Re-Registration Period Now Open for Salvadorans with Temporary Protected Status

WASHINGTON—U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that current beneficiaries of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) under El Salvador’s designation who want to maintain their status through the effective termination date of Sept. 9, 2019, must re-register between Jan. 18, 2018, and March 19, 2018.

Re-registration procedures, including how to renew employment authorization documents, have been published in the Federal Register and on uscis.gov/tps.

All applicants must submit Form I-821, Application for Temporary Protected Status. Applicants may also request an Employment Authorization Document (EAD) by submitting a completed Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, at the time of filing Form I-821, or separately at a later date. Both forms are free for download on USCIS’ website at uscis.gov/tps.

USCIS will issue new EADs with a Sept. 9, 2019, expiration date to eligible Salvadoran TPS beneficiaries who timely re-register and apply for EADs. Given the timeframes involved with processing TPS re-registration applications, however, USCIS recognizes that not all re-registrants will receive new EADs before their current EADs expire on March 9, 2018. Accordingly, USCIS has automatically extended the validity of EADs issued and currently valid under the TPS designation of El Salvador for 180 days, through Sept. 5, 2018.

On Jan. 8, Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen M. Nielsen determined that the statutory conditions supporting El Salvador’s TPS designation on the basis of an environmental disaster are no longer met. Secretary Nielsen made her decision to terminate TPS for El Salvador after reviewing country conditions and consulting with appropriate U.S. government agencies. To allow time for an orderly transition, she also delayed the effective date of the termination for 18 months from the current expiration date of March 9, 2018. As a result of the delayed effective date, El Salvador’s TPS designation will end on Sept. 9, 2019.

Salvadorans with TPS may wish to consult with qualified immigration attorneys or practitioners about their eligibility for another immigration status or benefit, or whether there is any other action they may want to take regarding their individual immigration circumstances.