18-Month Extension of Temporary Protected Status for Somalia

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced on November 2, 2010, that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will extend Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for eligible nationals of Somalia from the current expiration of March 17, 2011, through the new expiration date of September 17, 2012.

This extension comes in light of country conditions in Somalia, which prompted the 2001 re-designation of TPS for Somalia. Click here to read the current country conditions report on Somalia issued by the U.S. Department of State.

Under the extension, individuals who have been granted TPS are eligible to re-register and maintain their status for an additional 18 months.

TPS does not apply to Somali nationals who first entered the United States after September 4, 2001.

USCIS will issue a new Employment Authorization Document (EAD) to eligible TPS beneficiaries who timely re-register and apply for EADs.

TPS beneficiaries must submit an Application for Temporary Protected Status (Form I-821) to re-register. Applicants seeking an extension of employment authorization must file an Application for Employment Authorization (Form I-765) with the required fee. If an individual does not want employment authorization, the applicant must still file Form I-765 for data-gathering purposes; the filing fee is not required.

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Ruchi Thaker

Ruchi Thaker is New York City-based immigration attorney with extensive experience and excellent reputation for effective legal representation in simple and difficult immigration cases. I have experience in areas of deportation defense (criminal and non-criminal), federal court litigation, representation on appeals and motions with the immigration courts and the Board of Immigration Appeals, family-based immigration, asylum, naturalization, and consular processing.