On January 3, 2020, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that beneficiaries covered by the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) program for Yemen will retain their TPS protections for an additional 18 months through September 3, 2021. Yemeni nationals granted TPS should be sure to comply with any re-registration requirements announced by DHS.
What is Temporary Protected Status?
TPS is a temporary immigration status granted to individuals who are already in the U.S. and who are unable to safely return to their home countries because of temporary conditions in those countries. DHS may designate a country for TPS for reasons such as an ongoing armed conflict, environmental disaster (such as an earthquake or hurricane), epidemic or other "extraordinary and temporary conditions." Nationals of a designated country who apply for and are granted TPS are not removable from the U.S. and are granted work authorization for the duration of the TPS designation.
What nationals are eligible for Temporary Protected Status?
Currently, TPS status is available to nationals of Yemen as well as El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Syria.
DHS may terminate a TPS designation if it determines the country "no longer continues to meet the conditions" for TPS designation (i.e., there are no barriers to the safe return of its nationals). While the Trump administration previously attempted to terminate the TPS designations for El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua and Sudan, the decisions to do so were quickly met with court challenges, resulting in an extension of TPS designations for those countries.