NPZ Immigration Law Blog

The Office of the CIS Ombudsman is sending this message to let you know that on December 7, 2020, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a Federal Register notice extending Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and the validity of TPS-related documentation for beneficiaries under the designations for El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua, and Sudan.

The notice automatically extends the validity of Employment Authorization Documents (EADs); Forms I-797, Notice of Action; and Forms I-94, Arrival/Departure Record (collectively, TPS-related documentation) for beneficiaries under the TPS designations for these six countries through October 4, 2021.

Background

This notice ensures continued compliance with the orders issued by the federal district courts in the Ramos v. Nielsen, Bhattarai v. Nielsen, and Saget v. Trump lawsuits that require DHS to maintain the TPS designations for El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua, and Sudan, as well as the TPS and TPS-related documentation for eligible affected beneficiaries.

• The TPS designations for El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Sudan will remain in effect, as required by the Ramos district court order, so long as the preliminary injunction remains in effect. Although a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit vacated the injunction on September 14, 2020, no directive has been issued to the district court, thus the injunction remains in effect.

• The TPS designation for Haiti will remain in effect, as required by the preliminary injunction orders in both Ramos and Saget, so long as either of those preliminary injunctions remains in effect.

• The TPS designations for Honduras and Nepal will remain in effect so long as the Bhattarai order staying proceedings and approving the parties’ stipulated agreements continues to be in effect.

More Information

For additional information, please see the December 9, 2020 Federal Register notice, the TPS country pages on the USCIS website, and the USCIS Update on Ramos v. Nielsen and the Update on Bhattarai v. Nielsen webpages.

The CIS Ombudsman will continue to work on requests for case assistance regarding issues such as erroneous rejections and delays in receiving receipt notices, approval notices, and EADs.