Late on July 22, the U.S. District Court for Massachusetts issued an emergency stay that throws a lifeline to tens of thousands of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) holders and asylum seekers whose employment authorization was set to lapse at midnight. The case—Venezuelan Association of Massachusetts v. USCIS—challenges recent government guidance that would have cut TPS Employment Authorization Document (EAD) validity to just one year and imposed the first-ever annual fee on asylum applicants as required by H.R. 1. Judge Eleanor Ross’s order blocks USCIS from 1) allowing TPS EADs to expire under the challenged interpretation and 2) rejecting or terminating asylum filings for failure to pay the new Asylum Application Fee (AAF). The injunction lasts until at least August 5, when the court will hear full arguments on a permanent stay. Business impact is immediate. Hundreds of employers were preparing to place TPS workers—many from El Salvador, Sudan and Ukraine—on unpaid leave pending EAD renewals. The injunction preserves their work authorization for now, averting costly production outages and I-9 reverification chaos. Companies should document the court order in I-9 files and stay alert for USCIS guidance on compliance. Strategically, the decision underscores judicial skepticism of the administration’s aggressive fee mandates. Should the stay become permanent, Congress may face pressure to revisit the AAF, which migrant-rights groups argue effectively prices refugees out of protection. Conversely, if the government prevails, employers could see rolling EAD expirations every July unless automatic-extension rules are rewritten. Next steps: HR teams should 1) inventory employees with TPS‐based EADs expiring in the next 90 days, 2) brief managers on the temporary nature of the order, and 3) prepare alternative staffing plans in case the stay is lifted in August.
Source: Fragomen Immigration Alert
