INS Notice of Extension of TPS for Montserrat
[Notices]
[Page 45864-45865]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr27au98-133]
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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Immigration and Naturalization Service
[INS No. 1940-98; AG Order No. 2175-98]
RIN 1115-AE 26
Extension of Designation of Montserrat Under Temporary Protected Status Program
AGENCY: Immigration and Naturalization Service, Justice.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: This notice extends, until August 27, 1999, the Attorney General's designation of Montserrat under the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) program provided for in section 244 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended (Act). Accordingly, eligible aliens who are nationals of Montserrat (or who have no nationality and who last habitually resided in Montserrat) may re-register for TPS and are eligible for an extension of employment authorization. This re- registration is limited to persons who register for the initial period of TPS, which ends on August 27, 1998.
EFFECTIVE DATES: This extension of designation is effective August 28, 1998, and will remain in effect until August 27, 1999. The re- registration procedures become effective August 27, 1998, and will remain in effect until September 25, 1998.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: George Raftery, Residence and Status Branch, Adjudications, Immigration and Naturalization Service, Room 3214, 425 I Street, NW., Washington, DC 20536, telephone (202) 305-3199.
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 certain other extraordinary and temporary conditions that prevent nationals or residents of the country from returning in safety,
On August 28, 1997, the Attorney General designated Montserrat for Temporary Protected Status for a period of 12 months (62 FR 45685).
Based on a thorough review by the Departments of State and Justice of all available evidence, the Attorney General finds that the environmental disaster in Montserrat continues and that, due to such environmental disaster, requiring the return of nationals to Montserrat would pose a serious threat to their personal safety.
This notice extends the designation of Montserrat under the Temporary Protected Status program for an additional 12 months, 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 Montserrat (or who have no nationality and who last habitually resided in Montserrat) must comply in order to reregister for TPS.
In addition to timely re-registrations and late re-registrations authorized by this notice's extension of Montserrat's TPS designation, late initial registrations are possible for some Montserratians under 8 CFR 244.2(f)(2). Such late initial registrants must have been ``continuously physically present'' in the United States since August 28, 1997, must have ``continuously resided'' in the United States since August 22, 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 or the denial of the application for such status. Any national of Montserrat who has already applied for, or plans to apply for, asylum but whose asylum application has not yet been approved may also apply for TPS. An application for TPS does not preclude or adversely affect an application for asylum or any other immigration benefit.
Nationals of Montserrat (or aliens having no nationality who last habitually resided in Montserrat) who have been continuously physically present in the United States since August 28, 1997, and have continuously resided in the United States since August 22, 1997, may re-register for TPS within the registration period which begins on August 27, 1998, and ends on September 25, 1998.
This notice concerns an ``extension of TPS designation,'' not a ``redesignation of TPS.'' An extension of TPS designation does not change the eligibility requirements for TPS including, most importantly, the required dates of continuous residence and continuous physical presence in the United States.
Nationals of Montserrat may register for TPS by filing an Application for Temporary Protected Status, Form I-821, which requires a filing fee (instructions regarding the payment of fees for re- registration are contained in paragraph 5 below). 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. Those TPS applicants who already have employment authorization, including some asylum applicants, and those who have no need for employment authorization, including minor children, need pay only the I-821 fee, although they must complete and file the I-765. In all other cases, the appropriate filing fee must accompany Form I-765, unless a properly documented fee waiver request is submitted under 8 CFR 244.20 to the Immigration and Naturalization Service.
Notice of Extension of Designation of Montserrat 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 had consultations with the appropriate agencies of the Government concerning whether the conditions that made Montserrat eligible for designation under the TPS program continue to exist. Based on these consultations, I have determined that the conditions for the original designation of Montserrat under the Temporary Protected Status program continue to be met. Accordingly, it is ordered as follows:
(1) The designation of Montserrat under subsection 244(b) of the Act is extended for an additional 12-month period from August 28, 1998 to August 27, 1999.
(2) I estimate that there are approximately 300 nationals of Montserrat (and aliens having no nationality who last habitually resided in Montserrat) 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 Montserrat (or an alien having no nationality who last habitually resided in Montserrat) who received a grant of TPS during the initial period of designation, from August 28, 1997, to August 27, 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.
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(4) A national of Montserrat (or an alien having no nationality who last habitually resided in Montserrat) who previously has been granted TPS, must re-register 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 August 27, 1998, and ending on September 25, 1998, in order to be eligible for Temporary Protected Status during the period from August 28, 1998, until August 27, 1999. Late re-registration applications will be allowed pursuant to 8 CFR 244.17(c).
(5) There is no fee for Form I-821 filed as part of the re- registration application. 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), currently seventy dollars ($70), or a properly documented fee waiver request pursuant to 8 CFR 244.20, must accompany the Form I-765. An 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.
(6) Pursuant to subsection 244(b)(3)(A) of the Act, the Attorney General will review, at least 60 days before August 27, 1999, the designation of Montserrat under the TPS program 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.
(7) Information concerning the TPS program for nationals of Montserrat (and aliens having no nationality who last habitually resided in Montserrat) will be available at local Immigration and Naturalization Service offices upon publication of this notice.
Dated: August 21, 1998.Janet Reno,
Attorney General.
[FR Doc. 98-23035 Filed 8-26-98; 8:45 am]
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