Pabian Law Clients,
I hope everyone had a nice week! Below, please find our latest update on the recent immigration actions that have occurred in the last two weeks:
Update to Temporary Protected Status (TPS) Employment Authorization Document (EAD) Automatic Extensions
This is an important update to ensure legal compliance surround work authorizations.
On March 13th, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) updated its guidance on automatic extensions for TPS EADs. If a worker is maintaining TPS status and has a TPS-based EAD, and their renewal application was pending on or filed after July 22, 2025 but before October 30, 2025, their automatic extension is limited to one (1) year or the duration of the TPS designation, whichever is shorter. These workers can no longer claim the full 540-day extension, even if it is listed on their Form I-797C notice.
If a worker’s renewal application was filed before July 22, 2025, they may be eligible for the 540-day automatic extension. However, this extension is still capped where any part of the pending extension that falls after July 22, 2025 cannot last longer than one (1) year or the duration of the TPS designation period, whichever is shorter. This means that even if a worker filed a renewal EAD application before July 22, 2025, their automatic extension may not be for the entire 540-day period.
U.S. Supreme Court to hear argument on the Administration’s termination of TPS for Syria and Haiti
On March 16th, the U.S. Supreme Court announced that in April, it will hear the oral argument on whether the Administration can end TPS for Syria and Haiti. The justices left in place prior rulings by federal courts postponing the termination of both designations. However, based on other TPS designation decisions that were appealed to the Supreme Court and ultimately terminated, we anticipate the Supreme Court to again rule in favor of the Administration and terminate both designations.
U.S. Department of State (DOS) updates visa bond program
On August 5, 2025, DOS announced a one-year pilot program to test a bond system for some tourist and business visas. The program gives U.S. consular officers discretion to impose bonds on visitors from countries with high overstay rates as well as those coming from countries where screening and vetting information is considered insufficient.
On March 18th, DOS updated its list to include twelve (12) more (now a total of fifty (50)) countries subject to the visa bond effective on April 2nd. The program requires foreign nationals from these countries to post a bond of up to $15,000 before receiving B1 or B2 visas for business and tourism. The bond will be returned to visa recipients who return home in compliance with the terms of the visa and the bond. You can find the list of countries subject to the visa bond here.
We hope that you find these resources helpful as we all try to make sense of what is really happening in the world of immigration law.
Thanks, everyone, and have a great weekend!
Best regards,
Keith and the Pabian Law Team