Temporary Protected Status Extended for Nationals of El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua, and Sudan
The Department of Homeland Security has extended Temporary Protected Status (“TPS”) for nationals of El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua and Sudan from October 4, 2021 to December 31, 2022. This extension is a result of several federal court orders that temporarily prevent DHS from terminating TPS for nationals of these countries.
Documents proving immigration status such as Employment Authorization Documents (“EADs”), Forms I-797, Notice of Actions (Approval Notices) and Forms I-94 (Arrival/Departure record) have been automatically extended to December 31, 2022. Current beneficiaries under the TPS designations for El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua, and Sudan do not need to pay a fee or file any application to maintain their TPS.
Nationals of Haiti who currently hold TPS are strongly encouraged to apply for TPS under the recently announced new designation. This will ensure that TPS will continue even if the federal district courts end the present injunctions in place. Eligible individuals must apply before the close of the registration period on February 3, 2023.
For employers of TPS beneficiaries, the DHS’s Federal Register Notice (“Notice”) and the current EAD should be used to update Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, E-Verify, and USCIS Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (“SAVE”) accordingly. TPS beneficiaries will need to maintain their status and must continue to meet all individual requirements for TPS eligibility. These requirements can be found here.
By way of background, the US government grants TPS to nationals of a country if the following temporary conditions exist in their home country: 1) ongoing armed conflict (such as civil war); 2) an environmental disaster (such as an earthquake or hurricane), or an epidemic; or 3) other extraordinary and temporary conditions.
TPS beneficiaries are given work authorization, protection from removal, and may obtain travel permission.
Nationals of the following countries currently benefit from TPS:
This alert is for informational purposes only. Please contact us if you would like to discuss this development further.