- U.S. employers must reverify work authorization for Burmese and South Sudanese workers following the August 7 TPS termination.
- Affected documents include category codes A12 or C19, which are no longer valid for employment purposes.
- Specific documentation requires entering August 19, 2026 in Form I-9 and E-Verify records per court-related guidance.
U.S. employers must reverify workers from Burma and South Sudan who relied on TPS-based Employment Authorization Documents after the government ended both protections on August 7, 2026.
The affected cards carry category code A12 or C19. USCIS says those documents are no longer valid, and employers cannot continue employing anyone who fails to provide another current basis for work authorization.
Employers must use Form I-9 records to identify affected workers and complete Supplement B when they present new proof of authorization. The replacement document must come from List A or List C.
Two dates appear in the agency’s instructions. August 7 marks the termination date, while court-related processing guidance tells employers to enter August 19, 2026 in specified records.
The paperwork requires care.
USCIS instructs employers following the affected court-based guidance to enter “as per court order” in Section 1 and August 19, 2026 in Section 2. They must also add a note in the Additional Information box. Employers may attach the agency alert and the relevant country-specific TPS webpage to the worker’s record.
Businesses using E-Verify must enter August 19, 2026 as the expiration date from the form. The same date applies to the electronic processing instruction described in the alert.
Employers should search category codes, not nationalities
Employers should first locate records for workers who presented A12 or C19 cards connected to Burma or South Sudan. USCIS warns against conducting a “nationality-based” audit, which can expose a company to anti-discrimination lawsuits.
The category codes provide the narrower review. The process follows four steps:
- Identify records showing an A12 or C19 card connected to Burma or South Sudan.
- Ask the affected employee to provide current proof of employment authorization when reverification is required.
- Record the new document in Supplement B, Reverification and Rehire, formerly Section 3.
- Do not rely on the terminated TPS card if the worker cannot show another valid document.
A worker who cannot provide proof of current authorization cannot continue employment under the old document. Employers must not treat the former card as valid after the applicable USCIS guidance ends its validity.
The agency also directs employers to update or close electronic cases under the new termination instructions. Employers should check USCIS notices regularly because court orders and agency updates have changed the operative dates for some affected records.
Burma and South Sudan ended on the same date
The terminations cover populations of different sizes. Burma’s affected group numbers approximately 3,969 to 4,000 people. South Sudan’s group numbers approximately 232.
| Country | TPS termination date | Affected population | Card categories |
|---|---|---|---|
| Burma (Myanmar) | August 7, 2026 | Approximately 3,969 to 4,000 | A12 or C19 |
| South Sudan | August 7, 2026 | Approximately 232 | A12 or C19 |
Kristi Noem originally determined in November 2025 that Burma and South Sudan no longer met the conditions for protection. In the Burma determination, she said the country “no longer met the conditions for its designation. [having made] notable progress in governance and stability.”
The Burma termination proceeded despite the 2021 military coup. Human rights groups contested the administration’s assessment of progress by the junta.
The administration cited improved diplomatic relations and “phased peace implementations” when it justified ending South Sudan’s protection. The affected South Sudanese population had held the status for years.
Court orders cleared the way for the terminations
The legal path changed after the Supreme Court ruled June 25, 2026, in Mullin v. Doe, 609 U.S. ____ (2026). The court’s 6-3 conservative majority held that the TPS statute largely bars judicial review of the secretary’s decisions to end designations.
That decision reversed lower-court stays that had protected more than a million TPS holders from various countries. On August 7, federal judges lifted the stays covering Burma and South Sudan.
U.S. District Judge Matthew F. Kennelly of the Northern District of Illinois lifted the stay involving Burma. U.S. District Judge Patti Saris of the District of Massachusetts allowed the South Sudan termination to proceed.
Saris wrote:
“As a logical matter, plaintiffs' arguments rest upon a self-contradictory, self-defeating foundation.”
The South Sudan case involved African Communities Together. The Burma litigation included Aung Doe v. Noem.
Markwayne Mullin, the current secretary of Homeland Security, is named in his official capacity in litigation concerning implementation. Noem, the former secretary, made the original November 2025 determinations.
August 19 controls the court-related entries
The agency’s instructions distinguish the legal termination date from the date employers should enter in certain records. August 7 ended the TPS designations, while August 19 is the date specified for the court-ordered Section 2 entry and the electronic expiration field.
The guidance does not permit continued employment based solely on an A12 or C19 card from either country. Employers must act when the worker needs to present new authorization.
Advocacy groups describe detention and family fears
The terminations prompted criticism from immigration advocates and affected residents. Lupe Aguirre, deputy director of U.S. litigation at the International Refugee Assistance Project, said the court order removed the protection that had shielded Burmese clients.
“This court was the only thing standing between thousands of our Burmese clients and the Trump administration’s mass detention-and-deportation machine.”
Amaha Kassa, executive director of African Communities Together, said South Sudanese families had lived with uncertainty for months.
“South Sudanese families have been living with uncertainty and fear for months. They are essential workers, parents, and neighbors who have built lives here.”
Thura Doe, a Burmese plaintiff, described the prospect of returning to Burma as a detention risk.
“I am devastated by the court’s ruling and terrified of what will happen if I’m forced to return to Burma. I deeply fear I will be immediately detained by the junta.”
The changes do not apply to every TPS population on the same schedule. Ethiopia’s TPS status was briefly extended through August 19, 2026, because of separate litigation.
Employers handling Burma and South Sudan records therefore face two dates in the current instructions: August 7, the effective end of the protections, and August 19, the date USCIS directs them to use for court-related processing entries.
