This article was prepared with the assistance of ABIL, the Alliance of Business Immigration Lawyers, of which Loan Huynh, Fredrikson Immigration Department Chair, is a member.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) plans to extend and redesignate Yemen for temporary protected status (TPS) in a Federal Register notice expected to be published on January 3, 2023.
DHS is extending TPS for Yemen for 18 months, beginning on March 4, 2023, through September 3, 2024. Existing Yemen TPS beneficiaries who wish to extend their status and apply for renewal of their work authorization must re-register during the 60-day re-registration period, which begins on the date of publication.
DHS is also redesignating Yemen for TPS, which allows additional Yemeni nationals, and individuals having no nationality who last habitually resided in Yemen, who have been continuously residing in the United States since December 29, 2022, to apply for TPS for the first time and apply for work authorization during the initial registration period, which begins on the date of publication and will remain in effect through September 3, 2024. Initial applicants for TPS under this designation must demonstrate that they have been continuously physically present in the United States since March 4, 2023, the effective date of the redesignation.
DHS noted that individuals who have a Yemen TPS application (Form I-821) and/or Application for Employment Authorization (Form I-765) that was still pending as of the date of publication of the notice do not need to file either application again. If USCIS approves an individual’s pending Form I-821, the agency will grant the individual TPS through September 3, 2024. Similarly, if USCIS approves a pending TPS-related Form I-765, it will issue the individual a new EAD that will be valid through the same date.
