TPS Extended for Montserrant and Redesignated for Somalia

IMMIGRATION LAW & POLICY

Asylum, Refugee, and Other
Protected Statuses

TPS EXTENDED FOR MONTSERRANT AND REDESIGNATED FOR SOMALIA
Immigrants' Rights Update, Vol. 15, No. 7, Nov. 16, 2001

In two separate notices, Attorney General John Ashcroft has extended temporary protected status (TPS) for an additional year to nationals of Montserrat and extended and redesignated TPS for Somalians. The designation for Somalians is effective from Sept. 17, 2001, until Sept. 17, 2002, and the effective period for nationals of Montserrat is from Aug. 27, 2001, until Aug. 27, 2002. The notice to redesignate TPS for Somalians allows individuals who have been continuously present in the U.S. since Sept. 4, 2001, to apply for TPS.

The Immigration and Nationality Act authorizes the attorney general to grant TPS to individuals in the United States who are nationals of countries that are experiencing armed conflict, environmental disaster, or other extraordinary and temporary adverse conditions. TPS may also be granted to individuals of no nationality who last habitually resided in a country whose nationals are eligible for TPS. The attorney general has determined that civil conflict continues in Somalia and hazardous volcanic activity persists in Montserrat such that extensions of TPS are warranted for eligible people from both countries.

To maintain TPS and work authorization, nationals of either country must reregister during the designated 90-day period. For nationals of Montserrat, that period began on Aug. 3, 2001, and ended Nov. 1, 2001. For Somalians, the period runs from Sept. 4, 2001, until Dec. 3, 2001.

To reregister for the extension, applicants must submit the following:

Form I-821
Form I-765 (Application for Employment Authorization)
Two identification photographs (1 ½" x 1 ½")

An applicant must file both forms with the local Immigration and Naturalization Service district office that has jurisdiction over the applicant's place of residence. If the applicant wishes only to reregister and does not want work authorization, a filing fee is not required. However, all applicants seeking an extension of work authorization must submit the $100 filing fee with the work authorization application. Applicants may request a fee waiver in accordance with the regulations (8 C.F.R. § 244.20). All forms are available from the toll-free INS Forms Line, 1-800-870-3676, or from the INS web site, www.ins.gov.

Applicants for TPS do not need to submit new fingerprints or the accompanying $25 fee. Children who are TPS beneficiaries and who have reached the age of 14 but were not previously fingerprinted must pay the $25 fingerprint fee with their application for extension.

Under the redesignation, first-time Somalian applicants must pay a fee of $50 with Form I-821 and $100 with Form I-765. Applicants who do not want work authorization need not submit the $100 fee but must still submit the Form I-765.

TPS registrants who need to travel outside the U.S. during the coming year must receive "advance parole" from their local INS office prior to departing the country. Failure to do so may jeopardize their ability to be allowed back into the U.S. Advance parole allows individuals to travel abroad and return to the U.S. and is issued on a case-by-case basis. Individuals who are granted TPS may apply for advance parole by filing Form I-131 at their local INS district office. However, individuals who have accrued more than 180 days of unlawful presence in the U.S. should not travel abroad because even with advance parole they will be subject to the 3- or 10-year "unlawful presence" bars to admission when they seek to return to the U.S.

Some nationals of Montserrat may qualify for late initial registration for TPS under 8 C.F.R. section 244.2(f)(2). To apply for late initial registration, applicants must:

be a national of the designated country;
have been "continuously physically present" in the U.S. since the original designation (Aug. 28, 1997);
have continuously resided in the U.S. since Aug. 22, 1997;
be admissible as an immigrant except as provided under INA section 244(c)(2)(A);
not be ineligible under INA section 244(c)(2)(B) (i.e., they must not have committed a felony and two misdemeanors in the U.S. or be ineligible for admission under INA section 208(b)(2), which bars persecutors of others, persons who have committed certain crimes, and security risks).

An applicant from Montserrat must also show that during the initial registration period (Aug. 28, 1997, through Aug, 27, 1998) he or she

was a nonimmigrant or had been granted voluntary departure status or any relief from removal;
had an application for change of status, adjustment of status, asylum, voluntary departure, or any relief from removal or change of status pending or subject to further review or appeal;
was a parolee or had a pending request for an extension; or
was the spouse or child of an individual who is currently eligible to be a TPS registrant. An applicant for late initial registration must enroll no later than 60 days from the expiration of the application period.

66 Fed. Reg. 46,288-90 (Sept. 4, 2001) (Somalia); 66 Fed. Reg. 40,834-35 (Aug. 3, 2001) (Montserrat).