Re-Registration Period Now Open for Individuals with Temporary Protected Status under South Sudan’s Designation

WASHINGTON—U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that current beneficiaries of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) under South Sudan’s designation who want to maintain their status through the 18-month extension period ending on Nov. 2, 2020, must re-register between April 5, 2019 and June 4, 2019.

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

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

USCIS will issue new EADs with a Nov. 2, 2020, expiration date to eligible beneficiaries under South Sudan’s TPS designation 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 May 2, 2019. Accordingly, we have automatically extended the validity of those EADs for 180 days, through Oct.29, 2019.

On March 8, Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen M. Nielsen announced that the statutory conditions supporting South Sudan’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, South Sudan’s TPS designation has been extended through Nov. 2, 2020.