USCIS announced the extension and redesignation of Syria for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for 18 months from April 1, 2024, to Sept. 30, 2025. The redesignation is based on the continuing civil war and the accompanying dire humanitarian consequences taking place in Syria.

Individuals who are already in Syrian TPS must apply for the extension of their status and renewal of their employment authorization documents (EADs) during the 60-day re-registration period that will run from Jan. 29, 2024, to March 29, 2024. They should not wait until their employment authorization is due to expire.

Recognizing that even those who timely apply may still experience a gap in work authorization due to USCIS backlogs, individuals with Syrian TPS EADs expiring on March 31, 2024, Sept. 30, 2022, or March 31, 2021, will be entitled to an automatic extension through March 31, 2025.

Individuals with already pending requests for TPS extensions or EAD renewals do not need to reapply. When their applications are approved, they will be approved until Sept. 30, 2025. For more information on the automatic extensions, please see our TPS Tool.

The redesignation of Syria for TPS will allow approximately 2,500 Syrians already living in the United States who do not have TPS to apply and request EADs. Beyond the general eligibility requirements, these individuals will have to show that they have been continuously residing in the United States since Jan. 25, 2024, and have been continuously physically present in the United States since April 1, 2024. Individuals applying under the redesignation may apply up until Sept. 30, 2025. For full information on the re-registration and application process, please see the Federal Register.

Along with this extension, a Special Student Relief notice for F-1 nonimmigrant students from Syria will allow eligible students to request employment authorization, work an increased number of hours while school is in session, and reduce their course load while continuing to maintain F-1 status through the new designation period.

Jackson Lewis attorneys are available to assist in determining in what circumstances employers’ Form I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification is required.

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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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