USCIS Extends Deferred Enforced Departure for Liberians
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced on September 26, 2014, that it will automatically extend employment authorization documents (EADs) for Liberian nationals covered under deferred enforced departure (DED). DED Liberia EADs that had an expiration date of September 30, 2014, are now valid through March 30, 2015. This automatic extension of EADs follows President Barack Obama’s decision to extend DED through September 30, 2016, for qualified Liberians and those individuals without nationality who last habitually resided in Liberia.
The six-month automatic extension of existing EADs allows eligible Liberian nationals to continue working in the United States while they file their applications. The extension also gives USCIS time to process and issue the new EADs.
- Certain individuals are ineligible for DED, including:
- Individuals who did not have temporary protected status (TPS) on September 30, 2007, and are therefore not covered under current DED;
- certain criminals;
- people subject to the mandatory bars to TPS;
and those whose removal is in the interest of the United States.
USCIS will publish a notice in the Federal Register with information regarding the extension of EADs for eligible Liberian nationals, and instructions on how they may obtain employment authorization for the remainder of the DED extension.
See also,
- USCIS announcement
- Related Q&A
- DED Granted Country—Liberia webpage on the USCIS site
