# Temporary Protected Status Designated Country: Somalia

**ALERT**: On Jan. 12, 2023, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas announced the extension and redesignation of Somalia for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for 18 months. This extension and redesignation will be in effect from March 18, 2023, through Sept. 17, 2024.

For additional information, please see the Federal Register notice.

To maintain TPS, you must re-register during the 60-day re-registration period that runs from March 13, 2023 through May 12, 2023. We encourage you to register as soon as possible within the 60-day re-registration period.  

If you are filing an initial application for TPS under Somalia’s redesignation, effective March 18, 2023, you must register during the registration period that runs from March 13, 2023 through Sept. 17, 2024. We encourage you to register as soon as possible within the registration period.

Go to the TPS webpage for information about registering.

If you are applying for TPS Somalia, you may file Form I-821, Application for Temporary Protected Status, online. When filing an initial TPS application or re-registering for TPS, you can also request an Employment Authorization Document (EAD) by submitting a completed Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, online with your Form I-821.

File Online

If you are filing a paper initial TPS application or re-registering for TPS, or if you are filing for a replacement EAD for TPS you were already granted, send your TPS package to the appropriate address in the table below.

USCIS has automatically extended through March 17, 2024, the validity of Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) issued under the TPS designation for Somalia with an original expiration date of March 17, 2023, or Sept. 17, 2021.

To prove that you are authorized to continue working legally, you may show your TPS-related EAD with a March 17, 2023, or Sept. 17, 2021, expiration date to your employer. Government agencies may also accept this document if they need to verify your immigration status.

Employers and government agencies may rely on the Federal Register notice as evidence of the continuing validity of your EAD. Go to I-9 Central’s Temporary Protected Status and Deferred Enforced Departure webpage for more information.

If we approve your TPS re-registration application and you paid the fee for a new EAD (or we approved your fee waiver request), we will issue you a new EAD with a Sept. 17, 2024, expiration date.

For more information on TPS eligibility requirements, what to file, and step-by-step instructions on submitting a re-registration or initial TPS application package, go to the TPS webpage. You can find the filing fees for TPS related forms on our Fee Schedule page.

You might be eligible for other immigration options listed on the Explore My Options page.

To apply for lawful permanent resident status (a Green Card), you must be eligible under one of the categories listed on the Green Card Eligibility Categories page. Once you find the category that may fit your situation, click on the link provided to get information on eligibility requirements, how to apply, and whether your family members can also apply with you.

For general questions about the employment eligibility verification process, visit I-9 Central and the TPS webpage; call USCIS at 888-464-4218 (TTY: 877-875-6028); or email USCIS at i-9central@uscis.dhs.gov. We accept calls and emails in English and many other languages.

For questions about avoiding discrimination during the employment eligibility verification process, you may also call the U.S. Department of Justice’s Immigrant and Employee Rights Section (IER) Employer Hotline (which offers language interpretation in many languages) at 800-255-8155 (TTY: 800- 237-2515), or email IER at osccrt@usdoj.gov.

**Note on Seeking Asylum:** Being granted and maintaining TPS until a reasonable period before the filing of the asylum application is considered an extraordinary circumstance for the purposes of the one-year filing deadline. In other words, having TPS “stops the clock” on the requirement to file for asylum within one year of arriving in the United States, if the one-year clock has not already expired. See 8 CFR 208.4(a)(5)(iv).

Please be aware that some unauthorized practitioners may try to take advantage of you by claiming they can file TPS forms. These same individuals may ask that you pay them to obtain such forms; however, all USCIS forms are free for download from the USCIS website at uscis.gov/forms. We want to ensure that all potential TPS applicants know how to obtain legitimate, accurate legal advice and assistance. A list of accredited representatives is available on the USCIS website on the Find Legal Services webpage.

We do not want you to become a victim of an immigration scam. If you need legal advice on immigration matters, make sure the person helping you is authorized to give legal advice. Only an attorney or an accredited representative working for a Department of Justice (DOJ) recognized organization can give you legal advice. Visit the Avoid Scams page for information and resources.

**More Information**
                    - Temporary Protected Status
                    - Muddada Dib-isku-Diiwaangalinta ayaa Hadda u Furan kuwa Heerka Ku-Meel-Gaarka Loo Ammaangaliyo ee loogu talagalay Soomaaliya. (PDF, 63.78 KB)
                    - Temporary Protected Status Extended for Somalia
                    - Xaalada Si kumeel gaadhka ah in loo ilaaliya ee loogu talagalay Wadanka: Somaliya

**Forms**
                    - I-821, Application for Temporary Protected Status
                    - I-765, Application for Employment Authorization
                    - I-131, Application for Travel Document
                    - I-912,Request for Fee Waiver
                    - I-601, Application for Waiver of Ground of Inadmissibility

**Tools**
                    - Fee Waiver Guidance

**Other USCIS Links**
                    - Working in the U.S.

**Non-USCIS Links**
                    - Department of Justice, Immigrant and Employee Rights Section

04/01/2024

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