DHS Rescinds Prior Administration’s TPS Termination, Extends Nepal’s Status for 18 Months

In a significant development, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has announced the rescission of the previous Administration’s decision to terminate the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designations for Nepal, El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua. This decision comes alongside the extension of TPS for these four countries for a period of 18 months. The announcement has important implications for the ongoing litigation challenging the terminated TPS designations.

Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas stated, “Through the extension of Temporary Protected Status, we are able to offer continued safety and protection to current beneficiaries who are nationals of El Salvador, Honduras, Nepal, and Nicaragua, who are already present in the United States and cannot return due to the impacts of environmental disasters. We will continue to offer support to them through this temporary form of humanitarian relief.”

The DHS will soon publish Federal Register notices outlining the eligibility criteria, timelines, and procedures for current beneficiaries to re-register for TPS and renew their Employment Authorization Documents (EADs).

Once these notices are published, existing TPS beneficiaries from the four countries will have the opportunity to re-register and maintain their TPS status throughout the 18-month extension. It’s important to note that individuals who arrived in the United States after the specified continuous residence dates for each designation will not be eligible for TPS. Those who enter without legal authorization and lack a lawful basis to remain in the country will be subject to removal. The continuous residence dates are Feb. 13, 2001, for El Salvador; Dec. 30, 1998, for Honduras and Nicaragua; and June 24, 2015, for Nepal.

To comply with court orders related to the litigation challenging the termination decisions, DHS had previously extended the validity of TPS-related documentation for current beneficiaries from El Salvador, Honduras, Nepal, and Nicaragua until June 30, 2024. The specific details about each country’s extension and re-registration period will be outlined in forthcoming Federal Register Notices.

As part of the recent decision, Nepal’s TPS designation is being extended for 18 months, from Dec. 25, 2023, through June 24, 2025. This extension allows approximately 14,500 existing TPS beneficiaries from Nepal to re-register and maintain TPS status until June 24, 2025, as long as they continue to meet the eligibility requirements. Existing TPS beneficiaries seeking to extend their status through June 2025 must re-register between Oct. 24, 2023, and Dec. 23, 2023, during the 60-day re-registration period.

The rescission of the termination decisions for these four countries’ TPS designations took effect on June 9, 2023.

For more information, individuals can refer to the TPS country pages on the USCIS website and the USCIS Ramos v. Nielsen webpage.