TPS Employment Authorization: Form I-765, EAD Validity, and Renewals

A TPS work permit is an Employment Authorization Document (EAD, Form I-766) that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issues to people granted Temporary Protected Status, and federal law requires the government to issue one to anyone approved for TPS.¹ You apply on Form I-765, and the rules for keeping the card valid between renewals changed significantly in 2025.

Who Can Get a TPS Work Permit

You need either an approved TPS status or a pending initial TPS application that USCIS is reviewing. You must be a national of a country the Department of Homeland Security has currently designated for TPS, or a person without nationality who last resided in a designated country.² Designations change; check the USCIS TPS page for your country before filing.

You also have to show continuous physical presence and continuous residence in the United States since the dates set in your country’s designation.² Those dates differ country by country.

Certain convictions and inadmissibility grounds disqualify you outright. A felony conviction, or two or more misdemeanor convictions committed in the United States, makes you ineligible, as do inadmissibility grounds tied to national security or persecution of others.²

How to File Form I-765

The work permit application is Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization. If you are applying for TPS for the first time, file the I-765 together with Form I-821, the TPS application.³ You can wait and file the I-765 after TPS is approved, but that adds weeks to when you actually get the card.

Pick the right eligibility category code, because this is one of the most common places applications stall. Use (a)(12) if your TPS is already approved. Use (c)(19) if your initial TPS application is still pending and you appear eligible on its face.⁴

Documents to Include

Two identical passport-style color photos with a white or off-white background, on glossy thin paper, unmounted and unretouched. The instructions require them to be recent but do not set a fixed number of days.⁴
Evidence of nationality and identity, such as a passport or birth certificate, as required by the I-821 instructions.
Proof of TPS status or a pending TPS application: a copy of your prior EAD, your Form I-797 approval notice, or other documentation that USCIS received or approved your I-821.⁴

If you are re-registering, add a letter stating the application is for TPS re-registration and include a front-and-back copy of your most recent TPS-related document.

Filing Fees and Fee Waivers

USCIS restructured its fees in 2024 and folded the former $85 biometric services fee into the I-765 filing fee.⁵ A separate $30 biometric fee still applies to Form I-821. Recent legislation has adjusted fees further, so confirm the current amount using the USCIS fee calculator or the G-1055 fee schedule before you file.⁶

If you cannot afford the fees, submit Form I-912, Request for Fee Waiver, with your application. USCIS considers fee waivers for the I-765 except for DACA-category filings. To qualify, you generally have to show you receive a means-tested benefit such as Medicaid, SNAP, TANF, or Supplemental Security Income, or that your household income is at or below 150% of the federal poverty guidelines.⁷ Unemployment benefits, Medicare, and Social Security retirement do not count for this purpose.

Where to Submit

If your TPS is already approved and you are filing under (a)(12), you can file the I-765 online through a USCIS account.⁸ Paper filers mail the packet to the USCIS lockbox address for their state and filing category. The wrong address gets your package returned.

USCIS will send Form I-797C, Notice of Action, with a receipt number you can use to check your case online.⁹ Some applicants receive a separate notice for a biometrics appointment at an Application Support Center, where officials take fingerprints, a photograph, and a signature.¹⁰

How Long the Card Lasts and How It Gets Extended

This is the area where the rules shifted in 2025, and misreading it can leave you without valid work authorization. Two different extension mechanisms exist, and they now work under very different rules.

Federal Register Notice Extensions Still Work

When DHS extends or redesignates a country’s TPS, it usually publishes a Federal Register notice that automatically extends the expiration date printed on existing TPS-based EADs for that country.¹¹ The notice states the new expiration date and identifies which EADs qualify based on the “Card Expires” date and category code (A12 or C19). Your expired card, together with that Federal Register notice, is valid proof of work authorization for I-9 purposes through the extension window.²

The Renewal-Based Automatic Extension Ended

Before October 30, 2025, TPS holders who timely filed a renewal I-765 got an automatic extension of their existing EAD for up to 540 days while the renewal was pending. That practice is over. For renewals filed on or after October 30, 2025, a pending application does not extend your EAD, and your I-797C receipt notice is not proof of work authorization.¹²

For renewals filed before that cutoff, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (H.R. 1), effective July 22, 2025, caps TPS-based EAD validity at one year or the duration of your TPS status, whichever is shorter. Even if your I-797C shows a 540-day extension, the actual extension may be shorter.² Look at the USCIS TPS page for your specific country to see what extension, if any, still applies to your card.

The practical takeaway is that gaps in work authorization are now more likely. File your renewal as early as possible, and plan for the chance that you will not have a valid EAD during processing.

Getting a Social Security Number With Your EAD

You need a Social Security number to work legally, and you have two ways to get one. The simplest is to check “Yes” on Items 14 and 15 of Form I-765 when you file. USCIS shares your information with the Social Security Administration, which then issues the card without a separate SSA visit.⁴ You will need to list your parents’ names at birth.

If you did not request the SSN through the I-765, or you already have your EAD, go to a local SSA office with your EAD (Form I-766) showing category A-12 or C-19. If a Federal Register notice has automatically extended your card, SSA will verify the extended expiration date and use that.¹³ If both the printed date and any automatic extension have passed, SSA cannot process your request until you have a new EAD.

How You Can Lose Your Work Permit

Missing a Re-Registration Deadline

Every time DHS extends a country’s TPS designation, it opens a re-registration period. Federal law requires USCIS to withdraw TPS from anyone who fails to re-register without good cause, which takes your work authorization with it.¹⁴

If you miss the window, file as soon as you can and include a letter explaining why you were late. USCIS may accept a late filing if you show good cause, but expect delays that create gaps in your work authorization. The agency does not quietly overlook a missed deadline; you have to make the case.

Traveling Abroad Without Permission

Leaving the United States without advance permission is one of the fastest ways to lose TPS. Travel without a TPS travel authorization document can cost you your status and your ability to return.²

To travel legally, file Form I-131, Application for Travel Documents, before you leave. Approved TPS beneficiaries receive Form I-512T, and those with a pending initial application receive an advance parole document.¹⁵ The filing fee for TPS-related travel authorization is $630 on paper or $580 online.¹⁶ Even with authorization in hand, DHS decides at inspection whether to admit you back into TPS, based on whether you traveled within your authorization, whether your TPS is still valid, and whether you are inadmissible on criminal or security grounds.

Showing the Card to an Employer

An EAD (Form I-766) is a List A document on Form I-9, so it establishes both identity and work authorization on its own.¹⁷ When a Federal Register notice has automatically extended your card, present the expired card together with that notice; the employer must accept the combination for the extension period.¹¹ After the 2025 changes, employers should look at the specific Federal Register notice for your country rather than assuming a standard extension length applies.

1
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1254a – Temporary Protected Status
2
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Temporary Protected Status
3
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form I-821, Instructions for Application for Temporary Protected Status
4
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form I-765, Instructions for Application for Employment Authorization
5
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. 2024 Final Fee Rule
6
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. G-1055, Fee Schedule
7
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form I-912, Instructions for Request for Fee Waiver
8
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Forms Available to File Online
9
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form I-797 Types and Functions
10
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Preparing for Your Biometric Services Appointment
11
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Handbook for Employers M-274 – 5.3 Automatic EAD Extensions for TPS Beneficiaries
12
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Interim Final Rule Published to End the Practice of Automatically Extending Certain Employment Authorization Documents
13
Social Security Administration. Employment Authorization for Non-immigrants
14
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Guidance for TPS Beneficiaries Filing Late Re-Registration Applications
15
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Application for Travel Documents, Parole Documents, and Arrival/Departure Records
16
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. G-1055 Fee Schedule
17
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Handbook for Employers M-274 – 13.0 Acceptable Documents for Verifying Employment Authorization and Identity