On December 9, 2020, 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 October 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 October 4, 2021.
The DHS’s Federal Register Notice (85 FR 79208) confirms the automatic extension of Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) and contains a helpful table of EADs that are automatically extended by the December 9, 2020 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 October 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
A web of three Federal Court cases address the government’s attempt to terminate TPS for El Salvador, Haiti, Nicaragua, Sudan, Honduras and Nepal.
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 granted a preliminary injunction stopping the Trump Administration from terminating TPS for individuals from Sudan, El Salvador, Haiti and Nicaragua.
On September 14, 2020, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals vacated the preliminary injunction in Ramos. Despite the decision to vacate the preliminary injunction, the 9th Circuit has not taken action to implement its decision. As such, the injunction remains in effect.
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.
If the Government wins their appeal in BOTH Ramos and Saget, TPS for Haiti will terminate 120 days from the decision of the court.
TPS beneficiaries from Honduras and Nepal are subject to the Bhattarai v. Nielsen case and are protected by a separate order staying the court proceedings. 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:
Any individual with TPS should continue to monitor uscis.gov for updates regarding re-registration and the status of the preliminary injunction.
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.
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