The nature of immigration statuses in the United States is an ever-changing process. 

Announcements from USCIS (United States Citizenship and Immigration Services) and DHS (Department of Homeland Security) seem to be released at least once a week now, affecting thousands of lives each time. 

This last week DHS announced a change regarding TPS (Temporary Protected Status) recipients of El Salvador, Honduras, Nepal, and Nicaragua - an announcement that simultaneously brought relief and frustration.

In 2018, former President Trump tried to end TPS protection for those nations, stating that the emergencies under which the government offered those countries' nationals temporary protected status had ended. Multiple civil liberties groups sued the government because of that, and litigation is still ongoing in those cases. But the Biden Administration's announcement ensures now that TPS recipients of El Salvador, Honduras, Nepal, and Nicaragua will at least be able to continue to live and work in the United States until 2025. 

Although welcome news for nationals of El Salvador, Honduras, Nepal, and Nicaragua who already have temporary protected status, advocates for those groups were hoping that a new designation date would enable newer arrivals from those countries to apply for TPS. Instead only current TPS holders from those countries will be able to apply for renewal of their status.

The largest group of TPS recipients to be affected by this announcement are Salvadorans, almost 240,000 of which are TPS recipients in the United States. 

The four countries' TPS designations were set to expire between September of this year and January of 2024. 

The eligibility criteria, extensions, and registration period for each country's renewal is as follows:

• El Salvador
• Recipients must have been in the United States since February 13, 2001
• TPS extended through TPS through March 9, 2025
• Re-registration period runs from July 12, 2023, through September 10, 2023
• Honduras
• Recipients must have been in the United States since December 30, 1998
• TPS extended through TPS through July 5, 2025
• Re-registration period runs from November 6, 2023, through January 5, 2024
• Nepal
• Recipients must have been in the United States since June 24, 2015
• TPS extended through TPS through June 24, 2025
• Re-registration period runs from October 24, 2023, through December 23, 2023
• Nicaragua
• Recipients must have been in the United States since December 30, 1998
• TPS extended through TPS through July 5, 2025
• Re-registration period runs from November 6, 2023, through January 5, 2024

If you have questions about temporary protected status please reach out to us at (757) 422-8472, or send us a message on our website. You can also schedule an appointment with one of our attorneys by clicking on this link.