The United States Citizenship and Immigration Service announced Tuesday it would start the last period of renewal for Hondurans living in the country with Temporary Protected Status.
The policy has allowed more than 50,000 Hondurans to live and work in the country for the last two decades. USCIS officials said that beneficiaries who wish to remain covered by the measure until Jan. 5, 2020, must re-enroll between June 5 and Aug. 6.
President Donald Trump said he would end the policy in May, effectively ordering the Central Americans to return to their home country by 2020. If they remain in the U.S., they will be unable to work legally and could be subject to deportation.
The department said in a release that it has automatically extended current EADs, until Jan. 1, 2019, since the processing time of the requests prevent all re-registrants from receiving new EADs before the current ones expire.
Officials suggest that Hondurans impacted by this policy change should look into legal alternatives allowing them to stay in the country after the policy expires.
To renew the special status, all applicants must file Form I-821, known as the application for temporary protected status.
Applicants can also request an Application for Employment Authorization, known as EAD, by submitting the completed Form I-765, the release said. The two forms can be filed together or separately.
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The re-registration procedures, which include how to renew the employment authorization documents, have been published in the Federal Register and at uscis.gov/tps.
You can find more information about the USCIS here.
