[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 110 (Tuesday, June 9, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31527-31528]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-15329]


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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Immigration and Naturalization Service
[INS No. 1929-98; AG Order No. 2161-98]
RIN 1115-AE26


Designation of the Province of Kosovo in the Republic of Serbia 
in the State of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia-Montenegro) 
Under Temporary Protected Status

AGENCY: Immigration and Naturalization Service, Justice.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: Under section 244 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as 
amended, (the Act), the Attorney General is authorized to grant 
Temporary Protected Status (TPS) in the United States to eligible 
nationals of designated foreign states or parts of such states (or to 
eligible aliens who have no nationality and who last habitually resided 
in such designated states) upon a finding that such states are 
experiencing ongoing civil strife, environmental disaster, or certain 
other extraordinary and temporary conditions. This notice designates 
the Province of Kosovo in the Republic of Serbia in the state of the 
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia-Montenegro) for TPS pursuant to 
section 244(b)(1) of the Act.

EFFECTIVE DATE: This designation is effective on June 9, 1998 and will 
remain in effect until June 8, 1999.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Pearl Chang, Chief, Residence and Status Branch, Adjudications, 
Immigration and Naturalization Service, 425 I Street, NW., Room 3214, 
Washington, DC 20536, telephone (202) 514-5014.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    Based on a thorough review by the Departments of State and Justice 
of all available evidence, the Attorney General finds that there is an 
on-going armed conflict in the Province of Kosovo in the Republic of 
Serbia in the state of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia-
Montenegro) (hereafter ``Kosovo Province'') and that, due to such 
conflict, requiring the return of nationals of Serbia-Montenegro to 
Kosovo Province would pose a serious threat to their personal safety.
    Kosovar Albanians constitute approximately 90 percent of the 2 
million people in the Province of Kosovo in Serbia-Montenegro, a 
country governed by a Serb-majority government. Tensions have been 
particularly high since the government's 1989 revocation of Kosovo's 
political autonomy. In March 1998, the Serb government crackdown left 
approximately 90 Kosovar Albanians dead, including non-combatants and 
children. Although the fighting has subsided, protests continue and the 
Serb government has shown limited cooperation with the international 
community's calls for dialogue concerning the killings.
    Residents of Kosovo Province (or aliens having no nationality who 
last habitually resided in Kosovo Province) who have been continuously 
physically present and have continuously resided in the United States 
since June 9, 1998, may apply for TPS within the registration period 
which begins on June 9, 1998, and ends on June 8, 1999.
    Any resident of Kosovo Province who has already applied for, or 
plans to apply for, asylum but whose asylum application has not yet 
been approved may also apply for TPS. An application for TPS does not 
preclude or adversely affect an application for asylum or any other 
immigration benefit. Residents of Kosovo Province who apply for TPS 
during the initial registration period will remain eligible to re-
register for TPS if the designation of TPS is extended, even if an 
application for asylum or another immigration benefit is denied. 
However, without a TPS application during the initial registration 
period, only those residents of Kosovo Province who satisfy the 
requirements for late initial registration under 8 CFR 244.2(f)(2) 
would be eligible for TPS registration during any extension of 
designation. The requirements for late initial registration specify 
that the applicant have been in valid status or have an application for 
status pending during the initial registration period.
    Residents of Kosovo Province may register for TPS by filing an 
Application for Temporary Protected Status, Form I-821, which requires 
a filing fee. The Application for Temporary Protected Status, Form I-
821, must always be accompanied by an Application for employment 
Authorization, Form I-765, which is required for data-gathering 
purposes. TPS applicants who already have employment authorization, 
including some asylum applicants, and those who have no need for 
employment authorization, including minor children, need only pay the 
I-821 fee although they must complete and file the I-765. In all other 
cases, the appropriate filing fee must accompany Form I-765, unless a 
properly documented fee waiver request is submitted under 8 CFR 244.20 
to the Service.

Notice of Designation of Kosovo Province Under Temporary Protected 
Status Program

    By the authority vested in me as Attorney General under section 244 
of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended (9 U.S.C.A. 1254 
(West Supp. 1997)), I find, after consultation with the appropriate 
agencies of the Government, that:
    (1) There exists an ongoing armed conflict in the Province of 
Kosovo in the Republic of Serbia in the state of the Federal Republic 
of Yugoslavia (Serbia-Montenegro) (hereafter ``Kosovo Province'') and, 
due to such conflict, the return of aliens who are residents of Kosovo 
Province (or aliens having no nationality who last habitually resided 
in Kosovo Province) would pose a serious threat to their personal 
safety as a result of the armed conflict in that province;
    (2) There exists extraordinary and temporary conditions in Kosovo 
Province that prevent aliens who are residents of Kosovo Province (or 
aliens having no nationality who last habitually resided in Kosovo 
Province) from returning to Kosovo Province in safety; and
    (3) Permitting residents of Kosovo Province (or aliens having no 
nationality who last habitually resided

[[Page 31528]]

in Kosovo Province) to remain temporarily in the United States is not 
contrary to the national interest of the United States.
    Accordingly, it is ordered as follows:
    (1) Kosovo Province is designated under sections 244(b)(1) (A) and 
(C) of the Act. Residents of Kosovo Province (or aliens having no 
nationality who last habitually resided in Kosovo Province) who have 
been continuously physically present and have continuously resided in 
the United States since June 9, 1998, may apply for TPS within the 
registration period which begins on June 9, 1998, and ends on June 8, 
1999.
    (2) I estimate that there are no more than 5,000 residents of 
Kosovo Province (or aliens having no nationality who last habitually 
resided in Kosovo Province) who are currently in nonimmigrant or 
unlawful status and therefore eligible for TPS.
    (3) Except as may otherwise be provided, applications for TPS by 
residents of Kosovo Province (or aliens having no nationality who last 
habitually resided in Kosovo Province) must be filed pursuant to the 
provisions of 8 CFR part 244. Aliens who wish to apply for TPS must 
file an Application for Temporary Protected Status, Form I-821, 
together with an Application for Employment Authorization, Form I-765, 
during the registration period, which begins on June 9, 1998, and will 
remain in effect until June 8, 1999.
    (4) A fee prescribed in 8 CFR 103.7(b)(1) (currently fifty dollars 
($50)) will be charged for each Application for Temporary Protected 
Status, Form I-821, filed during the registration period.
    (5) The fee prescribed in 8 CFR 103.7(b)(1) (currently seventy 
dollars ($70)) will be charged for each Application for Employment 
Authorization, Form I-765, filed by an alien requesting employment 
authorization. An alien who does not wish to request employment 
authorization must nevertheless file Form I-765, together with Form I-
821, for data gathering purposes, but in such cases Form I-765 will be 
without fee.
    (6) Pursuant to section 244(b)(3)(A) of the Act, the Attorney 
General will review, at least 60 days before June 8, 1999, the 
designation of Kosovo Province under the TPS program to determine 
whether the conditions for designation continue to exist. Notice of 
that determination, including the basis for the determination, will be 
published in the Federal Register. If there is an extension of 
designation, late initial registration for TPS shall be allowed only 
pursuant to the requirements of 8 CFR 244.2(f)(2).
    (7) Information concerning the TPS program for residents of Kosovo 
Province (or aliens having no nationality who last habitually resided 
in Kosovo Province) will be available at local Immigration and 
Naturalization Service offices upon publication of this notice.

    Dated: June 3, 1998.
Janet Reno,
Attorney General.
[FR Doc. 98-15329 Filed 6-8-98; 8:45 am]
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