On May 10, 2019, USCIS and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced the decision to extend Temporary Protected Status for Honduras and Nepal. TPS designations for Nepal will automatically extend through March 24, 2020, and TPS designation for Honduras will remain in effect until January 1, 2020.
On February 11, 2019, a class-action lawsuit, Bhattarai v. Nielsen, was filed to stop the termination of TPS for Honduras and Nepal. Both parties have agreed to halt proceedings pending a separate case, Ramos v. Nielsen. The Ramos lawsuit was filed March 12, 2018 to stop the unlawful termination of TPS for individuals from El Salvador, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Sudan. Because Bhattarai and Ramos are so similar, the courts have agreed that Bhattarai will be decided in accordance with the Ramos decision.
The ruling in the Ramos case is expected later this summer. On October 3, 2018, in Ramos v. Nielsen, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California issued a preliminary injunction preventing DHS from terminating TPS for El Salvador, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Sudan until January 2020.
In accordance with the Ramos injunction, TPS for Nepal, which was set to terminate on June 24, 2019, will automatically extend to March 24, 2020. Based on this extension for Nepal, individuals under this protection will retain their TPS status. Moreover, the validity of Employment Authorization Documents (EADs), Approval Notices, and Forms I-94 will also be extended until March 24, 2020. This means that TPS holders for Nepal can legally work in the United States and will receive updated I-94 arrival/departure records.
In the event that the preliminary injunction in Ramos is reversed and that reversal becomes the final decision in the case, it is likely the Bhattarai case will also be reversed, meaning TPS for Nepal and Honduras will be terminated. DHS will allow for a 120-day transition period for TPS holders if this termination is finalized.
For more information, please visit the Federal Register and the USCIS TPS page.