USCIS Extends EAD Validity for Ukraine, Sudan TPS Holders

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services issued a fixed-date extension on August 14, 2026, allowing eligible Sudan and Ukraine holders of Employment Authorization Documents to keep working through October 19, 2026.

The measure covers people with pending renewal applications and USCIS-issued notices. It does not apply to every expired work permit.

The agency is sending notices by physical mail and electronically through myUSCIS accounts. The notices target TPS recipients who remain eligible but have not received renewed cards with category codes A-12 or C-19.

USCIS said the affected workers can use an expired card and the new notice together as proof of continued employment authorization.

"USCIS is sending notices to Sudan [and Ukraine] TPS recipients who continue to be eligible for TPS but haven't received renewal EADs with category codes A-12 or C-19 and whose TPS-based EAD application is still pending, that their expired TPS-based EADs are extended until Oct. 19, 2026."

The extension follows the current Temporary Protected Status designations for both countries. The Department of Homeland Security confirmed those designations will terminate on October 19, 2026, unless the Secretary of Homeland Security announces a new redesignation.

Only listed card expiration dates qualify

A worker must have a pending Form I-765 renewal application and a USCIS-issued notice. The card must also show one of the qualifying “Card Expires” dates below.

The person must remain a current TPS beneficiary from Sudan or Ukraine. The renewal must use category code A-12 or C-19, and USCIS must not have withdrawn the person’s TPS or denied the renewal application.

The date is fixed.

This is not the standard 180-day or 540-day extension used in other employment authorization situations. Every qualifying case runs to the same end date, October 19, 2026.

Employers can pair the expired card with the USCIS notice

USCIS instructed employers that a worker with a pending TPS-based renewal should receive a notice explaining the automatic extension. The employee may present the expired card with a qualifying date and the notice together as proof of identity and continued employment authorization under List A.

The agency also provided instructions for Form I-9. Employers should enter “Oct. 19, 2026” as the expiration date in Section 1 and Section 2, then record the extension in the “Additional Information” box.

"If your employee has a pending TPS-based EAD renewal application, they should receive a notice from USCIS informing them of this automatic extension. they may choose to present the following combination of documents as proof of identity and continued employment authorization under List A, valid until Oct. 19, 2026: An EAD [with a qualifying expiration date] and the USCIS notice extending their EAD."

The notice connects the expired card to the pending renewal. Workers without a qualifying card date, pending renewal, or USCIS notice cannot rely on this extension.

The measure addresses pending renewals before the designations end

Approximately 101,150 individuals hold TPS in Ukraine. Many faced an earlier expiration of April 19, 2026, while renewal cases remained pending.

Sudan has approximately 1,790 approved TPS beneficiaries. Its qualifying card list reaches back to Nov. 2, 2017.

Ukraine’s list includes only April 19, 2025, and Oct. 19, 2023. The two programs are moving through a legal transition following recent court decisions and the Supreme Court’s ruling in Mullin v. Doe.

The Federal Register identifies the Sudan notice as 90 FR 5944 and the Ukraine notice as 90 FR 5940. Both designations remain scheduled to end on October 19, 2026, unless the Secretary of Homeland Security announces a new redesignation.