[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 163 (Monday, August 24, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45092-45093]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-22580]
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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Immigration and Naturalization Service
[INS No. 1937-98; AG Order No. 2174-98]
Extension of Designation of Bosnia-Hercegovina Under Temporary
Protected Status Program
AGENCY: Immigration and Naturalization Service, Justice.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: This notice extends, until August 10, 1999, the Attorney
General's designation of Bosnia-Hercegovina 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 Bosnia-Hercegovina (or who have no
nationality and who last habitually resided in Bosnia-Hercegovina) may
re-register for TPS and extension of employment authorization. This re-
registration is limited to persons who registered for the initial
period of TPS, which ended on August 10, 1993.
EFFECTIVE DATES: This extension of designation is effective August 11,
1998, and will remain in effect until August 10, 1999. The re-
registration procedures become effective August 24, 1998, and will
remain in effect until September 22, 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
Immigration Responsibility Act, Pub. L. 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 10, 1992, the Attorney General designated Bosnia-
Hercegovina for Temporary Protected Status for a period of 12 months
(57 FR 35604). The Attorney General has extended the designation of
Bosnia-Hercegovina under the TPS program several times. Last year she
extended the designation for an additional 12-month period until August
10, 1998 (62 FR 41420).
Based on a thorough review by the Department of State and Justice
of all available evidence, the Attorney General finds that the armed
conflict in Bosnia-Hercegovina continues and that, due such conflict,
requiring the return of nationals to Bosnia-Hercegovina would pose a
serious threat to their personal safety.
This notice extends the designation of Bosnia-Hercegovina 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 Bosnia-Hercegovina (or who have no nationality and who
last habitually
[[Page 45093]]
resided in Bosnia-Hercegovina) must comply in order to re-register for
TPS.
In addition to timely re-registrations and late re-registrations
authorized by this notice's extension of Bosnia-Hercegovina's TPS
designation, late initial registrations are possible for some Bosnians
under 8 CFR 244.2(f)(2). Such late initial registrants must have been
``continuously physically present'' in the United States since August
10, 1992, must have had a valid immigrant or nonimmigrant status during
the original registration period or have an application for status
pending during the initial registration period, and must register no
later than 30 days from the expiration of such status. Any national of
Bosnia-Hercegovina 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 Bosnia-Hercegovina (or aliens having no nationality
who last habitually resided in Bosnia-Hercegovina) who have been
continuously physically present and have continuously resided in the
United States since August 10, 1992, may re-register for TPS within the
registration period which begins on August 24, 1998, and ends on
September 22, 1998.
Nationals of Bosnia-Hercegovina 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 of this notice). 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 Immigration and
Naturalization Service. Notice of Extension of Designation of Bosnia-
Hercegovina 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 had consultations with the appropriate agencies
of the Government concerning (a) the conditions in Bosnia-Hercegovina;
and (b) whether permitting nationals of Bosnia-Hercegovina (and aliens
having no nationality who last habitually resided in Bosnia-
Hercegovina) to remain temporarily in the United States is contrary to
the national interest of the United States. As a result, I determine
that the conditions for the original designation of Temporary Protected
Status for Bosnia-Hercegovina continue to be met. Accordingly, it is
ordered as follows:
(1)) The designation of Bosnia-Hercegovina under subsection 244(b)
of the Act is extended for an additional 12-month period from August
11, 1998, to August 10, 1999.
(2) I estimate that there are approximately 400 nationals of
Bosnia-Hercegovina (and aliens having no nationality who last
habitually resided in Bosnia-Hercegovnia) 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 Bosnia-Hercegovina (or an alien having
no nationality who last habitually resided in Bosnia-Hercegovina) who
received a grant of TPS during the initial period of designation, from
August 10, 1992, to August 10, 1993, 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.
(4) A national of Bosnia-Hercegovina (or an alien having no
nationality who last habitually resided in Bosnia-Hercegovina) 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 24, 1998, and ending on September 22, 1998,
in order to be eligible for Temporary Protected Status during the
period from August 11, 1998, until August 10, 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 10, 1999, the
designation of Bosnia-Hercegovina 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 Bosnia-
Hercegovina (and aliens having no nationality who last habitually
resided in Bosnia-Hercegovina) will be available at local Immigration
and Naturalization Service offices upon publication of this notice.
Dated: August 14, 1998.
Janet Reno,
Attorney General.
[FR Doc. 98-22580 Filed 8-21-98; 8:45 am]
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