TPS Re-Registration Period Extended for Nicaraguans, Hondurans
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced (PDF) an extension to the re-registration period for nationals of Nicaragua and Honduras who have been granted temporary protected status (TPS) and are now eligible to re-register and maintain their status an additional 18 months. Initially, the 60-day re-registration period for nationals of Honduras and Nicaragua began October 1, 2008, and ended on December 1, 2008. The re-registration period is being extended through December 30, 2008, because of tropical storm activity in the region.
Additionally, USCIS has automatically extended the validity of employment authorization documents (EADs) for eligible Honduran and Nicaraguan TPS beneficiaries for 6 months, through July 5, 2009. USCIS said this is intended to allow sufficient time for eligible TPS beneficiaries to re-register and receive an EAD without any lapse in employment authorization.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced in October 2008 that the TPS designations of Honduras and Nicaragua were extended through July 5, 2010. The extension will make those who have already been granted TPS eligible to re-register and maintain their status for an additional 18 months.
Nicaraguan and Honduran TPS beneficiaries are strongly encouraged to apply as soon as possible within the registration period that now ends December 30, 2008.
There are approximately 3,500 nationals of Nicaragua and 70,000 nationals of Honduras (and people having no nationality who last habitually resided in Honduras and Nicaragua) eligible for TPS re-registration. TPS does not apply to Nicaraguan or Honduran nationals who entered the U.S. after Dec. 30, 1998.
TPS beneficiaries must submit an Application for Temporary Protected Status, Form I-821, without the application fee and the Application for Employment Authorization, Form I-765, to re-register for TPS. A separate biometric service fee, or a fee waiver request, must be submitted by re-registrants 14-years of age and older. If the applicant is only seeking to re-register for TPS and is not seeking an extension of employment authorization, he or she must submit the I-765 for data-gathering purposes only and is not required to submit the I-765 filing fee. All applicants seeking an extension of employment authorization through July 5, 2010, must submit the required application filing fee with the I-765 or a fee waiver request with proper documentation.
USCIS published a related notice in the Federal Register on November 24, 2008, available on Honduras (PDF) and on Nicaragua (PDF).
