[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 110 (Tuesday, June 9, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31527-31528]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-15329]
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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Immigration and Naturalization Service
[INS No. 1929-98; AG Order No. 2161-98]
RIN 1115-AE26
Designation of the Province of Kosovo in the Republic of Serbia
in the State of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia-Montenegro)
Under Temporary Protected Status
AGENCY: Immigration and Naturalization Service, Justice.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: Under section 244 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as
amended, (the Act), the Attorney General is authorized to grant
Temporary Protected Status (TPS) in the United States to eligible
nationals of designated foreign states or parts of such states (or to
eligible aliens who have no nationality and who last habitually resided
in such designated states) upon a finding that such states are
experiencing ongoing civil strife, environmental disaster, or certain
other extraordinary and temporary conditions. This notice designates
the Province of Kosovo in the Republic of Serbia in the state of the
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia-Montenegro) for TPS pursuant to
section 244(b)(1) of the Act.
EFFECTIVE DATE: This designation is effective on June 9, 1998 and will
remain in effect until June 8, 1999.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Pearl Chang, Chief, Residence and Status Branch, Adjudications,
Immigration and Naturalization Service, 425 I Street, NW., Room 3214,
Washington, DC 20536, telephone (202) 514-5014.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Based on a thorough review by the Departments of State and Justice
of all available evidence, the Attorney General finds that there is an
on-going armed conflict in the Province of Kosovo in the Republic of
Serbia in the state of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia-
Montenegro) (hereafter ``Kosovo Province'') and that, due to such
conflict, requiring the return of nationals of Serbia-Montenegro to
Kosovo Province would pose a serious threat to their personal safety.
Kosovar Albanians constitute approximately 90 percent of the 2
million people in the Province of Kosovo in Serbia-Montenegro, a
country governed by a Serb-majority government. Tensions have been
particularly high since the government's 1989 revocation of Kosovo's
political autonomy. In March 1998, the Serb government crackdown left
approximately 90 Kosovar Albanians dead, including non-combatants and
children. Although the fighting has subsided, protests continue and the
Serb government has shown limited cooperation with the international
community's calls for dialogue concerning the killings.
Residents of Kosovo Province (or aliens having no nationality who
last habitually resided in Kosovo Province) who have been continuously
physically present and have continuously resided in the United States
since June 9, 1998, may apply for TPS within the registration period
which begins on June 9, 1998, and ends on June 8, 1999.
Any resident of Kosovo Province 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. Residents of Kosovo Province who apply for TPS
during the initial registration period will remain eligible to re-
register for TPS if the designation of TPS is extended, even if an
application for asylum or another immigration benefit is denied.
However, without a TPS application during the initial registration
period, only those residents of Kosovo Province who satisfy the
requirements for late initial registration under 8 CFR 244.2(f)(2)
would be eligible for TPS registration during any extension of
designation. The requirements for late initial registration specify
that the applicant have been in valid status or have an application for
status pending during the initial registration period.
Residents of Kosovo Province may register for TPS by filing an
Application for Temporary Protected Status, Form I-821, which requires
a filing fee. 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. TPS applicants who already have employment authorization,
including some asylum applicants, and those who have no need for
employment authorization, including minor children, need only pay 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 Service.
Notice of Designation of Kosovo Province Under Temporary Protected
Status Program
By the authority vested in me as Attorney General under section 244
of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended (9 U.S.C.A. 1254
(West Supp. 1997)), I find, after consultation with the appropriate
agencies of the Government, that:
(1) There exists an ongoing armed conflict in the Province of
Kosovo in the Republic of Serbia in the state of the Federal Republic
of Yugoslavia (Serbia-Montenegro) (hereafter ``Kosovo Province'') and,
due to such conflict, the return of aliens who are residents of Kosovo
Province (or aliens having no nationality who last habitually resided
in Kosovo Province) would pose a serious threat to their personal
safety as a result of the armed conflict in that province;
(2) There exists extraordinary and temporary conditions in Kosovo
Province that prevent aliens who are residents of Kosovo Province (or
aliens having no nationality who last habitually resided in Kosovo
Province) from returning to Kosovo Province in safety; and
(3) Permitting residents of Kosovo Province (or aliens having no
nationality who last habitually resided
[[Page 31528]]
in Kosovo Province) to remain temporarily in the United States is not
contrary to the national interest of the United States.
Accordingly, it is ordered as follows:
(1) Kosovo Province is designated under sections 244(b)(1) (A) and
(C) of the Act. Residents of Kosovo Province (or aliens having no
nationality who last habitually resided in Kosovo Province) who have
been continuously physically present and have continuously resided in
the United States since June 9, 1998, may apply for TPS within the
registration period which begins on June 9, 1998, and ends on June 8,
1999.
(2) I estimate that there are no more than 5,000 residents of
Kosovo Province (or aliens having no nationality who last habitually
resided in Kosovo Province) who are currently in nonimmigrant or
unlawful status and therefore eligible for TPS.
(3) Except as may otherwise be provided, applications for TPS by
residents of Kosovo Province (or aliens having no nationality who last
habitually resided in Kosovo Province) must be filed pursuant to the
provisions of 8 CFR part 244. Aliens who wish to apply for TPS must
file an Application for Temporary Protected Status, Form I-821,
together with an Application for Employment Authorization, Form I-765,
during the registration period, which begins on June 9, 1998, and will
remain in effect until June 8, 1999.
(4) A fee prescribed in 8 CFR 103.7(b)(1) (currently fifty dollars
($50)) will be charged for each Application for Temporary Protected
Status, Form I-821, filed during the registration period.
(5) The fee prescribed in 8 CFR 103.7(b)(1) (currently seventy
dollars ($70)) will be charged for each Application for Employment
Authorization, Form I-765, filed by an alien requesting employment
authorization. An alien who does not wish to request employment
authorization must nevertheless file Form I-765, together with Form I-
821, for data gathering purposes, but in such cases Form I-765 will be
without fee.
(6) Pursuant to section 244(b)(3)(A) of the Act, the Attorney
General will review, at least 60 days before June 8, 1999, the
designation of Kosovo Province under the TPS program to determine
whether the conditions for designation continue to exist. Notice of
that determination, including the basis for the determination, will be
published in the Federal Register. If there is an extension of
designation, late initial registration for TPS shall be allowed only
pursuant to the requirements of 8 CFR 244.2(f)(2).
(7) Information concerning the TPS program for residents of Kosovo
Province (or aliens having no nationality who last habitually resided
in Kosovo Province) will be available at local Immigration and
Naturalization Service offices upon publication of this notice.
Dated: June 3, 1998.
Janet Reno,
Attorney General.
[FR Doc. 98-15329 Filed 6-8-98; 8:45 am]
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