[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 239 (Thursday, December 14, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 86665-86667]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-27342]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

[CIS No. 2760-23; DHS Docket No. USCIS-2023-0013]
RIN 1615-ZC06


Extension of Re-Registration Periods for Extensions of the 
Temporary Protected Status Designations of El Salvador, Haiti, 
Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua, and Sudan

AGENCY: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Department 
of Homeland Security (DHS).

ACTION: Notice of extension of re-registration periods for extensions 
of the Temporary Protected Status designations of El Salvador, Haiti, 
Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua, and Sudan.

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SUMMARY: Through this notice, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) 
announces that the Secretary of Homeland Security (Secretary) is 
extending the re-registration periods for the extensions of the 
Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designations for El Salvador, Haiti, 
Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua, and Sudan from 60 days to the full 18-month 
designation extension period of each country. Beneficiaries must re-
register to receive TPS benefits under the most recent designation 
extensions for these countries.

DATES: The re-registration period for individuals to submit TPS 
applications under the designation of:
    <bullet> El Salvador is July 12, 2023, through March 9, 2025;
    <bullet> Haiti is January 26, 2023, through August 3, 2024;
    <bullet> Honduras is November 6, 2023, through July 5, 2025;
    <bullet> Nepal is October 24, 2023, through June 24, 2025;
    <bullet> Nicaragua is November 6, 2023, through July 5, 2025; and
    <bullet> Sudan is August 21, 2023, through April 19, 2025.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 
    <bullet> You may contact Ren[aacute] Cutlip-Mason, Chief, 
Humanitarian Affairs Division, Office of Policy and Strategy, U.S. 
Citizenship and Immigration Services, Department of Homeland Security, 
by mail at 5900 Capital Gateway Drive, Camp Springs, MD 20746, or by 
phone at 800-375-5283.
    <bullet> For further information on TPS, including guidance on the 
registration process and additional information on eligibility, please 
visit the USCIS TPS web page at https://uscis.gov/tps. You can find 
specific information about each country's TPS designation by selecting 
the name of the country from the menu on the left side of the TPS web 
page.
    <bullet> If you have additional questions about TPS, please visit 
https://uscis.gov/tools. Our online virtual assistant, Emma, can answer 
many of your questions and point you to additional information on our 
website. If you are unable to find your answers there, you may also 
call our USCIS Contact Center at 800-375-5283 (TTY 800-767-1833).
    <bullet> Applicants seeking information about the status of their 
individual cases may check Case Status Online, available on the USCIS 
website at uscis.gov, or visit the USCIS Contact Center at https://uscis.gov/contactcenter.
    <bullet> Further information will also be available at local USCIS 
offices upon publication of this notice.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Table of Abbreviations

DHS U.S. Department of Homeland Security
EAD Employment Authorization Document
Form I-765 Application for Employment Authorization
Form I-821 Application for Temporary Protected Status
FR Federal Register
INA Immigration and Nationality Act
Secretary Secretary of Homeland Security
TPS Temporary Protected Status
TTY Text Telephone
USCIS U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

Purpose of This Action (TPS)

    The re-registration period extensions apply to the following 
Federal Register notices:
    Reconsideration and Rescission of Termination of the Designation of 
El Salvador for Temporary Protected Status; Extension of the Temporary 
Protected Status Designation for El Salvador, 88 FR 40282 (June 21, 
2023). The 18-month re-registration period now runs from July 12, 2023, 
through March 9, 2025.
    Extension and Redesignation of Haiti for Temporary Protected 
Status, 88 FR 5022 (January 26, 2023). The re-registration period now 
runs from January 26, 2023, through August 3, 2024.
    Reconsideration and Rescission of Termination of the Designation of 
Honduras for Temporary Protected Status; Extension of the Temporary 
Protected Status Designation for Honduras, 88 FR 40304 (June 21, 2023). 
The 18-month re-registration period now runs from November 6, 2023, 
through July 5, 2025.

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    Reconsideration and Rescission of Termination of the Designation of 
Nepal for Temporary Protected Status; Extension of the Temporary 
Protected Status Designation for Nepal, 88 FR 40317 (June 21, 2023). 
The 18-month re-registration period now runs from October 24, 2023, 
through June 24, 2025.
    Reconsideration and Rescission of Termination of the Designation of 
Nicaragua for Temporary Protected Status; Extension of the Temporary 
Protected Status Designation for Nicaragua, 88 FR 40294 (June 21, 
2023). The 18-month re-registration period now runs from November 6, 
2023, through July 5, 2025.
    Extension and Redesignation of Sudan for Temporary Protected 
Status, 88 FR 56864 (August 21, 2023). The re-registration period now 
runs from August 21, 2023, through April 19, 2025.
    Through this notice, DHS sets forth updated re-registration periods 
from 60 days to 18 months for the extensions of the TPS designations 
for El Salvador,\1\ Haiti,\2\ Honduras,\3\ Nepal,\4\ Nicaragua,\5\ and 
Sudan \6\ as specified in this notice. See section 244 of the 
Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), 8 U.S.C. 1254a; 8 CFR 244.17. 
This will allow individuals to submit a re-registration application for 
TPS and an application for employment authorization documentation (if 
desired), during the full length of the relevant country's TPS 
designation extension.
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    \1\ Reconsideration and Rescission of Termination of the 
Designation of El Salvador for Temporary Protected Status; Extension 
of the Temporary Protected Status Designation for El Salvador, 88 FR 
40282 (June 21, 2023).
    \2\ Extension and Redesignation of Haiti for Temporary Protected 
Status, 88 FR 5022 (Jan. 26, 2023).
    \3\ Reconsideration and Rescission of Termination of the 
Designation of Honduras for Temporary Protected Status; Extension of 
the Temporary Protected Status Designation for Honduras, 88 FR 40304 
(June 21, 2023).
    \4\ Reconsideration and Rescission of Termination of the 
Designation of Nepal for Temporary Protected Status; Extension of 
the Temporary Protected Status Designation for Nepal, 88 FR 40317 
(June 21, 2023).
    \5\ Reconsideration and Rescission of Termination of the 
Designation of Nicaragua for Temporary Protected Status; Extension 
of the Temporary Protected Status Designation for Nicaragua, 88 FR 
40294 (June 21, 2023).
    \6\ Extension and Redesignation of Sudan for Temporary Protected 
Status, 88 FR 56864 (Aug. 21, 2023).
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    DHS is extending the re-registration periods for a number of 
reasons, including that certain beneficiaries have not been required to 
re-register for TPS for several years due to pending litigation and 
related continuation of their documentation, confusion within the 
beneficiary population, and operational considerations for USCIS. 
Historically, the length of the re-registration period has typically 
been 60 days.\7\ Beneficiaries of TPS have typically re-registered for 
TPS within a 60-day period on a recurring basis at the end of their 
country's designation approximately every 12 to 18 months as announced 
by Federal Register notices that extended the designation. However, 
certain beneficiaries under these TPS designations have not been 
required to re-register for TPS for several years due to a series of 
DHS-issued Federal Register notices that continued the documentation 
for beneficiaries of TPS designations for El Salvador, Haiti, 
Nicaragua, Sudan, Honduras, and Nepal pursuant to ongoing 
litigation.\8\ Those beneficiaries must re-register to receive TPS 
benefits under the most recent extensions.
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    \7\ DHS has previously provided a re-registration period for 
longer than 60 days. See, e.g., Extension and Redesignation of Haiti 
for Temporary Protected Status, 76 FR 29000 (May 19, 2011) 
(providing a 90-day re-registration period for Haiti TPS). 
Additionally, DHS has previously extended a re-registration period. 
See, e.g., Extension of the Re-Registration Period for Haiti 
Temporary Protected Status, 79 FR 25141 (May 2, 2014) (providing an 
extension of the re-registration period for Haiti TPS in order to 
maximize re-registration opportunities for eligible beneficiaries. 
At the time, USCIS had received a low proportion of the expected 
number of re-registration applications, and stakeholders reported 
that the low number of re-registration applications may have been 
due to confusion about the re-registration deadline). Similarly, DHS 
is providing applicants under these designations extended re-
registration periods to address the several year gap in the typical 
re-registration requirements.
    \8\ TPS termination decisions were announced for El Salvador, 
Haiti, Nicaragua, Sudan, Honduras, and Nepal in 2017-2018. Lawsuits 
challenging the terminations were filed in the U.S. District Court 
for the Northern District of California in Ramos v. Nielsen, 326 F. 
Supp. 3d 1075 (N.D. Cal. 2018), and Bhattarai v. Nielsen, No. 19-cv-
00731 (N.D. Cal. Mar. 12, 2019), and in the U.S. U.S. District Court 
for the Eastern District of New York in Saget v. Trump, 375 F. Supp. 
3d 280 (E.D.N.Y. 2019). DHS has taken actions to ensure its 
continued compliance with the court orders in Ramos and Bhattarai. 
DHS has published periodic notices to continue TPS and extend the 
validity of TPS-related documentation previously issued to 
beneficiaries under the TPS designations for El Salvador, Haiti, 
Nicaragua, Sudan, Honduras, and Nepal. See 83 FR 54764 (Oct. 31, 
2018); 84 FR 7103 (Mar. 1, 2019); 84 FR 20647 (May 10, 2019) 
(correction notice issued at 84 FR 23578 (May 22, 2019)); 84 FR 
59403 (Nov. 4, 2019); 85 FR 79208 (Dec. 9, 2020); 86 FR 50725 (Sept. 
10, 2021) (correction notice issued at 86 FR 52694 (Sept. 22, 
2021)); 87 FR 68717 (Nov. 16, 2022).
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    After reevaluating the initial 60-day re-registration periods 
announced for TPS under the designation extensions for El Salvador, 
Haiti, Nicaragua, Sudan, Honduras, and Nepal, DHS has determined that 
it will provide the full designation extension periods for applicants 
to file their re-registration Form I-821 and Form I-765 to obtain an 
EAD, if desired. Limiting the re-registration period to 60 days for 
these particular beneficiaries may place a burden on applicants who are 
unable to timely file but would otherwise be eligible to re-register 
for TPS, particularly in light of the ongoing litigation and the 
resulting overlapping periods of TPS validity announced in several 
Federal Register notices, which may be confusing to some current 
beneficiaries. This notice allows beneficiaries of these countries who 
have not been required to re-register for TPS since their last 
extension to re-register over the full TPS designation period.\9\ Prior 
to the currently required re-registration, beneficiaries under these 
designations \10\ were last required to re-register from July 8, 2016, 
through September 6, 2016, under El Salvador's designation,\11\ from 
May 16, 2016, through July 15, 2016, under Nicaragua's and Honduras's 
designations,\12\ and from October 26, 2016, through December 27, 2016, 
under Nepal's designation.\13\
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    \9\ Re-registrants under TPS Haiti and Sudan, including 
beneficiaries who initially obtained TPS under the 2021 and 2022 
designations of TPS for Haiti and Sudan, may file during the entire 
designation re-registration period as noted in this notice.
    \10\ Haiti and Sudan were newly designated for TPS in 2021 and 
2022, respectively. Prior to the new designation of TPS for Haiti on 
August 3, 2021, beneficiaries under the Haiti designation were last 
required to re-register from May 24, 2017, through July 24, 2017. 
See Extension and Redesignation of Haiti for Temporary Protected 
Status, 82 FR 23830 (July 23, 2017). Prior to the new designation of 
TPS for Sudan on April 19, 2022, beneficiaries under the Sudan 
designation were last required to re-register from January 25, 2016, 
through March 25, 2016. See Extension and Redesignation of Sudan for 
Temporary Protected Status, 81 FR 4045 (January 25, 2016).
    \11\ Extension of the Designation of El Salvador for Temporary 
Protected Status, 81 FR 44645 (July 8, 2016).
    \12\ Extension of the Designation of Nicaragua for Temporary 
Protected Status, 81 FR 30325 (May 16, 2016). Extension of the 
Designation of Honduras for Temporary Protected Status, 81 FR 30331 
(May 16, 2016). Following the last extension of TPS for Honduras, 
former Acting Secretary Elaine Duke did not make a decision on 
extending or terminating Honduras's TPS designation by the statutory 
deadline, resulting in an automatic 6-month extension of the 
designation, through July 5, 2018. See Extension of the Designation 
of Honduras for Temporary Protected Status, 82 FR 59630 (Dec. 15, 
2017). If the Secretary makes no decision on extension or 
termination of a country's TPS designation by at least 60 days 
before the expiration of the existing TPS designation, then INA sec. 
244(b)(3)(C) requires that the designation be extended an additional 
six months (or 12 or 18 months in the Secretary's discretion).
    \13\ Extension of the Designation of Nepal for Temporary 
Protected Status, 81 FR 74470 (October 26, 2016).
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    As discussed previously, due to unique circumstances, including 
protracted litigation, these TPS

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beneficiaries have been subject to multiple, overlapping periods of 
potential TPS validity due to the ongoing litigation. They also have 
not been required to re-register for several years. Therefore, this 
extended re-registration period allows this population of beneficiaries 
to more easily comply with the re-registration requirement, which could 
avoid placing additional burdens on these re-registrants. In addition, 
permitting re-registration throughout the entirety of the designation 
extension period could reduce the operational burden on USCIS; 
reviewing and adjudicating late-filed re-registration applications that 
may occur as a result of the 60-day period due to lack of awareness of 
the re-registration requirement that these particular beneficiaries are 
more likely to experience because of the protracted litigation and 
subsequent TPS actions to continue documentation, would require 
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additional resources.

Alejandro N. Mayorkas,
Secretary, U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
[FR Doc. 2023-27342 Filed 12-13-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9111-97-P