[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 212 (Tuesday, November 3, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 59337-59338]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-29395]
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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Immigration and Naturalization Service
[INS No. 1959-98; AG Order No. 2188-98]
RIN 1115-AE26
Extension of Designation of Sudan Under Temporary Protected
Status Program
AGENCY: Immigration and Naturalization Service, Justice.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: This notice extends, until November 3, 1999, the Attorney
General's designation of Sudan under the Temporary Protected Status
(TPS) program provided for in section 244 of the Immigration and
Nationality Act (Act). Accordingly, eligible aliens who are nationals
of Sudan (or who have no nationality and who last habitually resided in
Sudan) may re-register for TPS and are eligible for an extension of
employment authorization. This re-registration is limited to persons
who registered for the initial period of TPS, which ends on November 3,
1998, or are eligible for late initial registration.
EFFECTIVE DATES: This extension of designation is effective November 4,
1998, and will remain in effect until November 3, 1999. The re-
registration procedures become effective November 3, 1998, and will
remain in effect until December 2, 1998.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Michael Valverde, Residence and Status Services Branch, Adjudications,
Immigration and Naturalization Service, Room 3214, 425 I Street, NW.,
Washington, DC 20536, telephone (202) 514-3228.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Subsection 308(b)(7) of the Illegal Immigration Reform and
Immigrant Responsibility Act, Public Law 104-208, dated September 30,
1996, redesignated section 244A of the Act as section 244 of the Act.
Under this section, the Attorney General continues to be authorized to
grant TPS to eligible aliens who are nationals of a foreign state
designated by the Attorney General (or who have no nationality and last
habitually resided in that state). The Attorney General may designate a
state upon finding that the state is experiencing ongoing armed
conflict, environmental disaster, or other extraordinary and temporary
conditions that prevent nationals or residents of the country from
returning in safety.
On November 4, 1997, the Attorney General designated Sudan for
Temporary Protected Status for a period of 12 months (62 FR 59737).
Based on a thorough review by the Departments of State and Justice
of all available evidence, the Attorney General finds that the ongoing
armed conflict in Sudan continues and that, due to such armed conflict,
requiring the return of nationals to Sudan would pose a serious threat
to their personal safety.
This notice extends the designation of Sudan under the Temporary
Protected Status program for an additional 12 months from November 4,
1998, to
[[Page 59338]]
November 3, 1999, in accordance with subsections 244(b)(3)(A) and (C)
of the Act. This notice also describes the procedures with which
eligible aliens who are nationals of Sudan (or who have no nationality
and who last habitually resided in Sudan) must comply in order to re-
register for TPS.
In addition to timely re-registrations and late re-registrations
authorized by this notice's extension of the Sudan TPS designation,
late initial registrations are possible for some Sudanese under 8 CFR
244.2(f)(2). Such late initial registrants must have been
``continuously physically present'' and have ``continuously resided''
in the United States since November 4, 1997, must have had a valid
immigrant or nonimmigrant status during the original registration
period or have had an application for such status pending during the
initial registration period, and must register no later than 30 days
from the expiration of such status.
An application for TPS does not preclude or adversely affect an
application for asylum or any other immigration benefit. Any national
of Sudan who is otherwise eligible for TPS and has applied for, or
plans to apply for, asylum, but who has not yet been granted asylum or
withholding of removal, may also apply for TPS.
Nationals of Sudan (or aliens having no nationality who last
habitually resided in Sudan) who have been continuously physically
present and have continuously resided in the United States since
November 4, 1997, may re-register for TPS within the registration
period which begins on November 3, 1998, and ends on December 2, 1998.
This notice concerns ``extension of TPS designation,'' not
``redesignation of TPS.'' An extension of TPS designation does not
change the required dates of continuous residence and continuous
physical presence in the United States.
Nationals of Sudan may re-register for TPS by filing an Application
for Temporary Protected Status, Form I-821. There is no filing fee for
the Form I-821 for re-registration. The Application for Temporary
Protected Status, Form I-821, must always be accompanied by an
Application for Employment Authorization, Form I-765, which is required
for data-gathering purposes. The fee for the Form I-765 is one hundred
dollars ($100). TPS applicants who already have employment
authorization, including some asylum applicants, and those who have no
need for employment authorization, including minor children, must
complete and file the I-765 but should submit no fee. In all other
cases, the appropriate filing fee must accompany Form I-765, unless a
properly documented fee waiver request under 8 CFR 244.20 is submitted
to the Immigration and Naturalization Service.
Notice of Extension of Designation of Sudan Under the Temporary
Protected Status Program
By the authority vested in me as Attorney General under section 244
of the Act (8 U.S.C. 1254), and pursuant to subsections 244(b)(3) (A)
and (C) of the Act, I have consulted with the appropriate agencies of
the Government concerning whether the conditions under which Sudan was
designated for TPS continue to exist. As a result, I have determined
that the conditions for the original designation of Temporary Protected
Status for Sudan continue to be met. Accordingly, it is ordered as
follows:
(1) The designation of Sudan under subsection 244(b) of the Act is
extended for an additional 12-month period lasting from November 4,
1998, to November 3, 1999.
(2) I estimate that there are approximately 4,000 nationals of
Sudan (and aliens having no nationality who last habitually resided in
Sudan) who have been granted Temporary Protected Status and who are
eligible for re-registration.
(3) In order to maintain current registration for Temporary
Protected Status, a national of Sudan (or an alien having no
nationality who last habitually resided in Sudan) who received a grant
of TPS during the initial period of designation, from November 4, 1997,
to November 3, 1998, must comply with the re-registration requirements
contained in 8 CFR 244.17, which are described in pertinent part in
paragraphs (4) and (5) of this notice.
(4) A national of Sudan (or an alien having no nationality who last
habitually resided in Sudan) who previously has been granted TPS, must
re-register for TPS by filing a new Application for Temporary Protected
Status, Form I-821, along with an Application for Employment
Authorization, Form I-765, within the 30-day period beginning on
November 3, 1998 and ending on December 2, 1998, in order to be
eligible for Temporary Protected Status during the period from November
4, 1998, until November 3, 1999. Late re-registration may be allowed
when good cause is shown for a failure to timely re-register pursuant
to 8 CFR 244.17(c).
(5) A national of Sudan (or an alien having no nationality who last
habitually resided in Sudan) may submit a late initial registration
under 8 CFR 244.2(f)(2), if the alien has been ``continuously
physically present'' and ``continuously resided'' in the United States
since November 4, 1997, had a valid immigrant or nonimmigrant status
during the original registration period or had an application for such
status pending during the initial registration period, and registers no
later than 30 days from the expiration of such status.
(6) There is no fee for Form I-821 filed as part of the re-
registration application. Late initial registrants must submit a Form
I/821 with the prescribed filing fee of fifty dollars ($50). A Form I-
765 must be filed with the Form I-821. If the alien requests employment
authorization for the extension period, the fee prescribed in 8 CFR
103.7(b)(1) or a properly documented fee waiver request pursuant to 8
CFR 244.20, must accompany the Form I-765. The prescribed fee for the
Form I-765 is one hundred dollars ($100). A alien who does not request
employment authorization must nonetheless file Form I-765 along with
Form I-821, but in such cases no fee will be charged.
(7) Pursuant to subsection 244(b)(3)(A) of the Act, the Attorney
General will review, at least 60 days before to determine whether the
conditions for designation continue to be met. Notice of that
determination, including the basis for the determination, will be
published in the Federal Register.
(8) Information concerning the TPS program for nationals of Sudan
(and aliens having no nationality who last habitually resided in Sudan)
will be available at local Immigration and Naturalization Service
offices upon publication of this notice.
Dated: October 29, 1998.
Janet Reno,
Attorney General.
[FR Doc. 98-29395 Filed 10-29-98; 2:43 pm]
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