Salvadorans with TPS Maintain Work Permit, but Lawyer Recommends Seeking Alternatives
· Telemundo McAllen (KTLM)
After more than two decades, the TPS for Salvadorans was set to expire on September 9, which would have left thousands of beneficiaries without immigration protection or legal work authorization in the United States. However, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced in an update on Wednesday night that until the agency makes an official announcement, Salvadorans with TPS retain their protection and work permit. 'An announcement regarding TPS for El Salvador will be made at the appropriate time. Until that announcement is made, Salvadorans present in the U.S. under TPS maintain their protection, including work authorization,' USCIS stated on its website. Immigration attorney Kelley Ortega indicated that this could mean a 6-month extension. 'If by dawn tomorrow morning (September 10) we do not have any announcement from the government, this community will have that protection until March 9, 2027,' she said in an interview with Telemundo 44. Section 244 of the Immigration and Nationality Act states that if the government does not make an official announcement about the future of the program 60 days before the expiration date, the benefit is automatically extended. According to Ortega, the extension would be for an additional 6 months or until the U.S. government determines otherwise. Now, will Salvadorans with TPS need to present any document when they go to work in the coming days? 'That is the part that is more complicated because there is no document that the government has published at this time giving them authority to work,' the lawyer responded. 'The statute or carrying a copy of the law may show that the law allows them to work or that they are supposed to be able to work, but the government needs to update its internal systems to verify it. In the case of Lebanon, it took two days,' she added.
AI summary · Source: Telemundo McAllen (KTLM) →
