USCIS Extends TPS Status for Six Countries

Earlier this week, the Trump administration announced that they had reached an agreement with El Salvador and would be extending TPS (Temporary Protected Status) for Salvadorans in the US for one year. TPS is a program that provides temporary legal status and work authorization to foreigners in need of humanitarian relief due to natural disasters or civil unrest. Today, USCIS has announced that TPS for five other countries will also be extended, including Haiti, Nicaragua, Sudan, Honduras, and Nepal. TPS for each of these countries was previously set to expire in just a few months, in early 2020.

There are approximately 405,000 people in the US with Temporary Protected Status from these six countries. The Trump administration previously moved to terminate TPS, but preliminary injunctions were issued by a US District Court in California in October 2018. As such, the programs remain in limbo.

Extending TPS for these individuals will automatically extend the validity of their Employment Authorization Documents and I-94 Arrival/Departure records and they will be authorized to remain in the US through January 4, 2021. What happens after this date is uncertain at this time. The legality of terminating these programs continues to be challenged in court. TPS recipients from nearly every country live with great uncertainty, as they never know if the program will exist beyond another year or two. Many of these people have lived and worked in the US for many years and do not have a home to go back to.