DHS Extends TPS Designation for El Salvador

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has extended the designation of El Salvador for temporary protected status (TPS) for 18 months from its current expiration date of March 9, 2012. The 18-month extension of the TPS designation of El Salvador is effective March 10, 2012, and will remain in effect through September 9, 2013. The 60-day re-registration period began January 9, 2012, and will remain in effect until March 9, 2012.

DHS determined that an extension is warranted because the conditions in El Salvador that prompted the TPS designation continue to be met. There continues to be a “substantial, but temporary,” disruption of living conditions in El Salvador resulting from a series of earthquakes in 2001, and El Salvador “remains unable, temporarily, to handle adequately the return of its nationals.”

The notice sets forth procedures necessary for nationals of El Salvador (or those having no nationality who last habitually resided in El Salvador) with TPS to re-register and to apply for an extension of their employment authorization documents (EADs) (Forms I-766) with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Re-registration is limited to persons who previously registered for TPS under the designation of El Salvador and whose applications have been granted or remain pending. Certain nationals of El Salvador (or those having no nationality who last habitually resided in El Salvador) who have not previously applied for TPS may be eligible to apply under the late initial registration provisions.

USCIS said it will issue new EADs with a September 9, 2013, expiration date to eligible Salvadoran TPS beneficiaries who timely re-register and apply for EADs under this extension. DHS recognizes that all re-registrants may not receive new EADs until after their current EADs expire on March 9, 2012. Accordingly, the notice automatically extends the validity of EADs issued under the TPS designation of El Salvador for six months, through September 9, 2012, and explains how TPS beneficiaries and their employers may determine which EADs are automatically extended and their impact on the I-9 and E-Verify process.

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