Ethiopia has been designated for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for 18 months beginning on December 12, 2022 and extending until June 12, 2024. Only Ethiopians already residing in the United States as of October 20, 2022, who can also demonstrate continuous physical presence since December 12, 2022, will be eligible to register. Eligible applicants will also be subject to security and background checks. 

USCIS has estimated that approximately 26,700 individuals may be eligible. When explaining the designation of Ethiopia for TPS, Secretary of Homeland Security, Alejandro N. Mayorkas stated that “[t]he United States recognizes the ongoing armed conflict and the extraordinary and temporary conditions engulfing Ethiopia, and DHS is committed to providing temporary protection to those in need.” He further explained that civilians in Ethiopia are currently dealing with armed conflict, conflict-related violence, ethnicity-based detentions, rape, and human rights abuses as well as food insecurity, flooding, drought, displacement and disease.

Individuals applying for Ethiopian TPS must submit a Form I-821, Application for Temporary Protected Status during the 18-month registration period that runs from December 12, 2022 through June 12, 2024. They may also apply for employment authorization and obtain an employment authorization document (EAD) by submitting a Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization. Both forms may be filed online. For complete instructions on eligibility and the application process, please see the announcement in the Federal Register. Those who seek to work based upon Ethiopian TPS will need to present a valid EAD during the Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification process. Travel authorization may also be available but only at the discretion of USCIS.

DHS is also suspending certain regulatory requirements for Ethiopian students in F-1 status who are experiencing severe economic hardship.

For questions about TPS and associated I-9 obligations, please reach out to your Jackson Lewis attorney.

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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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