022. DHS expects approximately 230 individuals will be eligible for an initial application.

Jackson Lewis attorneys are available to assist in determining when and how to handle Form I-9 Employment Eligibility Verifications for South Sudanese TPS holders.

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Photo of Forrest G. Read IV Forrest G. Read IV

Forrest Read is a Principal in the Raleigh, North Carolina, office of Jackson Lewis P.C. He has extensive experience in both business immigration law and employment law and has particular focus in legal issues in graduate medical education (GME).

Mr. Read’s immigration practice…

Forrest Read is a Principal in the Raleigh, North Carolina, office of Jackson Lewis P.C. He has extensive experience in both business immigration law and employment law and has particular focus in legal issues in graduate medical education (GME).

Mr. Read’s immigration practice focuses on assisting employers in obtaining employment-based nonimmigrant visas (e.g., H-1B, L, O, TN) for foreign national employees and work-related immigrant (green card) visas, including PERM Labor Certifications, and advising employers on compliance with U.S. immigration laws and regulations. He has broad experience in advising large, mid-size and small employers on their various immigration needs and developing strategies to help them navigate through complex immigration issues. He also has particular experience in counseling employers in the health care industry and addressing immigration-related issues that arise for their broad range of health care professional employees (including advising on and obtaining employment authorization for medical residents and fellows and obtaining J-1 visa waivers for foreign national physicians completing their medical training in the United States). His immigration practice also includes defending employers in connection with Department of Labor H-1B and H-2B investigations.

Mr. Read’s employment law experience includes representing management, particularly academic medical centers in the GME context, in a wide array of workplace disputes and litigation before federal and state courts and administrative agencies, including matters related to discrimination, retaliation, harassment, disability, family and medical leave, various wage and hour issues, contracts, and intentional torts. He advises academic medical centers on the interplay between applicable academic law and employment law and the ramifications of what are divergent legal requirements and standards. Mr. Read also provides counsel with respect to the legal impact of competency standards for residents and trainees in GME, including situations involving discipline, remediation, and dismissal. He provides advice and guidance in the peer review process, including provision of verification and assessment of training in response to third party inquiries.

As a member of the Firm’s Corporate Diversity Counseling group, Mr. Read also has experience in providing assessments and making recommendations to corporate and institutional clients with respect to diversity and inclusion policies and initiatives, conducting related internal investigations, and shaping, developing and enforcing effective policies and initiatives to ensure consistency with client values and in furtherance of business goals and objectives.

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