Immigration

Temporary Protected Status Designated Country: Somalia

Re-Registration Period Now Open for Temporary Protected Status for Somalia

Must Re-Register by Oct. 26, 2018

WASHINGTON—U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that current beneficiaries of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) under Somalia’s designation who want to maintain their status through the 18-month extension period ending on March 17, 2020, must re-register between August 27, 2018 - October 26, 2018.

Re-registration procedures, including how to renew employment authorization documents (EADs), have been published in the Federal Register and on uscis.gov/tps.

All applicants must submit Form I-821, Application for Temporary Protected Status. Applicants may also request an EAD by submitting, at the time they file Form I-821, Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, or separately at a later date. Like all USCIS forms, both forms are free for download from the USCIS website at uscis.gov/tps.

USCIS will issue new EADs with a March 17, 2020 expiration date to eligible Somalia TPS beneficiaries who timely re-register and apply for EADs. Given the timeframe involved with processing TPS re-registration applications, however, we recognize that not all re-registrants will receive new EADs before their current EADs expire on Sept. 17, 2018. Accordingly, we have automatically extended the validity of those EADs for 180 days, through March 16, 2019.

On July 19, 2018, Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen M. Nielsen announced that the statutory conditions supporting Somalia’s TPS designation on the basis of ongoing armed conflict and extraordinary conditions continue to exist and that the designation should be extended by 18 months.  Secretary Nielsen made her decision after reviewing country conditions and consulting with appropriate U.S. government agencies. As a result, Somalia’s TPS designation has been extended through March 17, 2020.

For more information on USCIS and its programs, please visit uscis.gov or follow us on Twitter (@uscis), Instagram (/uscis), YouTube (/uscis), and Facebook (/uscis).  

Updated "InfoPass" Services at the USCIS Atlanta Field Office

Learn more about the updates here 

DACA

Consideration of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals

As a result of federal court orders on Jan. 9, 2018 and Feb. 13, 2018, USCIS has resumed accepting requests for DACA renewals. According to USCIS, the DACA policy will continue to operate on the terms prior to the Sept. 5, 2017 rescission, until further notice. For more detailed information, visit the USCIS page on the latest preliminary injunction.

DACA Renewals

You may request renewal of DACA if you met the initial 2012 DACA guidelines  and you:

• Did not depart the United States on or after Aug. 15, 2012, without advance parole;
• Have continuously resided in the United States since you submitted your most recent DACA request that was approved;
• Have not been convicted of a felony, a significant misdemeanor, or three or more other misdemeanors; and
• Do not otherwise pose a threat to national security or public safety.

As noted above, you may only request renewal of DACA if you previously received DACA and your DACA expired (or will expire) on or after Sept. 5, 2016. 

Initial DACA Requests

If you have never been granted deferred action under DACA, USCIS will not accept your initial DACA request.

USCIS is only accepting initial DACA requests from individuals who previously received DACA and whose DACA expired before Sept. 5, 2016, or whose most recent DACA grant was previously terminated. Such individuals cannot file a renewal request, but can file a new initial DACA request. If you are filing a new initial DACA request because your DACA expired before Sept. 5, 2016, or because your most recent DACA grant was previously terminated, please list the date your prior DACA expired or was terminated on Part 1 of the Form I-821D, if available.

Advanced Parole

USCIS no longer approves applications for an advance parole document relating to DACA. If you want to travel outside the United States, you must have previously received advance parole and have a valid advance parole document.

While USCIS will not approve any new applications for an advance parole document relating to DACA, it will generally honor the stated validity period on your previously approved advance parole document. However, CBP will retain the authority it has always exercised in determining the admissibility of any person presenting at the border. Further, USCIS retains the authority to revoke or terminate an advance parole document at any time.

What changed?

•   For current DACA recipients, technically nothing. DREAMers with active DACA permits can continue to live their lives just as they did any other day. However, without legislative solutions, there is no guarantee what tomorrow brings.

•   For individuals who did not previously have a DACA permit, no new applications will be processed.

What can I do?

•   If you are eligible to apply for renewal, do so immediately. Due to two federal court injunctions, USCIS is still accepting renewal applications. USCIS recommends 90 to 120 days to process renewal applications, but renewal time could take longer.

What does the future hold?

•   The future of DREAMers rests in the hands of the courts. Currently, federal courts have prevented an end to DACA, however this could end at any time.

•    The Trump Administration has announced ICE will not actively target DACA recipients who permits have expired, however ICE has also announced it will enforce current U.S. law when officer’s encounter undocumented individuals. DACA recipients have been deported. DACA recipients without valid permits are just as vulnerable to arrest or deportation as anyone else. “