On October 21, 2022, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) Secretary Alejandro N. Mayorkas announced the designation of Ethiopia for temporary protected status (“TPS”) for eighteen months, beginning December 12, 2022 through June 12, 20024 to help protect Ethiopian nationals in the United States from returning to unsafe conditions ”due to conflict-related violence and a humanitarian crisis involving severe food shortages, flooding, drought, and displacement.” The TPS designation has gone into effect with the publishing of the Federal Register Notice earlier this week. Eligible individuals may submit Form I-821, Application for Temporary Protected Status along with Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization electronically as of December 12, 2022.
Read moreTemporary Protected Status is Extended for Thousands Amidst Court Challenges
A recently published Federal Register Notice confirmed The Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) will continue to extend Temporary Protected Status (“TPS”) designations for nationals of Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras, Haiti, Sudan, and Nepal. DHS is automatically extending the validity of TPS Status and employment authorization documents for beneficiaries from the countries listed above through June 30, 2024.
Read moreDHS Designates Afghanistan for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for 18 Months
On March 16, 2022, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) announced the designation of Afghanistan for temporary protected status (“TPS”) for eighteen months to help protect Afghan nationals in the United States from returning to unsafe conditions. Secretary Alejandro N. Mayorkas noted “TPS will also provide additional protections and assurances to trusted partners and vulnerable Afghans who supported the U.S. military, diplomatic, and humanitarian missions in Afghanistan over the last 20 years.” TPS designation is available to nationals of Afghanistan who are already residing in the United States as of March 15, 2022, and meet all other requirements, including undergoing security and background checks.
Read moreDHS Designates Ukraine for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for 18 Months
On March 3, 2022, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) announced the designation of Ukraine for temporary protected status (“TPS”) for eighteen months. This decision comes as a result of the escalating violence and the development of a humanitarian crisis in the wake of the Russian military invasion of Ukraine. Earlier in the week, bipartisan Senators urged President Biden to designate Ukraine for TPS.
Read moreTPS Applicants May Now File Online for Status and Work Authorization
United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) recently announced that commencing November 29, 2021, all Temporary Protected Status (“TPS”) applicants may file Form I-821, Application for Temporary Protected Status, and Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, online. In the past, online filing of Form I-821 was limited to TPS applicants from certain specific countries. Under the new policy, nationals of all countries currently designated for TPS, namely Burma (Myanmar), El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Venezuela, and Yemen, may file Forms I-821 and I-765 through USCIS’ online account system.
Read moreDHS Designates Venezuela for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for 18 Months
On March 8, 2021, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced they were designating Venezuela for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for eighteen months, effective March 9, 2021, through September 9, 2022. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas noted in a press release: “The living conditions in Venezuela reveal a country in turmoil, unable to protect its own citizens. It is in times of extraordinary and temporary circumstances like these that the United States steps forward to support eligible Venezuelan nationals already present here, while their home country seeks to right itself out of the current crises.”
Read moreUSCIS: Re-Registration Period Opens for Syrians with Temporary Protected Status
US Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) announced this week that current beneficiaries of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) under Syria’s designation who want to maintain their status through September 30, 2019, must re-register between March 5, and May 4, 2018. The procedures for re-registration, including how to renew employment authorization documentation, have been published in the Federal Register and on the USCIS website. To re-register, all applicants must submit Form I-821, Application for Temporary Protected Status; additionally, applicants may also request (at the same time or later) an Employment Authorization Document (EAD) by submitting a Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization. Both of these forms are free on USCIS’ website at uscis.gov/tps.
Read moreOPINION: How the Immigration Landscape Changed in 2017
When Donald Trump won the election, many immigrants and their advocates feared the worst. Now that President Trump has been in office for over a year, I wish I could write that everyone’s fears were overblown, but that simply isn’t true. The administration’s actions have met and in some cases exceeded the worst fears of many immigrants and immigration practitioners.
Read moreAs American As Any Other
New York Times: “From Offices to Disney World, Employers Brace for the Loss of an Immigrant Work Force”
As hundreds of thousands of immigrants from Haiti, Nicaragua and El Salvador prepare to lose their legal status when Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for their countries end, some employers across the country are preparing for significant losses to their workforce. These TPS recipients, along with DACA recipients whose long-term status in the US remains unclear, make up approximately a million individuals in the US, many within the American work force.
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