18-Month Extension of Temporary Protected Status for Somalia
Current TPS Beneficiaries Also Granted Automatic
Extension of Work Authorization
Released Oct. 13, 2011
WASHINGTON— Secretary of Homeland Security Janet
Napolitano extended the Temporary Protected Status
(TPS) designation for Sudan for 18 months. She also
designated the new Republic of South Sudan for TPS for
18 months. Both the extension and the new designation
are effective Nov. 3, 2011, and will continue through May
2, 2013.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)
strongly encourages nationals from these countries (and
persons with no nationality who last habitually resided in
either country) to review the Federal Register notices for
the extension and the new designation published today
and follow the instructions on how to file an initial or reregistration application for TPS.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is also
automatically extending the validity of employment
authorization documents (EADs) issued under the last
extension of Sudan TPS for an additional six months,
through May 2, 2012. Any individual who has a valid TPS
Sudan EAD is covered by this automatic extension, even
though USCIS may ultimately register the individual
under the South Sudan TPS designation and issue a new
EAD reflecting his or her new nationality.
All affected individuals seeking to obtain or maintain their TPS must file their application package no later than April 10, 2012.
During the past year, DHS and the State Department have
reviewed the conditions in Sudan and the Republic of
South Sudan—a nation that came into existence on July 9,
2011. Based on this review, Secretary Napolitano has
determined that an 18-month extension for Sudan is
warranted due to the ongoing armed conflict and the
extraordinary and temporary conditions that prompted the
last TPS designation of Sudan on Oct. 7, 2004. Secretary
Napolitano also designated South Sudan for TPS due to
similar ongoing armed conflict and extraordinary and
temporary conditions.
TPS only applies to eligible Sudanese or South Sudanese
nationals who have continuously resided in the United
States since Oct. 7, 2004. There are approximately 340
individuals who DHS anticipates will be eligible either to
re-register for TPS for Sudan or to obtain TPS under the
South Sudan designation.
All individuals registering for TPS under the new
designation for the Republic of South Sudan or reregistering for TPS under the extension for Sudan must
file a Form I-821, Application for Temporary Protected
Status, and a Form I-765, Application for Employment
Authorization, accompanied by any required fees or a fee
waiver request. Failure to submit the required application
and biometric fees or a properly documented fee waiver
request will result in the rejection of the TPS application
package. For TPS and EAD fee requirements, please see
the Federal Register notices for the extension and the new
designation or the accompanying USCIS Fact Sheet. For
information on fee waivers, visit USCIS’s Fee Waiver
Guidance Web page.
Further details on the Sudan TPS extension and South
Sudan TPS designation, including information regarding
the application requirements and procedures, are available
at www.uscis.gov/tps and in the Federal Register notices
published Oct. 13, 2011.