Temporary Protected Status Terminated for El Salvador, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Sudan

The Trump Administration has announced that it will terminate long-standing Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designations for citizens of El Salvador, Nicaragua, Haiti, and Sudan, but that it will extend TPS for Syria. Although the Administration is providing up to 18 months’ lead time, the decision will have a sizable impact on the TPS recipients themselves, their employers, their many thousands of U.S. citizen children born since initial TPS designations as far back as 1997.

Federal legislation permits the Secretary of Homeland Security to authorize citizens of a TPS designated country to temporarily live and work in the U.S. where home country conditions do not permit their safe return. TPS is usually invoked after far reaching natural disasters such as major earthquakes and hurricanes from which recovery may take many years. Many post-disaster recoveries have relied upon the long term revenue streams of TPS recipients in the U.S sending remittances to their families, which help rebuild the post-disaster national economies.

The status of El Salvador, Nicaragua, Haiti, Sudan, and Syria TPS are summarized below:

El Salvador - TPS has been extended until September 9, 2019, and will not be extended. Employment authorization is automatically extended until September 5, 2018, but recipients must timely reapply for new cards. Beneficiaries must re-register by March 19, 2018. Employers may accept the following documents to establish continuing employment authorization for El Salvador TPS recipients while waiting for their new employment cards: 1) their Employment Authorization Document (EAD) expiring March 9, 2018; and 2) a copy of the Federal Register notice announcing the automatic extension.

Haiti - TPS ends July 22, 2019. Reregistration deadline is February 13, 2018. EADs automatically extended through July 21, 2018.

Nicaragua - TPS ends January 5, 2019. Reregistration deadline is March 19, 2018. EADs automatically extended through March 6, 2018.

Sudan - TPS ends November 2, 2018. Reregistration deadline was December 11, 2017. EADs automatically extended through May 1, 2018.

Syria – TPS extended through Sept. 30, 2019 per January 31, 2018 DHS announcement. Re-registration dates and procedures not yet published.