TEMPORARY PROTECTED STATUS FOR LIBERIANS TO END

After being on the list of countries whose nationals are eligible for Temporary Protected Status for several years, Liberia is about to be removed. When TPS status expires on September 28^th of this year, the Justice Department will not be extending the status for Liberians.

TPS status allows person who are from designated countries to legally remain in the US until extraordinary conditions in a particular country have subsided. Extraordinary conditions can include such calamities as wars and environmental disasters.

Attorney General Reno chose not to renew the status based on a State Department report that found that the civil war in Liberia is now over and the peace accords have held. According to that report, "Although conditions in Liberia remain difficult, the overall situation is not sufficiently adverse to prevent most Liberian nationals in the U.S. from returning to Liberia in safety."

For people who still do not feel safe returning, the INS recommends people consider applying for asylum or withholding of deportation.

People affected by this decision will revert back to the visa status they had immediately before being granted TPS status. Thus, people who received TPS status will begin accruing unlawful presence as of September 29, 1999 if they do not have a legal status to which they can return. If the unlawful status extends past 180 days, the person could face a reentry bar.

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