Filing Procedures for Employment Authorization and Automatic Extension of Existing Employment Authorization Documents for Eligible Liberians Before Period of Deferred Enforced Departure Ends

On March 27, 2018, President Trump issued a memorandum to the Secretary of Homeland Security (Secretary), Kirstjen M. Nielsen, directing her to implement for eligible Liberians a 12-month deferred enforced departure (DED) wind-down period and to provide for work authorization through March 31, 2019, upon which date DED will end. This 12-month transitional period of DED will allow impacted individuals to arrange for their departure from the United States. This Notice automatically extends DED-related employment authorization documents (EADs) that have a printed expiration date of March 31, 2018, for an additional 6 months through September 30, 2018, for eligible Liberians. This Notice also provides instructions for eligible Liberians on how to apply for the full 12-month period of employment authorization, through March 31, 2019. USCIS will issue new employment authorization documents (EADs) with a March 31, 2019 expiration date to eligible Liberians who are covered by DED under the Presidential Memorandum of March 27, 2018, and who apply for a new EAD. Given the timeframes involved with processing EAD applications, DHS recognizes that not all DED-eligible Liberians will receive new EADs before their current EADs expire on March 31, 2018. Accordingly, through this Notice, DHS also automatically extends the validity of DED-related EADs for 6 months, through September 30, 2018, and explains how Liberians covered under DED and their employers may determine which EADs are automatically extended and how this impacts the Employment Eligibility Verification (Form I-9) and E-Verify processes.