President Joe Biden has extended Deferral of Enforced Departure (DED) and employment authorization for Liberians until June 30, 2024. Accordingly, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will publish instructions regarding the implementation in the Federal Register.

Because of armed conflict, civil strife and Ebola, Liberians were granted Temporary Protected Status (TPS) in 1991. By 2007, the grant of TPS ended, but President George W. Bush instead granted DED status to Liberians in the United States. That status continued to be extended by successive administrations. In December 2019, Congress enacted the Liberian Refugee Immigration Fairness (LRIF) provisions of the National Defense Authorization Act. LRIF provided Liberians the ability to apply for adjustment of status and further extended DED so that Liberians could continue to obtain employment authorization during the transition period. Because of delays associated with the LRIF program, DED was extended through June 30, 2022.

In order to protect more Liberians who have not received green cards, have not been able to return to Liberia since 2017, and have since established family and community ties to the United States, President Biden decided to continue Liberian DED and employment authorization through June 30, 2024, for any Liberians who:

  • Are present in the United States and have been under a grant of DED since June 30, 2022; or
  • Have been continuously physically present in the United States since May 20, 2017.

These individuals must also meet general admissibility requirements and may not have voluntarily returned to Liberia or their country of last habitual residence for more than 180 days in aggregate.

Reportedly, approximately 4,000 Liberians hold DED status and there are at least as many U.S.-citizen children of Liberian DED holders.

Those interested in applying for DED and employment authorization extensions should await further instructions from DHS.

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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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