[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 147 (Wednesday, August 4, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41986-41988]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-16611]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

[CIS No. 2695-21; DHS Docket No. USCIS- USCIS-2021-0014]
RIN 1615-ZB89


Extension of Initial Registration Periods for New Temporary 
Protected Status Applicants Under the Designations for Venezuela, 
Syria, and Burma; Correction to the Notice on the Designation of 
Venezuela for Temporary Protected Status and Implementation of 
Employment Authorization for Venezuelans Covered by Deferred Enforced 
Departure

AGENCY: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Department of 
Homeland Security.

ACTION: Notice of initial registration period extensions.

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SUMMARY: Through this notice, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) 
announces extensions of the initial registration periods from 180 days 
to 18 months for initial (new) applicants under the Temporary Protected 
Status (TPS) designations for Venezuela, Syria, and Burma. This notice 
also provides certain specific corrections to the Federal Register 
notice regarding Venezuela at 86 FR 13574 (Mar. 9, 2021).

DATES: DHS is extending the initial registration periods from 180 days 
to 18 months for applicants who do not currently have TPS under the TPS 
designations for Venezuela, Syria, and Burma, as specified in this 
notice.\1\ This extension to 18 months is the same time period of the 
TPS designation itself, allowing an individual to apply as an initial 
applicant any time during the 18-month designation periods for these 
three countries. However, applicants should be aware that the ability 
to file a late initial TPS application may not be available during any 
potential subsequent extensions of these designations, so individuals 
desiring TPS should take action to apply during this 18-month initial 
registration period in order to ensure that they do not miss the 
opportunity to obtain TPS. These initial registration period extensions 
apply to the following Federal Register notices:
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    \1\ The 60-day re-registration period (March 19, 2021, through 
May 18, 2021) for existing TPS beneficiaries under TPS Syria is not 
changing. See 86 FR 14946 (Mar. 19, 2021).
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    Designation of Venezuela for Temporary Protected Status and 
Implementation of Employment Authorization for Venezuelans Covered by 
Deferred Enforced Departure (86 FR 13574): \2\ The 18-month 
registration period to apply for TPS now runs from March 9, 2021, 
through September 9, 2022. See also corrections to Venezuela notice 
below.
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    \2\ A Federal Register notice was published on March 24, 2021, 
correcting defects in the original notice of Designation of 
Venezuela for Temporary Protected Status and Implementation of 
Employment Authorization for Venezuelans Covered by Deferred 
Enforced Departure. See 86 FR 15694. This notice provides further 
corrections.
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    Extension and Redesignation of Syria for Temporary Protected Status 
(86 FR 14946): The 18-month registration period for initial 
applications under the redesignation of TPS for Syria now runs from 
March 19, 2021, through September 30, 2022.
    Designation of Burma (Myanmar) for Temporary Protected Status (86 
FR 28132): The 18-month registration period now runs from May 25, 2021, 
through November 25, 2022.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 
    <bullet> Andria Strano, Acting 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, please visit the USCIS TPS 
web page at www.uscis.gov/tps.
    <bullet> If you have additional questions about TPS, please visit 
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 
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (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 www.uscis.gov, or call the USCIS Contact Center at 800-375-
5283 (TTY 800-767-1833).
    <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
Government--U.S. Government

[[Page 41987]]

INA--Immigration and Nationality Act
Secretary--Secretary of Homeland Security
TPS--Temporary Protected Status
TTY--Text Telephone
USCIS--U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

Background on Temporary Protected Status (TPS)

    <bullet> TPS is a temporary immigration status granted to eligible 
nationals of a country designated for TPS under the Immigration and 
Nationality Act (INA) or to eligible persons without nationality who 
last habitually resided in the designated country.
    <bullet> During the TPS designation period, TPS beneficiaries are 
eligible to remain in the United States, may not be removed, are 
employment authorized, and may obtain Employment Authorization 
Documents (EADs), so long as they continue to meet the requirements of 
TPS.
    <bullet> TPS beneficiaries may also apply for travel authorization 
as a matter of discretion.
    <bullet> To qualify for TPS, beneficiaries must meet the 
eligibility standards at INA section 244(c)(1)-(2), 8 U.S.C. 
1254a(c)(1)-(2).
    <bullet> When the Secretary of Homeland Security (Secretary) 
terminates a country's TPS designation, beneficiaries return to one of 
the following:
    [cir] The same immigration status or category that they maintained 
before TPS, if any (unless that status or category has since expired or 
been terminated); or
    [cir] Any other lawfully obtained immigration status or category 
they received while registered for TPS, as long as it is still valid on 
the date TPS terminates.

Purpose of This Action

    Through this Federal Register notice, DHS is extending the initial 
registration periods from 180 days to 18 months for initial applicants 
(that is, individuals who do not currently have TPS) under the TPS 
designations for Venezuela, Syria, and Burma, as specified in this 
notice. The initial registration periods will now run for the entire 
18-month period of the TPS designations for Venezuela and Burma, and 
for the entire 18-month period of TPS redesignation for Syria. This 
will allow individuals to submit an initial application for TPS and an 
application for employment authorization documentation (if desired), 
during the relevant country's TPS designation or redesignation.
    DHS is extending the registration period for a number of reasons. 
In general, individuals must be given an initial registration period of 
no less than 180 days to register for TPS, but the Secretary has 
discretion to provide for a longer registration period. See 8 U.S.C. 
1254a(c)(1)(A)(iv). Historically, the length of the initial 
registration period has varied. Compare 66 FR 14214 (March 9, 2001) (18 
months initial registration period for applicants under TPS designation 
for El Salvador) with 80 FR 36346 (June 24, 2015) (180-day initial 
registration period for applicants under TPS designation for Nepal). In 
recent years, this period has most typically been limited to the 
statutory minimum of 180 days, although later extensions of the initial 
registration period have also been announced for some countries. See, 
e.g., 81 FR 4051 (Jan. 25, 2016) (setting 180-day initial registration 
period during extension and redesignation of South Sudan for TPS); 78 
FR 1866 (Jan. 9, 2013) (setting 180-day initial registration period 
during extension and redesignation of Sudan for TPS); 75 FR 39957 (July 
13, 2010) (extending previously announced initial 180-day registration 
period for Haiti TPS applicants to allow more time for individuals to 
apply). After reevaluating the initial 180-day registration periods 
announced for TPS under the new designations for Venezuela and Burma 
and the redesignation of Syria, DHS has determined that it will provide 
the full 18 months of these designations for applicants to file their 
initial Form I-821 and Form I-765 to obtain an EAD, if desired. 
Limiting the initial registration period to 180 days may place a burden 
on applicants who are unable to timely file but would otherwise be 
eligible for a grant of TPS. In addition, permitting registration 
throughout the entirety of the designation period could reduce the 
operational burden on USCIS, as incoming applications may be spread out 
over a longer period of time. This extended registration period is in 
keeping with the humanitarian purpose of TPS and will better advance 
the goal of ensuring ``the Federal Government eliminates . . . barriers 
that prevent immigrants from accessing government services available to 
them.'' See Executive Order 14012, Restoring Faith in Our Legal 
Immigration Systems and Strengthening Integration and Inclusion Efforts 
for New Americans, 86 FR 8277 (Feb. 5, 2021).
    In addition, through this Federal Register notice, DHS is making 
corrections to the Federal Register notice regarding Venezuela's TPS 
designation that was published on March 9, 2021, at 86 FR 13574. USCIS 
is correcting the second paragraph of the section titled ``Required 
Application Forms and Application Fees To Register for TPS'' to correct 
the end date of the EAD validity period noted in that section from 
``September 7, 2021'' to ``September 9, 2022.'' USCIS is also 
correcting the section titled ``Refiling a TPS Registration Application 
After Receiving a Denial of a Fee Waiver Request'' in order to remove 
erroneous references to a ``good cause'' exception to late filings for 
initial TPS applicants under the Venezuela designation.\3\
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    \3\ See 8 CFR 244.2(f) and (g) (noting requirements for 
consideration of late initial TPS registration applications). A 
``good cause'' exception to late filings is applicable only to 
persons re-registering for TPS as per INA Sec.  244(c)(3)(C), not to 
initial registrants.
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Corrections

    In FR Doc. 2021-04951, beginning on page 13574, in the Federal 
Register of March 9, 2021, make the following corrections:
    1. On page 13578, the sentence indicating ``Although not required 
to do so, if you want to obtain an EAD valid through September 7, 2021, 
you must file an Application for Employment Authorization (Form I-765) 
and pay the Form I-765 fee (or submit a Request for a Fee Waiver (Form 
I-912))'' is corrected to read as follows: ``Although not required to 
do so, if you want to obtain an EAD valid through September 9, 2022, 
you must file an Application for Employment Authorization (Form I-765) 
and pay the Form I-765 fee or request a fee waiver''.
    2. On page 13578, the heading ``Refiling a TPS Registration 
Application After Receiving a Denial of a Fee Waiver Request'' is 
corrected to read as follows: ``Refiling a TPS Registration Application 
after Receiving Notice that USCIS Did Not Grant the Fee Waiver 
Request''.
    3. On page 13578, the first paragraph under the heading that 
currently reads ``Refiling a TPS Registration Application After 
Receiving a Denial of a Fee Waiver Request'' is struck and replaced 
with the following correction:
    ``You should file as soon as possible so USCIS can process your 
application and issue an EAD promptly, if you requested one. If USCIS 
does not grant your fee waiver request related to your initial TPS 
application, you must refile your Form I-821 for TPS, along with the 
required fees, by September 9, 2022 to continue seeking initial TPS. If 
USCIS does not grant your fee waiver request, you may also refile your 
Form I-765, with fee, either with your Form I-821 or at a later time as 
long as it is within the period that Venezuela is designated for TPS. 
For more information on late

[[Page 41988]]

initial registration, visit the USCIS TPS web page at uscis.gov/tps.''

Alejandro N. Mayorkas,
Secretary, U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
[FR Doc. 2021-16611 Filed 8-3-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9111-97-P