The Department of Homeland Security announced that qualified Somalis can reregister for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) from March 11 through May 11, 2020. As announced previously, TPS for citizens of Somalia is being extended until September 17, 2021.
Work permits for most Somalis who currently have TPS or have prior reregistration applications pending are automatically extended through September 13, 2020 as long as reregistration is completed by May 11th. Employers and TPS re-registrants can find more information about automatic employment authorization extensions on the USCIS Somali TPS page. Automatic extensions are necessary because of USCIS delays in processing TPS work permit applications. Once granted, Somali TPS work permits will be valid through September 17, 2021.
TPS is offered when the U.S. government determines that civil conflict or natural disaster has created conditions making it inadvisable for citizens of the designated countries who are already in the U.S. at the moment of the TPS designation to return to their home countries. Individuals with TPS are allowed to stay and work in the U.S. legally during the TPS period. Somalia was first designated for TPS in 1991, and was most recently re-designated in 2012.