The US Attorney General has decided to end Temporary Protected Status availability for Liberian nationals. The program has been extended one final time until September 28, 1998. Liberian nationals can now register for this final TPS period. Generally speaking, only applicants who have continuously resided in the US since June 1, 1996.

Liberians wishing to re-register for TPS status must file an Application for Temporary Protected Status, Form I-821, without fee, together with an Application for Employment Authorization, Form I-765. A fee of $70 should accompany Form I-765 unless the applicant has a properly documented fee waiver of the applicant does not request work authorization (though the form should still be submitted). Applications should be submitted at the applicant's local INS office.

According to the INS, Liberians who believe that their particular circumstances make return to Liberia unsafe may pursue other avenues of immigration relief including, but not limited to, asylum, withholding or removal, or cancellation of removal, if they believe they may be eligible. The INS does not mention how the new asylum rules would interplay with the ending of TPS. Under the new rules, described earlier in this newsletter, an applicant would have to apply for asylum within a year of entry. Since TPS holders have to have been here since June 1996, the only way to qualify for asylum would be to show changed country conditions or extraordinary circumstances that prevented someone from applying.