TPS Extended for Sudan and Burundi
Posted Sep 06, 2002

On August 30, 2002, the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) announced the extension of the Attorney General's designation of Sudan and Burundi under the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) program. The designation was to expire on November 2, 2002, but the program will now afford protection to eligible individuals through November 2, 2003.

TPS is a temporary immigration status granted to nationals of designated countries (or, in some cases, parts of countries). The TPS program was established in 1990 to allow the Attorney General to provide this temporary relief when it is unsafe for individuals to return to a particular country due to natural disasters, civil unrest, and other extraordinary, temporary conditions. The designations are generally made for one year, with extensions possible if the conditions in the region remain unsafe.

In the case of Sudan, there is ongoing civil war, with accompanying serious human rights violations. The designation of Sudan was initially made on November 4, 1997. In the case of Burundi, there is ongoing armed conflict.

TPS, as the name implies, is a temporary status that does not necessarily lead to any permanent status. If an individual is present in the U.S. in TPS status, s/he may take steps to acquire permanent status, under the same provisions and with the same restrictions as any other foreign national seeking permanent status.

In order to be eligible under the re-designation of Sudan, an individual must be a national of Sudan or of no nationality but who last habitually resided in Sudan. For persons seeking to reregister, eligibility is limited to those who previously registered and continued to reregister for each subsequent registration. However, those who have not registered may be eligible under late initial registration provisions. There are a number of restrictions on the late applicants. These include having continuously resided in the U.S. since November 9, 1999.

The full details regarding eligibility under the Sudan program are contained in the Federal Register Notice. This Notice should be reviewed carefully in order to determine whether one is eligible for TPS. For those who currently have TPS under this program, re-registration is necessary to extend their TPS status and authorization to live and work in the U.S. beyond November 2, 2002. As of this writing, the INS WebSite has not been updated to include the Federal Register Notice. However, the INS Notice regarding Sudan is available online.

Those from Burundi must have registered under the initial Burundi TPS designation, unless eligible under a late initial registration. The INS Notice describing the requirements is also available. It is necessary to adhere to strict deadlines, which are set out in the Notice.

Other countries that are currently designated under TPS programs are Angola, El Salvador, Honduras, Montserrat, Nicaragua, Sierra Leone, and Somalia. Those individuals under the TPS program must be careful to meet all applicable registration deadlines. More information regarding specific TPS programs is available on the INS WebSite. Previous articles regarding TPS on MurthyDotCom include our July 12, 2002 article, Salvadoran TPS Extended and our article from March 18, 2001, TPS Program for Salvadoran Nationals (March 2001).