The Bush Administration has decided that nationals of Montserrat will continue to be eligible for Temporary Protected Status until August 27, 2003. Nationals of this small island country have been eligible to remain in the US due to the eruption of a volcano that has largely made their small island country difficult to inhabit. The status is available to people who registered during the initial registration period which ended August 27, 1998 or under the late registration provisions. .  

Montserrat originally received TPS designation on August 28, 1997 after the island's volcano erupted. According to the Justice Department, the one-year extension is warranted due to the threat of further volcanic eruptions, the ongoing housing shortage and the serious health risks from hazardous volcanic ash. In its release of the TPS extension regulation in the Federal Register, the Justice Department cited the Montserrat Volcano Observatory's own report showing a significant risk for a new eruption in the near future. The DOJ also noted that the volcano is still spewing hundreds of tons of sulphur dioxide daily as well as producing numerous rockfalls and flows of super-heated rocks, ash and gas. Furthermore, volcanic ash covers much of the island, posing serious health risks to those who inhale hazardous chemicals contained in the ash. 

Those currently possessing TPS through the Montserrat program need to re-register with the INS. To re-register, applicants must submit to their local INS office a Form I-821, Application for Temporary Protected Status without the fee, a form I-765 Application for Employment Authorization (and a $120 if work is desired) and two INS style photographs. Extension applicants need not be re-fingerprinted. However, children who have turned 14 since the last extension need to be fingerprinted and pay a $50 fee. The application must be submitted before September 16, 2002.  

The extension is only available to certain people who entered the US before August 28, 1997. Persons who entered the US before that date but who never registered for TPS can still do so now.

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