Secretary Mayorkas Announces Extension and Redesignation of Yemen for Temporary Protected Status

Redesignation Allows Additional Newly Eligible Yemeni Nationals to Apply for TPS and Employment Authorization Documents

WASHINGTON – Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas today announced the extension and redesignation of Yemen for Temporary Protected Status for 18 months, from September 4, 2024, to March 3, 2026, due to country conditions in Yemen that prevent individuals from safely returning.

After consultation with interagency partners, Secretary Mayorkas determined that an 18-month extension and redesignation of Yemen for TPS is warranted because ongoing armed conflict and extraordinary and temporary conditions continue to support Yemen’s TPS designation, and that the extension and redesignation are not contrary to the national interest of the United States.

“Yemen has been in a state of protracted conflict for the past decade, severely limiting civilians’ access to water, food, and medical care, pushing the country to the brink of economic collapse, and preventing Yemeni nationals living abroad from safely returning home,” said Secretary Mayorkas. “The steps the Department of Homeland Security has taken today will allow certain Yemenis currently residing in the United States to remain and work here until conditions in their home country improve.”

The redesignation of Yemen for TPS allows an estimated 1,700 Yemeni nationals (and individuals having no nationality who last habitually resided in Yemen) who have been continuously residing in the United States since July 2, 2024 to file initial applications for TPS, if they are otherwise eligible.

The extension of TPS for Yemen allows approximately 2,300 current beneficiaries to retain TPS through March 3, 2026, if they continue to meet TPS eligibility requirements. This extension and redesignation does not apply for anyone who was not already in the United States on July 2, 2024.

The corresponding Federal Register notice provides information about registering for TPS as a new or current beneficiary under Yemen’s extension and redesignation. The Federal Register notice explains eligibility criteria, timelines, and procedures necessary for current beneficiaries to re-register and renew EADs, and for new applicants to submit an initial application under the redesignation and apply for an EAD.

Accompanying this announcement is a Special Student Relief notice for F-1 nonimmigrant students whose country of citizenship is Yemen, or individuals having no nationality who last habitually resided in Yemen, so that eligible students may request employment authorization, work an increased number of hours while school is in session, and reduce their course load while continuing to maintain F-1 status through the TPS designation period.

Current TPS beneficiaries who wish to extend their status through March 3, 2026, must re-register during the 60-day re-registration period from July 10, 2024, through September 9, 2024, to ensure they keep their TPS and employment authorization. DHS recognizes that not all re-registrants may receive a new Employment Authorization Document before their current EAD expires and is automatically extending through September 3, 2025, the validity of EADs previously issued under Yemen’s TPS designation.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services will continue to process pending applications filed under previous TPS designations for Yemen. Individuals with a pending Form I-821, Application for Temporary Protected Status, or a related Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, as of July 10, 2024 do not need to file either application again. If USCIS approves a pending Form I-821 or Form I-765 filed under the previous designation of TPS for Yemen, USCIS will grant the individual TPS through March 3, 2026, and issue an EAD valid through the same date.

Under the redesignation of Yemen, eligible individuals who do not have TPS may submit an initial Form I-821, Application for Temporary Protected Status, during the initial registration period that runs from July 10, 2024 through March 3, 2026. Applicants also may apply for TPS-related EADs and for travel authorization. Applicants can request an EAD by submitting a completed Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, with their Form I-821, or separately later.

Since the Securing the Border Presidential Proclamation and Interim Final Rule was issued in early June, over 24,000 noncitizens have been removed or returned to more than 20 countries. All irregular migration journeys are extremely dangerous, unforgiving, and often result in loss of life. DHS will continue to enforce U.S. laws and will return noncitizens who do not establish a legal basis to remain in the United States.

https://www.uscis.gov/newsroom/news-releases/secretary-mayorkas-announces-extension-and-redesignation-of-yemen-for-temporary-protected-status

Last Reviewed/Updated:

07/08/2024

USCIS Updates Customer Service and Safe Address Procedures for Individuals Protected Under Confidentiality Provisions

Release Date

07/03/2024

https://www.uscis.gov/newsroom/alerts/uscis-updates-customer-service-and-safe-address-procedures-for-individuals-protected-under

We have implemented provisions in the USCIS Policy Manual that provide guidance on customer service and safe address procedures for individuals protected under 8 U.S.C. 1367. The confidentiality provisions at 8 U.S.C. 1367 protect information about individuals who have pending or approved victim-based immigration relief, specifically relief under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), such as Form I-360 VAWA self-petitions and Form I-751 waivers based on battery or extreme cruelty, T nonimmigrant status applications or U nonimmigrant status petitions, and their derivatives and beneficiaries.

USCIS has established specific procedures to improve access to information and customer service (PDF, 332.75 KB) for these protected individuals through the USCIS Contact Center, while continuing to protect their privacy and follow statutory confidentiality provisions. Protected individuals may now submit inquiries or request a service by calling the USCIS Contact Center or sending a secure message from their USCIS online account.

The USCIS Contact Center will ask specific questions to verify a caller’s identity before providing services. See the “Inquiries for VAWA, T, and U Filings (Including Form I-751 Abuse Waivers)” section of our Contact Us webpage for important information. Callers should have documents ready, if possible, for reference when sending a secure message and during the call:

• A receipt notice for each form they are asking about; and

• A copy of relevant pending or approved applications or petitions.

This expansion currently applies to protected individuals only. Their attorneys and representatives must continue to use the dedicated VAWA/T/U email hotlines for customer service inquiries. To support more efficient processing and avoid duplicate work, we ask attorneys and representatives to avoid submitting the same requests your clients are submitting through the USCIS Contact Center.

We also updated guidance on mailing address procedures (PDF, 346.89 KB) for protected individuals. These procedures support protected individuals receiving correspondence from USCIS in a timely manner and ensure they can control which address USCIS uses to mail correspondence related to their benefit requests. This update provides guidance to the public and USCIS employees on mailing address and adjudication procedures for all forms filed by protected individuals.

This guidance is currently effective. Find the updated guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual - Volume 1, Part A, Chapter 7, Section E.

Last Reviewed/Updated:

07/03/2024

FACT SHEET: President Biden Announces New Actions to Keep Families Together

Since his first day in office, President Biden has called on Congress to secure our border and address our broken immigration system. As Congressional Republicans have continued to put partisan politics ahead of national security – twice voting against the toughest and fairest set of reforms in decades – the President and his Administration have taken actions to secure the border, including:

• Implementing executive actions to bar migrants who cross our Southern border unlawfully from receiving asylum when encounters are high;

• Deploying record numbers of law enforcement personnel, infrastructure, and technology to the Southern border;

• Seizing record amounts of fentanyl at our ports of entry;

• Revoking the visas of CEOs and government officials outside the U.S. who profit from migrants coming to the U.S. unlawfully; and

• Expanding efforts to dismantle human smuggling networks and prosecuting individuals who violate immigration laws.

President Biden believes that securing the border is essential. He also believes in expanding lawful pathways and keeping families together, and that immigrants who have been in the United States for decades, paying taxes and contributing to their communities, are part of the social fabric of our country. The Day One immigration reform plan that the President sent to Congress reflects both the need for a secure border and protections for the long-term undocumented. While Congress has failed to act on these reforms, the Biden-Harris Administration has worked to strengthen our lawful immigration system. In addition to vigorously defending the DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood arrivals) policy, the Administration has extended Affordable Care Act coverage to DACA recipients and streamlined, expanded, and instituted new reunification programs so that families can stay together while they complete the immigration process. Still, there is more that we can do to bring peace of mind and stability to Americans living in mixed-status families as well as young people educated in this country, including Dreamers. That is why today, President Biden announced new actions for people who have been here many years to keep American families together and allow more young people to contribute to our economy.  

Keeping American Families Together

• Today, President Biden is announcing that the Department of Homeland Security will take action to ensure that U.S. citizens with noncitizen spouses and children can keep their families together.

• This new process will help certain noncitizen spouses and children apply for lawful permanent residence – status that they are already eligible for – without leaving the country.

• These actions will promote family unity and strengthen our economy, providing a significant benefit to the country and helping U.S. citizens and their noncitizen family members stay together.

• In order to be eligible, noncitizens must – as of June 17, 2024 – have resided in the United States for 10 or more years and be legally married to a U.S. citizen, while satisfying all applicable legal requirements. On average, those who are eligible for this process have resided in the U.S. for 23 years.

• Those who are approved after DHS’s case-by-case assessment of their application will be afforded a three-year period to apply for permanent residency. They will be allowed to remain with their families in the United States and be eligible for work authorization for up to three years. This will apply to all married couples who are eligible.  

• This action will protect approximately half a million spouses of U.S. citizens, and approximately 50,000 noncitizen children under the age of 21 whose parent is married to a U.S. citizen.

Easing the Visa Process for U.S. College Graduates, Including Dreamers

• President Obama and then-Vice President Biden established the DACA policy to allow young people who were brought here as children to come out of the shadows and contribute to our country in significant ways. Twelve years later, DACA recipients who started as high school and college students are now building successful careers and establishing families of their own.

• Today’s announcement will allow individuals, including DACA recipients and other Dreamers, who have earned a degree at an accredited U.S. institution of higher education in the United States, and who have received an offer of employment from a U.S. employer in a field related to their degree, to more quickly receive work visas.

• Recognizing that it is in our national interest to ensure that individuals who are educated in the U.S. are able to use their skills and education to benefit our country, the Administration is taking action to facilitate the employment visa process for those who have graduated from college and have a high-skilled job offer, including DACA recipients and other Dreamers. 

JUNE 18, 2024