Business Immigration Insights

The Department of Homeland Security designates a country for Temporary Protected Status (“TPS”) when conditions – such as ongoing armed conflicts or environmental disasters – make it unsafe for those citizens who are in the United States to return home. Because of the Ebola outbreaks in western Africa, DHS designated Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone for TPS in November 2014.

Today, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) announced it has extended TPS for 6 months due to the ongoing recovery challenges faced by those countries.  The re-registration period runs  from March 22, 2016, to May 23, 2016. TPS re-registrants must apply for new Employment Authorization Documents (EADs). The new EADs will be valid until November 21, 2016. Because it is possible that the EADs will not be issued in time, USCIS has automatically extended current EADs with a May 21, 2016, for six months.

Additional details on the registration extension, as well as procedural and legal requirements for TPS, may be found at the USCIS website.