18-Month TPS Extension Announced for Sudan and South Sudan

On Wednesday, January 9, 2013, Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano redesignated Sudan and South Sudan for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and extended the existing TPS designations for the two countries from May 3, 2013, through Nov. 2, 2014. This allows eligible nationals of the two countries to register or re-register for TPS in accordance with notices for Sudan and South Sudan published Wednesday, January 9, 2013, in the Federal Register. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) encourages eligible individuals to register or re-register as soon as possible. 

Who’s Eligible	Current TPS Status	When to File
Sudanese and South Sudanese nationals (and persons without nationality who last habitually resided in Sudan or South Sudan)	Have TPS	Must re-register during 60-day re-registration period that runs from Jan. 9, 2013, through March 11, 2013.
	Do Not Have TPS	May apply for TPS during a six-month registration period that runs from Jan. 9, 2013, through July 8, 2013.

The extensions and redesignations of Sudan and South Sudan for TPS are based on ongoing armed conflict in that region and the continuation of extraordinary and temporary conditions that led to the TPS designations of Sudan in 2004 and South Sudan in 2011. Secretary Napolitano determined that extending the existing TPS designations, as well as redesignating the two countries for TPS, is warranted based on Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Department of State reviews of country conditions conducted during the past year.

The Secretary has further determined that it is appropriate to designate Jan. 9, 2013, as the date by which Sudan and South Sudan TPS applicants must show they have continuously resided in the United States (i.e., the "continuous residence date").

DHS anticipates that approximately 300 individuals will be eligible to re-register for TPS under the existing designations of Sudan and South Sudan, and fewer than 4,000 additional individuals will be eligible for TPS under the redesignations.

Individuals applying for TPS for the first time must submit:

               Form I-821, Application for Temporary Protected Status;

               The Form I-821 application fee;

               Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, regardless of whether they want an Employment Authorization Document (EAD);

               The Form I-765 application fee, but only if they want an EAD and are 14 to 65 years old. Those under age 14 or age 66 and older do not need to pay the I-765 fee with their initial TPS application; and

               The biometrics services fee if they are age 14 or older.

Individuals re-registering for TPS must submit:

               Form I-821;

               Form I-765, regardless of whether they want an EAD;

               The Form I-765 application fee, but only if they want an EAD. All individuals re-registering for TPS who want an EAD must pay the I-765 fee, regardless of their age; and

               The biometric services fee if they are age 14 or older.

Individuals who still have a pending initial TPS application under Sudan or South Sudan do not need to submit a new Form I-821. However, if such individuals currently have a TPS-related EAD and want a new EAD, they should submit:

               Form I-765;

               The Form I-765 application fee, regardless of their age; and

               A copy of the receipt notice for the initial Form I-821 that is still pending.

Applicants may request that USCIS waive any or all fees based on inability to pay by filing Form I-912, Request for Fee Waiver, or by submitting a written request. Fee-waiver requests must be accompanied by supporting documentation. Failure to submit the required filing fees or a properly documented fee-waiver request will result in the rejection of the TPS application.

More information on TPS for Sudan and South Sudan - including guidance on eligibility, the application process and where to file - is available online at www.uscis.gov/tps. Further details on the extensions and redesignations of Sudan and South Sudan for TPS, including application requirements and procedures, are available in the Federal Register notices published Wednesday, January 9, 2013, for Sudan and South Sudan, respectively.                                                             

TPS Re-Registration Period Extended for Haitians

On Thursday, December 27, 2012, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced an extension of the re-registration period for Haitian nationals who have already been granted Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and seek to maintain that status for an additional 18 months. Given the impact Hurricane Sandy has had on regions where Haitians reside, the re-registration period is extended through Jan. 29, 2013.

Haitian TPS beneficiaries are strongly encouraged to apply as soon as possible. Under this extension, USCIS also will accept applications from eligible individuals who have already applied after the close of the re-registration period on Nov. 30, 2012 and will continue to accept applications through Jan. 29, 2013.

The initial, 60-day re-registration period was established after the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced in October 2012 an 18-month extension of the TPS designation of Haiti, from Jan. 23, 2013, through July 22, 2014. 

Approximately 60,000 Haitian nationals (and people having no nationality who last habitually resided in Haiti) are eligible for TPS re-registration. TPS is not available to Haitian nationals who entered the United States after Jan. 12, 2011.

In the Oct. 1, 2012 Federal Register notice announcing the extension of TPS for Haiti, DHS also automatically extended—by six months, through July 22, 2013—the validity of Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) for eligible Haitian TPS beneficiaries. This will allow sufficient time for eligible TPS beneficiaries whose re-registration is timely to receive an EAD without any lapse in employment authorization.

To re-register, TPS beneficiaries must submit Form I-821, Application for Temporary Protected Status, and Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization. Individuals seeking to re-register do not need to pay the Form I-821 application fee. However, a biometric services fee (or a fee-waiver request) is required for all re-registrants 14 years of age and older. All re-registrants seeking employment authorization through July 22, 2014, must submit the Form I-765 fee (or a fee-waiver request). Re-registrants who do not want employment authorization are not required to submit the I-765 fee but must still submit a completed Form I-765. Failure to submit the required filing fees or a properly documented fee-waiver request will result in the rejection of the re-registration application.

A notice posted in the Federal Register contains more details on the re-registration period’s extension. More information can be found by visiting the USCIS Web site at www.uscis.gov/tps or by calling the USCIS National Customer Service Center toll-free at 1-800-375-5283. TPS forms are available free of charge through www.uscis.gov/forms and the toll-free USCIS Forms line at 1-800-870-3676.

Fee Exemptions for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals: Part I

To request consideration of deferred Action for childhood arrivals, you must file Form I-821D, Consideration of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals; Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization; and Form I-765WS, Form I-765 Worksheet. The fee to request consideration of deferred action for childhood arrivals is $465 and cannot be waived.

Fee exemptions are available in very limited circumstances. In order to be considered for a fee exemption you must submit a letter and supporting documentation demonstrating that you meet one of the following conditions:

               You are under 18 years of age, homeless, in foster care, or under 18 years of age and otherwise lacking any parental or other familial support and your income is less than 150% of the U.S. poverty level,

               You cannot care for yourself because you suffer from a  serious chronic disability and your income is less than 150% of the U.S. poverty level,  or

               You, at the time of the request, accumulated $25,000 or more in debt in the past 12 months as the result of unreimbursed medical expenses for yourself or an immediate family member and your income is less than 150% of the U.S. poverty level.

A request for a fee exemption must be filed and favorably adjudicated before you file a request for consideration of deferred action for childhood arrivals without a fee. If you submit Forms I-821D, I-765 and I-765WS to a USCIS Lockbox facility without a fee and there is no record a fee exemption request has been approved, both forms will be rejected and returned to you.

2012 Health and Human Services Poverty Guidelines:

48 Contiguous States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands
Household Size	150% of HHS Poverty Guidelines
1	$16,755
2	$22,695
3	$28,635
4	$34,575
5	$40,515
6	$46,455
7	$52,395
8	$58,335
For families with more than 8 persons, add $5940 for each additional person.
Alaska
Household Size	150% of HHS Poverty Guidelines
1	$20,955
2	$28,380
3	$35,805
4	$43,230
5	$50,655
6	$58,080
7	$65,505
8	$72,930
For families with more than 8 persons, add $7425 for each additional person.
Hawaii
Household Size	150% of HHS Poverty Guidelines
1	$19,290
2	$26,115
3	$32,940
4	$39,765
5	$46,590
6	$53,415
7	$60,240
8	$67,065
For families with more than 8 persons, add $6825 for each additional person.

DHS Announces 18-Month Extension of Temporary Protected Status for Somalia

Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano has re-designated Somalia for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and has extended the existing TPS designation for Somalia from Sept. 18, 2012 through March 17, 2014, allowing eligible nationals of Somalia to register or re-register for TPS in accordance with the Federal Register notice.

Somali nationals with TPS who are seeking to re-register for TPS must file their application packages during the 60-day re-registration period that runs from May 1, 2012, through July 2, 2012. Somalis (or persons without nationality who last habitually resided in Somalia) in the United States who do not currently have TPS may apply under the re-designation during the six-month period that runs from May 1, 2012 through Oct. 29, 2012. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) encourages eligible individuals to register as soon as possible.

During the past year, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of State have reviewed the conditions in Somalia. Based upon this review, Secretary Napolitano has determined that a re-designation and 18-month extension of TPS for Somalia is warranted.

The extension of the current Somalia TPS designation is due to the continued disruption of living conditions in the country based upon extraordinary and temporary conditions that prompted the U.S. Attorney General’s re-designation of Somalia for TPS on Sept. 4, 2001. The Secretary’s re-designation is based on ongoing armed conflict and the worsening of the extraordinary and temporary conditions, including the effects of the recent severe drought in Somalia.

A Somali national may be eligible under the re-designation if she or he has continuously resided in the United States since May 1, 2012, and has been continuously physically present in the United States since Sept. 18, 2012.

DHS anticipates that there are approximately 250 individuals who will be eligible to re-register for TPS under the existing designation of Somalia and estimates that fewer than 1,000 additional individuals will be eligible for TPS under the re-designation.

Individuals applying for TPS for the first time must submit:

               A Form I-821, Application for Temporary Protected Status;

               A Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, regardless of whether they want an Employment Authorization Document (EAD);

               The Form I-821 application fee;

               The biometrics services fee if they are age 14 or older; and

               The Form I-765 application fee, but only if they want an EAD and are 14 to 65 years old. Those under 14 or over 65 do not need to pay the I-765 fee with their initial TPS application.

Individuals re-registering for TPS must submit:

               A Form I-821, Application for Temporary Protected Status;

               A Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, regardless of whether they want an Employment Authorization Document (EAD);

               The biometric services fee if they are age 14 or older; and

               The Form I-765 application fee, but only if they want an EAD. All individuals re-registering for TPS who want an EAD must pay the I-765 fee, regardless of age.

TPS applicants who are registering for the first time and applicants re-registering for TPS may request that USCIS waive any or all fees by filing a Form I-912, Request for Fee Waiver, or by submitting a written request. Failure to submit the required filing fees or a properly documented fee-waiver request will result in the rejection of the TPS application.

Applicants can download free TPS forms from the USCIS website at www.uscis.gov/forms or request free TPS forms by calling USCIS toll-free at 1-800-870-3676.

Additional information on TPS for Somalia, including guidance on the application process, eligibility, and where to file, is available online at www.uscis.gov/tps. Further details on this extension and re-designation of Somalia for TPS, including the application requirements and procedures, may be found in the Federal Register notice published today.

Applicants seeking information about the status of their individual cases can check My Case Status Online, or call the USCIS National Customer Service Center at 1-800-375-5283.