E-Verify Employer Search and TPS: Why Regular Checks Protect Your Business

This article is part of an ongoing legal series designed to provide insight and practical guidance on current and emerging workplace compliance issues. These insights shared by lawyers are based on their interpretation of existing regulations and proposed changes, and intended for informational purposes, not to be regarded as legal advice.

While some immigration statuses grant permanent U.S. work authorization, others only grant work authorization in connection with an underlying status. Temporary Protected Status (TPS) is one such status. 

Since the start of the second Trump administration, the U.S. government has targeted various immigration programs, including TPS. Throughout the summer of 2025, the administration has published various rules rescinding TPS for hundreds of thousands of people. The decision means these hundreds of thousands of people may lose work authorization, along with their right to remain in the U.S. And the administration is not planning to notify employers when someone loses work authorization based on these decisions.

Outsolve is monitoring legal changes to provide as much assistance as possible to help you, as an employer, stay compliant with I-9 worker verification requirements. These articles and tools support organizations like yours with clear guidance and reliable insights to simplify the employment verification process and reduce risk.

What Is Temporary Protected Status (TPS)?

TPS is a humanitarian program that the U.S. government uses to allow individuals from specific countries to remain in the U.S. because their home countries are unsafe. The Secretary of Homeland Security has the power to designate countries for TPS and can renew the designation period an unlimited number of times. Through TPS, noncitizens qualify for an employment authorization document (EAD).

TPS Eligibility

To qualify for TPS, an individual must:

• Be a national of a designated country,
• Not have a significant history of immigration violations, 
• Be physically present in the U.S., and
• Continuously reside in the U.S. 

When the secretary designates a country for TPS, they select specific physical presence and continuous residence dates. To meet the TPS eligibility requirements, the applicant must have lived in the U.S. and been physically present from the initially designated date. For example, the secretary designated Syria as a TPS country on March 29, 2012. For Syrians to qualify for TPS, they must have lived in the U.S. since that date, regardless of when they apply.

TPS Designation History

Despite being called temporary protected status, many TPS designations have been in place for one or more decades. For example:

• TPS for El Salvador—designated since March 9, 2001;
• TPS for Honduras—designated since January 5, 1999;
• TPS for Nepal—designated since June 24, 2015;
• TPS for Nicaragua—designated since January 5, 1999;
• TPS for Somalia—designated since September 16, 1991;
• TPS for South Sudan—designated since November 3, 2011; and
• TPS for Syria—designated since March 29, 2012.

Since those initial designation dates, the Secretaries of Homeland Security and their predecessors before the government created the Department of Homeland Security in 2003, have extended those TPS designations. Very few countries have ever been removed from the TPS list.

Trump and TPS

Along with ramping up immigration enforcement, the second Trump administration has targeted several TPS programs. In February 2025, the administration began to revoke many TPS designations. Legal advocates began promptly helping individuals affected by those changes challenge the revocations in court. Lawsuits remain ongoing over the issue, making it difficult to determine when some current TPS holders will lose their work authorization.

Current TPS Countries

As of August 2025, the following countries have current TPS designations:

• Burma (Myanmar)—through November 25, 2025;
• El Salvador—through September 9, 2026;
• Ethiopia—through December 12, 2025;
• Haiti—through February 3, 2026;
• Honduras—through September 8, 2025;
• Lebanon—through May 27, 2026;
• Nicaragua—through September 8, 2025;
• Somalia—through March 17, 2026;
• South Sudan—through November 3, 2025;
• Sudan—through October 19, 2026;
• Syria—through September 30, 2025;
• Ukraine—through October 19, 2026; 
• Yemen—through March 3, 2026; and
• Venezuela (first designated March 9, 2021)—through September 10, 2025.

The administration has already moved to end some of these programs, including TPS for Haiti, Honduras, and Nicaragua. TPS for El Salvador is currently the only remaining Central American TPS country.

Trump Administration’s Targeted Programs

The Trump TPS cuts include:

• Afghanistan—intended termination published May 13, 2025
• Cameroon—intended termination published June 4, 2025; 
• Haiti—intended termination published July 1, 2025;
• Honduras—intended termination published July 8, 2025;
• Nicaragua—intended termination published July 8, 2025;
• Nepal—intended termination published June 6, 2025; and
• Venezuela (first designated October 3, 2023)—intended termination published February 5, 2025.

These terminations do not relate to specific developments within the individual countries. For example, the administration ended Cameroon’s designation on August 4, 2025, despite ongoing armed conflict in that nation. This decision casts doubt on the likelihood that the current secretary will renew other TPS designations, regardless of the conditions in the designated countries.

Legal Challenges: Venezuela TPS

Many of these terminations have inspired legal action. The legal impacts are unsettled and may continue to be for some time. Consider one of the first targets, Venezuela TPS. Venezuela was designated for TPS twice in the past five years: once in 2021 and once in 2023. As of September 2024, the largest group of TPS holders in the U.S. came from Venezuela: over 500,000 people.

These programs have a strange overlap, already introducing confusion. The first applies to Venezuelans who have lived in the U.S. since March 9, 2021, and the other applies to Venezuelans who have lived in the U.S. since October 3, 2023.

On February 5, 2025, the administration declared it would end the 2023 Venezuela TPS designation in approximately 60 days, on April 7, 2025. The announcement didn’t apply to the 2021 designation.

Individuals affected by the change challenged it in court. As a result, a judge declared that Venezuelans who applied to renew their TPS and received renewed documents on or before February 5, 2025, still have good status, while others may not. 

The other TPS cancellations face similar challenges, which may also result in splintered and unclear legal rights.

Completing an E-Verify Employer Search and the New Status Change Report

Around the time it revoked Venezuela TPS, the administration also ended several humanitarian parole programs that enabled individuals from dangerous countries to remain in the U.S. and work, similar to TPS. It then notified employers that employees with EADs from affected countries would lose work authorization and reported dates.

Since that update, the administration has indicated that it expects employers to monitor changes in EAD validity. To determine whether your employees’ work authorization remains active, you can request a Status Change Report through the “reports” tab of the E-Verify Employer Search system. If the system flags any of your employees, you should complete Supplement B to reverify their status. It is recommended to pull this report every two weeks so you don't miss a change. Learn more here.

If you’re concerned about losing an employee, consider consulting an immigration lawyer about the possibility of employer-based green card sponsorship.

The End of TPS, EADs, and E-Verify

The Trump Administration has tossed many longstanding policies out the window, including revoking TPS programs one by one. TPS recipients only have work authorization for as long as their TPS lasts. While TPS renewal was predictable in the past, that’s no longer true, making completing a regular E-Verify Employer Search all the more important.

To stay on top of your I-9 compliance obligations, consider running a status change report regularly. Doing so will ensure you are employing individuals with the proper work authorization. Reach out to Outsolve for additional resources to help you get and stay organized.