US administration to extend protected status for Sudan nationals
August 10, 2008 (WASHINGTON) – The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will issue a notice extending special status for certain Sudanese living in the US for 18 months, Sudan Tribune has learned.
The Temporary Protected Status (TPS) granted to some Sudanese nationals living in the US is due to expire in November 2, 2008.
TPS is a temporary immigration status granted to nationals of designated countries as part of the US Immigration Act of 1990.
The US Congress established a procedure by which the Attorney General may provide TPS to aliens in the United States who are temporarily unable to safely return to their home country because of ongoing armed conflict, the temporary effects of an environmental disaster, or other extraordinary and temporary conditions.
During the period for which a country has been designated under the TPS program, the registrants are allowed to remain in the United States and obtain work authorization and may not be deported unless they commit certain crimes.
However TPS does not lead to permanent residence in the US which is better known as the ‘green card’. Several bills in the US Congress to grant permanent residence to some TPS beneficiaries have stalled.
Currently nationals of Burundi, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Somalia are also covered by the program.
Eligibility for TPS is limited to Sudanese nationals who entered the country on or before October 7, 2004. The immigration body states that an individual who has been convicted in the United States of either a felony or two or more misdemeanors is not eligible for TPS.
Sudan was initially designated for TPS in 1997 and was subsequently extended throughout the years. There are approximately 520 nationals of Sudan covered by the program currently.
(ST)