Following Judge Edward Chen’s preliminary injunction blocking the termination of TPS status for beneficiaries from El Salvador, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Sudan, the DHS has issued guidance regarding its compliance with that Order.

TPS status for beneficiaries from the four countries will continue so long as the preliminary injunction remains in effect.

According to DHS, if the injunction remains in force into March 2019, the agency will issue another notice to extend TPS-related documentation (including EADs) for another nine months. This means that TPS beneficiaries from those countries may have the opportunity to remain in the U.S. to work and continue to pursue other options for maintaining status until January 2020.

If the preliminary injunction is reversed prior to March 2019, DHS states that it will provide for an “orderly transition.” The orderly transition is defined as the later of (a) 120 days after the reversal of the preliminary injunction, or (b) the previously announced termination date. Because of the timing, this effectively means the termination dates for Haiti (July 22, 2019) and El Salvador (September 9, 2019) would remain in effect.

For the moment, however, DHS is automatically extending the EADs for certain individuals from Sudan and Nicaragua until April 2, 2019. This is particularly important because their TPS statuses were scheduled to terminate on November 2, 2018, and January 5, 2019, respectively.

Automatic extensions will not apply if the TPS designation of any individual has been finally withdrawn. Extensions also will not apply if the TPS beneficiary no longer meets the other eligibility requirements for TPS.