On November 4, 2019, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that it was extending Temporary Protected Status (TPS) Documentation for individuals with TPS for individuals from El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua and Sudan until January 4, 2021.
TPS beneficiaries from El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua and Sudan who properly re-registered during the most recent Registration period DO NOT need to file a new application for re-registration. The extension automatically extends TPS documentation for individuals from those four countries to January 4, 2021.
The DHS's Federal Register Notice (84 FR 59403) confirms the automatic extension of Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) and contains a helpful table of EADs that are automatically extended by the November 4, 2019 notice. The Federal Register Notice and EAD Extension Table can be accessed here.
A TPS beneficiary with an automatically extended EAD may wish to access the Federal Register Notice in order to provide evidence to employers or DMV offices of the automatic extension through January 4, 2021.
TPS beneficiaries who did not re-register properly during the proper re-registration period can still file an Application for TPS, but must show “good cause” for their failure to re-register on time.
Federal Court Cases Effecting TPS Beneficiaries
There are three separate Federal Court cases addressing the government’s termination of TPS for El Salvador, Haiti, Nicaragua, Sudan, Honduras and Nepal. In these cases, various organizations have challenged the Trump administration’s decision to terminate TPS, and the government continues to defend the decision and manner of termination.
TPS beneficiaries from El Salvador, Haiti, Nicaragua and Sudan are subject to the Ramos et al v. Nielson case. On October 4, 2018 – in the case of Ramos et al v. Nielson, U.S. District Judge Edward Chen granted a preliminary injunction stopping the Trump Administration from terminating TPS for individuals from Sudan, El Salvador, Haiti and Nicaragua.
TPS beneficiaries from Haiti are also subject to the Saget, et al v. Trump et al. case. In Saget, et al v. Trump et al., the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York issued a preliminary injunction on April 11, 2019 stopping the Trump Administration from terminating TPS for individuals from Haiti.
TPS beneficiaries from Honduras and Nepal are subject to the Bhattarai v. Nielsen case. On March 12, 2019 – in the case of Bhattarai v. Nielsen, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California stayed proceedings, thereby protecting TPS holders from Honduras and Nepal.
If the Government wins their appeal in Ramos, TPS for Nicaragua and Sudan will terminate 120 days from the decision of the court and TPS for El Salvador will terminate no earlier than 365 days from the court’s decision.
If the Government wins their appeal in BOTH Ramos and Saget, TPS for Haiti will terminate 120 days from the decision of the court.
If the court in Bhattarai sides with the government and vacates the stay of proceedings, TPS for Honduras and Nepal will terminate 180 days following the court order.
Countries not Affected by DHS Announcement
It is important to note that the DHS announcement does not affect the termination of TPS for South Sudan, Syria, Yemen or Somalia. As of today, the dates for TPS termination for those countries are as follows:
South Sudan – TPS set to terminate on November 2, 2020
Syria – TPS set to terminate on March 31, 2021
Yemen – TPS set to terminate on March 3, 2020
Somalia – TPS set to terminate on March 17, 2020
Any individual with TPS should continue to monitor uscis.gov for updates regarding re-registration and the status of the preliminary injunction protecting those from Sudan, El Salvador, Haiti and Nicaragua.
For more information on the status of TPS for any country, re-registering for TPS, or other immigration-related inquiries, please contact Kolko & Casey, P.C. at (303) 371-1822.