Termination of the Designation of Nepal for Temporary Protected Status

<NOTICE> DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY <SUBAGY>U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services</SUBAGY> <DEPDOC>[CIS No. 2817-25; DHS Docket No. USCIS-2015-0003]</DEPDOC> <RIN>RIN 1615-ZB74</RIN> <SUBJECT>Termination of the Designation of Nepal for Temporary Protected Status</SUBJECT> <HD SOURCE="HED">AGENCY:</HD> U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, U.S. Department of Homeland Security. <HD SOURCE="HED">ACTION:</HD> Notice. <SUM> <HD SOURCE="HED">SUMMARY:</HD> Through this notice, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announces that the Secretary of Homeland Security (Secretary) is terminating the designation of Nepal for Temporary Protected Status (TPS). The designation of Nepal is set to expire on June 24, 2025. After reviewing country conditions and consulting with appropriate U.S. Government agencies, the Secretary has determined that Nepal no longer continues to meet the conditions for its designation for TPS. The Secretary therefore is terminating the TPS designation of Nepal as required by statute. This termination is effective August 5, 2025. After August 5, 2025, nationals of Nepal (and aliens having no nationality who last habitually resided in Nepal) who have been granted TPS under Nepal's designation will no longer have TPS. </SUM> <DATES> <HD SOURCE="HED">DATES:</HD> The designation of Nepal for TPS is terminated effective at 11:59 p.m., local time, on August 5, 2025. </DATES> <FURINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:</HD> Humanitarian Affairs Division, Office of Policy and Strategy, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Department of Homeland Security, telephone (240) 721-3000 (not a toll-free call). </FURINF> <SUPLINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:</HD> <HD SOURCE="HD1">List of Abbreviations</HD> <EXTRACT> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">CFR—Code of Federal Regulations</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">DHS—U.S. Department of Homeland Security</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">EAD—Employment Authorization Document</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">FR—Federal Register</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">FRN—Federal Register Notice</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">Government—U.S. Government</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">INA—Immigration and Nationality Act</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">Secretary—Secretary of Homeland Security</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">TPS—Temporary Protected Status</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">USCIS—U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">U.S.C.—United States Code</FP> </EXTRACT> <HD SOURCE="HD1">What is Temporary Protected Status (TPS)?</HD> The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) authorizes the Secretary of Homeland Security, after consultation with appropriate agencies of the U.S. Government, to designate a foreign state (or part thereof) for TPS if the Secretary determines that certain country conditions exist. <E T="03">See</E> INA sec. 244(b)(1), 8 U.S.C. 1254a(b)(1). The determination whether to designate any foreign state (or part thereof) for TPS is discretionary, and there is no judicial review of “any determination of the [Secretary] with respect to the designation, or termination or extension of a designation, of a foreign state” for TPS. INA sec. 244(b)(5)(A), 8 U.S.C. 1254a(b)(5)(A). If the Secretary designates a country for TPS, she may then grant TPS, in her discretion, to eligible nationals of that foreign state (or aliens having no nationality who last habitually resided in the designated foreign state). <E T="03">See</E> INA sec. 244(a)(1)(A), 8 U.S.C. 1254a(a)(1)(A). At least 60 days before the expiration of a foreign state's TPS designation or extension, the Secretary, after consultation with appropriate U.S. Government agencies, must review the conditions in the foreign state designated for TPS to determine whether they continue to meet the conditions for the TPS designation. <E T="03">See</E> INA sec. 244(b)(3)(A), 8 U.S.C. 1254a(b)(3)(A). If the Secretary determines that the conditions in the foreign state continue to meet the specific statutory criteria for TPS designation, TPS will be extended for an additional period of 6 months or, in the Secretary's discretion, 12 or 18 months. <E T="03">See</E> INA sec. 244(b)(3)(A), (C), 8 U.S.C. 1254a(b)(3)(A), (C). If the Secretary determines that the foreign state no longer meets the conditions for TPS designation, the Secretary must terminate the designation. <E T="03">See</E> INA sec. 244(b)(3)(B), 8 U.S.C. 1254a(b)(3)(B). TPS is a temporary immigration benefit granted to eligible nationals of a country designated for TPS under the INA, or to eligible aliens without nationality who last habitually resided in the designated country. During the TPS designation period, TPS beneficiaries are eligible to remain in the United States, may not be removed, and are authorized to work and obtain an Employment Authorization Document (EAD) so long as they continue to meet the requirements of TPS. TPS beneficiaries may also apply for and be granted travel authorization as a matter of discretion. The granting of TPS does not result in or lead to lawful permanent resident status or any other immigration status. To qualify for TPS, beneficiaries must meet the eligibility standards at INA section 244(c)(2), 8 U.S.C. 1254a(c)(2) in accordance with the implementing regulations at 8 CFR parts 244 and 1244. When the Secretary terminates a country's TPS designation, beneficiaries return to the same immigration status or category that they maintained before TPS, if any (unless that status or category has since expired or been terminated), or any other lawfully obtained immigration status or category they received while registered for TPS, as long as it is still valid on the date TPS terminates. <HD SOURCE="HD1">Designation of Nepal for TPS</HD> Nepal was initially designated for TPS on June 24, 2015 for a period of 18 months, based on an earthquake that a former Secretary determined resulted in a substantial, but temporary, disruption of living conditions. <SU>1</SU> <FTREF/> DHS then extended the designation on October 26, 2016 for an additional period of 18 months, as the former Secretary determined that the conditions in Nepal supporting the initial designation continued to be met. <SU>2</SU> <FTREF/> On May 22, 2018, DHS announced the termination of TPS for Nepal to be effective June 24, 2019, finding that the disruption of living conditions due to the 2015 earthquake had decreased and was no longer substantial. <SU>3</SU> <FTREF/> However, in response to litigation, DHS announced on May 10, 2019, that it would not implement or enforce the decision to terminate TPS for Nepal. DHS instead continued and extended the validity of TPS-related documentation for Nepalese beneficiaries through March 24, 2020. <SU>4</SU> <FTREF/> On November 4, 2019, to comply with ongoing litigation, DHS further continued and extended TPS-related documentation for Nepalese nationals and nationals of several other countries through January 4, 2021. <SU>5</SU> <FTREF/> While litigation continued, DHS published three additional <E T="04">Federal Register</E> Notices (FRNs) in 2020, each time extending the validity of TPS-related documentation for beneficiaries under the TPS designation of several countries, including Nepal. Finally, on June 21, 2023, DHS published a FRN reconsidering and rescinding the prior administration's termination of Nepal TPS. The rescission was effective June 9, 2023, and the new 18-month extension of TPS for Nepal began on December 25, 2023, and remains in effect through June 24, 2025. <SU>9</SU> <FTREF/> <FTNT> <SU>1</SU>   <E T="03">See Designation of Nepal for Temporary Protected Status,</E> 80 FR 36346 (June 24, 2015). </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>2</SU>   <E T="03">See Extension of the Designation of Nepal for Temporary Protected Status,</E> 81 FR 74470 (Oct. 26, 2016). </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>3</SU>   <E T="03">See Termination of the Designation of Nepal for Temporary Protected Status,</E> 83 FR 23705 (May 22, 2018). </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>4</SU>  Pursuant to an order to stay proceedings in <E T="03">Bhattarai</E> v. <E T="03">Nielsen,</E> No. 19-cv-00731, pending resolution of related claims being litigated before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in <E T="03">Ramos</E> v. <E T="03">Nielsen,</E> No. 18-16981, DHS published a notice that it would not implement or enforce the decision to terminate TPS for Nepal. <E T="03">See Bhattarai</E> v. <E T="03">Nielsen,</E> No. 19-cv-00731 (N.D. Cal. Mar. 12, 2019) and <E T="03">Ramos</E> v. <E T="03">Nielsen,</E> 326 F. Supp. 3d 1075 (N.D. Cal. 2018); <E T="03">see also Continuation of Documentation for Beneficiaries of Temporary Protected Status Designations for Nepal and Honduras,</E> 84 FR 20647 (May 10, 2019). TPS Beneficiaries from Nepal retained TPS, provided that an alien's TPS status was not withdrawn because of ineligibility. <E T="03">See Continuation of Documentation for Beneficiaries of Temporary Protected Status Designations for Nepal and Honduras,</E> 84 FR 20647, 20648 (May 10, 2019). DHS extended the validity of TPS-related documentation for Nepalese beneficiaries through March 24, 2020. <E T="03">See id.</E> </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>5</SU>   <E T="03">See Continuation of Documentation for Beneficiaries of Temporary Protected Status Designations for El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua, and Sudan,</E> 84 FR 59403 (Nov. 11, 2019). </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>6</SU>  On December 9, 2020, DHS automatically extended the validity of TPS-related documentation for nine months through October 4, 2021 from the prior expiration date of January 4, 2021, for beneficiaries under the TPS designations of several countries including Nepalese beneficiaries. <E T="03">See Continuation of Documentation for Beneficiaries of Temporary Protected Status Designations for El Salvador, Haiti, Nicaragua, Sudan, Honduras, and Nepal,</E> 8 ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Preview showing 10k of 28k characters. 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