TPS Statuses Extended By Court Injunction

Nationals of El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua, and Sudan holding TPS will have their legal status extended while the preliminary injunctions of Ramos, et al. v. Nielsen and  Saget, et al., v. Trump, et al. are in effect. 

Temporary protected status, or TPS, is given to nationals of countries that the Secretary of Homeland Security deems unsafe for return due to reasons such as war or epidemic. These ongoing lawsuits challenge the termination of TPS for the aforementioned countries and have resulted in a temporary extension for TPS expiration dates. 

EADs with code A-12 or C-19 are extended through January 4, 2021, as are I-94s and I-797s issued under TPS. 

The extension applies only to EADs with an expiration date of one of the following:

07/22/2017 | 11/02/2017 |
01/05/2018 | 01/22/2018 | 03/09/2018 | 06/24/2018 | 07/05/2018 | 11/02/2018 |
01/05/2019 | 04/02/2019 | 06/24/2019 | 07/22/2019 | 09/09/2019 |
01/02/2020 | 01/05/2020 | 03/24/2020 |

Forms I-94 and I-797 from certain dates of validity will have their expiration date extended to January 4th, 2021. The Federal Register notice lists them as follows:

The TPS holder must remain eligible for his/her status during this extended period. Applicants must have filed for re-registration of TPS during the most recent DHS-announced period or have their re-registration pending. 

The extension is temporary and the court cases ongoing. Should TPS go on to be eliminated for these countries, it would take place at least a certain number of days after appellate mandate to the district court.  For Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua, Haiti and Sudan, termination would be at least 120 days from any court decision. Elimination of TPS for El Salvador would take place at least 365 days from issuance of a court mandate. This is to provide some time for affected TPS holders to take action before they lose status. 

For now, TPS nationals of the affected countries should stay updated on the latest changes. They can work with an experienced immigration attorney to see what their options are, depending on which direction the cases go. 

USCIS Notice to Continue TPS for Nepal and Honduras

On May 10, 2019, DHS issued a notice in the Federal Register to announce that USCIS will not terminate TPS for Honduras or Nepal pending final disposition of the appeal in Ramos v. Nielsen. The notice further announces that DHS is extending the validity of TPS-related documentation for Nepalese TPS beneficiaries through 3/24/20. The TPS designation for Honduras will remain in effect through 1/5/20.  It is important to note that this are only temporary measures pending the result of the court case. 

Nepalese Must Re-Register for TPS between 05/22/2018 and 07/23/2018

USCIS made the following announcement today:

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that current beneficiaries of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) under Nepal’s designation who want to maintain their status through the effective termination date of June 24, 2019, must re-register between May 22, 2018, and July 23, 2018.

Re-registration procedures, including how to renew employment authorization documents (EADs), have been published in the Federal Register and on uscis.gov/tps.

All applicants must submit Form I-821, Application for Temporary Protected Status. Applicants may also request an EAD by submitting a completed Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, at the time they file Form I-821, or separately at a later date. Both forms are free to download from the USCIS website at uscis.gov/tps.

USCIS will issue new EADs with a June 24, 2019 expiration date to eligible Nepali TPS beneficiaries who timely re-register and apply for EADs. Given the timeframes involved with processing TPS re-registration applications, however, USCIS recognizes that not all re-registrants will receive new EADs before their current EADs expire on June 24, 2018. Accordingly, USCIS has automatically extended the validity of EADs issued and currently valid under the TPS designation of Nepal for 180 days, through Dec. 21, 2018. 

TPS for Nepalese will end on June 24, 2019

Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designation for Nepal will be terminated on June 24, 2019, as announced by DHS recently.  The agency has determined that Nepal's country conditions have improved since the 2015 earthquake and TPS is no longer warranted. It means that thousands of Nepalese must leave the country by June 24, 2019, unless they have other legal status to stay in America.

TPS Extended For Nepal Until June 24, 2018

The following news release was posted to USCIS website on October 26, 2016:

Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson has extended Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for eligible nationals of Nepal (and those without nationality who last habitually resided in Nepal) for an additional 18 months, effective Dec. 25, 2016, through June 24, 2018.

Current TPS Nepal beneficiaries who want to extend their TPS must re-register during the 60-day re-registration period that runs from October 26, 2016 through December 27, 2016. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) encourages beneficiaries to re-register as soon as possible once the 60-day re-registration period begins.

Employment Authorization:

The 18-month extension allows TPS re-registrants to apply for a new Employment Authorization Document (EAD). Those who re-register during the 60-day period and request a new EAD will receive one with an expiration date of June 24, 2018.

USCIS recognizes that some re-registrants may not receive their new EAD until after their current work permits expire. Therefore, we are automatically extending current TPS Nepal EADs with a Dec. 24, 2016, expiration date for six months. These existing EADs are now valid through June 24, 2017.