TPS Somalia Extended and Redesignated for 18 Months; EADs Automatically Extended Through March 17, 2024

Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas extended and redesignated Somalia for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for 18 months, from March 18, 2023, through Sept. 17, 2024.  

Individuals with a pending or approved TPS application may qualify for certain public benefits and REAL ID driver's licenses and identification cards.  When applying for a Federal, state, or local government benefit, individuals will need to show a document proving they applied for or are beneficiaries of TPS for Somalia.  They may provide a TPS Employment Authorization Document (EAD) with a category code of A12 or C19, or a copy of their Form I-797, Notice of Action, or a current Form I-821, Application for Temporary Protected Status.

Given the time frames for processing TPS re-registration applications, USCIS has automatically extended through March 17, 2024, the validity of EADs with a Card Expires date of March 17, 2023, or Sept. 17, 2021, issued under the prior TPS designation of Somalia. TPS Somalia applicants or beneficiaries presenting an auto-extended EAD do not need to show any other document, such as a Form I-797 or I797C Notice of Action, to prove that they qualify for the EAD auto-extension.

SAVE will be able to verify an individual's TPS and employment authorization or pending TPS application (and any employment authorization) using information from any documents (including any auto-extended EAD) noted above.  In some instances, the benefit-granting agency may need to institute additional verification.

For more information regarding Somalia's TPS extension and redesignation, please refer to 88 FR 15434, dated March 13, 2023.

For up-to-date information, please check USCIS' Temporary Protected Status webpage or call the USCIS TPS Hotline at 202-272-1533. (Please note that this is not a toll-free number.)