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By
Richard
Irwin,
Editor,
Immigrants' Rights Update
The secretary of Homeland Security has
published a notice in the Federal Register extending for another 18
months the designation of Somalia as a country whose nationals and
former residents currently in the United States qualify for temporary
protected status (TPS). The notice also automatically extends for 6
months — until Mar. 17, 2007 — the validity of employment authorization
documents (EADs) issued to Somalian TPS beneficiaries under the previous
extension of TPS for people from Somalia.
The TPS program for people from Somalia,
which was set to expire on Sept. 17, 2006, has been extended to Mar. 17,
2008. The 60-day reregistration period for the Somalian TPS program
began July 27, 2006, and will remain in effect until Sept. 25, 2006.
The U.S. attorney general first designated
Somalia for TPS in Sept. 1991 because of ongoing armed conflict that was
taking place there. The attorney general redesignated Somalia for TPS
in Sept. 2001 because of continuing armed conflict and "lack of
functioning state institutions" in Somalia. Subsequently, the
designation has been extended annually, the most recent extension
becoming effective on Sept. 17, 2005, and due to end on Sept. 17, 2006.
To register for the current program
extension, nationals of Somalia (and individuals of no nationality who
last habitually resided there) previously granted TPS must apply during
the 60-day reregistration period (i.e., between July 27 and Sept. 25,
2006). Details about which forms to file and other application
requirements, including answers to frequently asked questions, are
available in the Federal Register notice whose citation is provided at
the end of this article and also from USCIS's
TPS page for
Somalia.
Individuals from Somalia who currently have
TPS and an employment authorization document issued on Form I‑766 whose
expiration date is Sept. 17, 2006, and that bears the notation "A‑12" or
"C‑19" on its face under "Category" will receive an automatic extension
of their EAD to Mar. 17, 2007. When completing the I‑9 process for
(i.e., when verifying or reverifying the identity and employment
eligibility of) Somalian TPS beneficiaries who have such an EAD,
employers are required, through Mar. 17 of next year, to accept it as a
valid "List A" document and should not ask the employee for any
additional documentary proof that he or she is work-authorized.
Individuals who apply to reregister for TPS
under the program for Somalia will be required to report to a U.S.
Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Application Support Center
to have their photo and fingerprints taken. According to the Federal
Register notice, those whose cases do not "require[ ] further
resolution" "will receive a new EAD, valid until March 17, 2008, through
the mail."
TPS beneficiaries from Somalia who know they
will have to complete an I‑9 form for an employer should be encouraged
to take with them a printout of the Federal Register notice that applies
to them, in case the employer balks at accepting an EAD with an
expiration date that has passed. Employers with questions can call the
USCIS Office of Business Liaison employer hotline at 1-800-357-2099 or
the U.S. Justice Dept.'s Office of Special Counsel for
Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices (OSC) employer hotline
at 1-800-255-8155 (or TDD 1-800-362-2735). Employees or job applicants
may call the OSC employee hotline at 1-800-255-7688 (or TDD
1-800-237-2515).
A set of resources for workers' rights
advocates — "Tool
Kit for Advocates: Temporary Protected Status and Proving Work
Authorization" — is available on NILC's website.
71 FR 42653–58 (July 27, 2006).
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