County Executive’s Office

Ethiopia TPS Extension 

• On April 12, 2024, DHS announced the extension and redesignation of Ethiopia for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for 18 months, from June 13, 2024, to December 12, 2025. See the Federal Register notice for more information.

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Burma (Myanmar) TPS Extension

• On March 22, 2024, DHS announced the extension and redesignation of Burma for Temporary Protected Status for 18 months, from May 26, 2024, to November 25, 2025. See the the Federal Register notice for more information.

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Re-Parole Process for Certain Ukrainian Citizens and Their Immediate Family Members

• Effective Feb. 27, 2024, USCIS will accept and consider, on a case-by-case basis, applications for certain Ukrainians and their immediate family members paroled into the United States under section 212(d)(5)(A) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. More information is available from USCIS here. 

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Deferred Enforced Departure: 

• On Feb. 14, 2024, President Biden issued a Memorandum to the Secretary of Homeland Security authorizing Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) and employment authorization for 18 months for eligible Palestinians. More information is available from USCIS here.  
• On Jan. 26, 2023, President Biden announced the extension of Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) for eligible Hong Kong residents for 24 months through Feb. 5, 2025. Eligible Hong Kong residents include those who arrived in the United States on or before Jan. 26, 2023, as well as those who were covered under the initial period of DED. This extension provides Hong Kong residents who are concerned about returning to Hong Kong with temporary safe haven in the United States.  For more information, see the Federal Register notice.

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Syria TPS Extension: 

• On Jan. 26, 2024, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas announced the extension and redesignation of Syria for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for 18 months, through Sept. 30 , 2025. A Federal Register notice also automatically extends through March 31, 2025, certain Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) of existing beneficiaries of Syria TPS.

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USCIS Fee Schedule Final Rule: 

On January 30th, 2024, USCIS published a final rule to adjust certain immigration and naturalization benefit request fees for the first time since 2016. The new fee schedule goes into effect April 1, 2024. 

• Fee waivers will continue to be available for applicants who receive means-tested public benefits, have income at or below 150% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines, or who demonstrate financial hardship.
• This rule codifies several fee exemptions, and provides additional fee exemptions for certain immigration benefit requests. More details are available from USCIS here. 

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MediCal Expansion:

• Beginning January 1, 2024, adults ages 26 through 49 can qualify for full-scope Medi-Cal, regardless of immigration status. All other Medi-Cal eligibility rules, including income limits, still apply.
• More information from the California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) is available here. · Multilingual outreach materials are available here.

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Temporary Protected Status Updates: 

As of 12/13/2023, the Department of Homeland Security extended the re-registration periods for the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designations of El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua and Sudan.

The re-registration period under the TPS designation of:

• El Salvador is currently open and runs through March 9, 2025;
• Haiti is currently open and runs through Aug. 3, 2024;
• Honduras is currently open and runs  through July 5, 2025;
• Nepal is currently open and runs through June 24, 2025;
• Nicaragua is currently open and runs through July 5, 2025; and
• Sudan is currently open and runs through April 19, 2025.

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DACA Update: 

On Sept. 13, 2023, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas issued a decision finding the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) Final Rule unlawful.

• Current grants of DACA and related Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) remain valid until they expire, unless individually terminated.
• USCIS will continue to accept and process DACA renewal requests and accompanying applications for employment authorization.
• USCIS will continue to accept initial requests, but per the order, not process initial DACA requests.
• The Immigrant Legal Resource Center has created a Frequently Asked Questions resource accessible here.

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Temporary Protected Status Updates:  

Effective June 9, 2023, Department of Homeland Security has extended designations of Temporary Protected Status for nationals of the following countries:  

• El Salvador for 18 months, from Sept. 10, 2023, through March 9, 2025 (60-day re-registration period from July 12, 2023, through Sept. 10, 2023); 

• Honduras for 18 months, from Jan. 6, 2024, through July 5, 2025 (60-day re-registration period from Nov. 6, 2023, through Jan. 5, 2024); 

• Nepal for 18 months, from Dec. 25, 2023, through June 24, 2025 (60-day re-registration period from Oct. 24, 2023, through Dec. 23, 2023); and 

• Nicaragua for 18 months, from Jan. 6, 2024, through July 5, 2025 (60-day re-registration period from Nov. 6, 2023, through Jan. 5, 2024). 

Existing TPS beneficiaries who wish to extend their status must re-register during the 60-day re-registration period for their country’s designation. Visit USCIS website for more information.  

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Re-parole Process for Afghan Nationals:  

On June 8th, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced a new process that will enable Afghan nationals to renew their parole and continue to live and work in the United States. The new process is streamlined and will be at no cost, and will provide for a two-year renewal of parole for qualifying individuals.  

Visit DHS website and USCIS Website for more information.  

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Title 42 Expired 

On May 11th, 2023, Title 42, the pandemic-era asylum restriction, expired. In place of Title 42, DHS and DOJ have implemented a new rule that “presumes those who do not use lawful pathways to enter the United States are ineligible for asylum and allows the United States to remove individuals who do not establish a reasonable fear of persecution or torture in the country of removal. Noncitizens can rebut this presumption based only on exceptionally compelling circumstances.”  

According to DHS, “The presumption will not apply to a noncitizen if they, or a family member traveling with them, received appropriate authorization to travel to the United States to seek parole; presented at a port of entry, pursuant to a pre-scheduled time and place using the CBP One app; established that it was not possible to access or use the CBP One app due to specific and extenuating circumstances, significant technical failure, or other applicable exception; or sought and were denied asylum or other protection in at least one other country. Individuals may also rebut the presumption by demonstrating exceptionally compelling circumstances. Unaccompanied children are exempted from this presumption.”  

More information is available here about the CBP One app.  

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Deferred Action for Witnesses of Labor Violations 

On January 13th, 2023, DHS has announced an updated process by which noncitizens who have experienced or witnessed a labor violation can seek deferred action and protection from immigration-related retaliation. DHS’s press release is available here and instructions for labor agencies are available here.  

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DACA Final Rule

Update: On October 5, 2022, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a decision in the Texas v United States case. In their decision, the Fifth Circuit agreed with Texas and found that the DACA policy is unlawful but sent the case back to the Southern District of Texas to consider the recently issued final DACA rule. The Fifth Circuit maintained the court order allowing those who are eligible to continue to renew their DACA and apply for advance parole while the case is pending. More changes and updates are expected soon. Learn more at https://www.ilrc.org/daca-updates-faq.

On Sept. 28, 2021, DHS published a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) for DACA. After a careful review of the public comments received, on Aug. 24, 2022, DHS announced a final rule to preserve and fortify DACA that implements the proposed rule with some amendments. The final rule:

• Maintains the existing threshold criteria for DACA;
• Retains the existing requirement that DACA requestors file Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, and Form I-765WS concurrently with the Form I-821D, Consideration of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals;
• Clarifies procedures for termination of DACA and related employment authorization; and
• Affirms the longstanding policy that DACA recipients have no lawful immigration status, but that, like other deferred action recipients, DACA recipients are considered “lawfully present” when determining eligibility for Social Security retirement benefits as described in 8 C.F.R. 1.3.

It is effective Oct. 31, 2022.

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Ukraine Updates and Resources

The County of San Mateo stands in support of refugees and the people of Ukraine. 

Information on the current situation in Ukraine as well as ways to help can be found at USAID.  

• Uniting for Ukraine provides a pathway for Ukrainian citizens and their immediate family members who are outside the United States to come to the United States and stay temporarily. More information for supporters and beneficiaries, as well as the application form, can be found at USCIS or welcome.us.
• The State of California welcomes Ukrainian newcomers and stands in solidarity as they arrive and integrate into Californian communities. The information on the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) Refugee Programs Bureau (RPB) Ukrainian Arrivals page is intended to help Ukrainian families and service providers access existing state program resources. CDSS has also published this Guide for Ukrainian Newcomers on benefits, housing and next steps after arrival. 
• Medical Services are available for newly arrived humanitarian parolees from Ukraine in San Francisco, San Mateo and Marin counties. Contact the Newcomer's Health Program at 628-206-8608 or newcomers.health@sfdph.org. For more information see flyer in English, Ukrainian or Russian. 
• The Department of State has suspended operations at U.S. Embassy Kyiv. Individual US Citizens seeking to depart Ukraine and in need of emergency assistance can call these Department of State numbers at 1-833-741-2777 (in U.S.) or 1-606-260-4379 (outside U.S.) or email KyivACS@state.gov. US Citizens and Lawful Permanent Residents can also request crisis assistance via thisintake. 
• The Consulate General of Ukraine in San Francisco is located at 530 Bush St # 402, San Francisco, CA 94108. They can be contacted at (415) 398-0240 or at uaconsulatesf@gmail.com for consular, political, and other issues.
• Humanitarian casework assistance can be requested from Senator Alex Padilla’s office.  
• For support locating family who have been separated by an international crisis contact San Mateo County Red Crossat (650) 259-1750.
• For free and low-cost immigration legal help in San Mateo County please visit our list of Immigration and Legal Services.  
• Those who have been directly affected by the war in Ukraine and are seeking mental health services can visit this page or this page. 

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Title 42

Update: On May 20, 2022, a federal judge blocked the ending of Title 42. 

The CDC had previously scheduled the termination of the Title 42 order on May 23, 2022. 

Title 42 was implemented in March 2020 and allowed federal health officials to ban people or goods from entering the U.S. during a pandemic. Under the Title 42 Order DHS was permitted to expel migrants at the border who lacked proper documentation before they could seek asylum in the U.S. According to the American Immigration Council, “Many individuals have been sent back to persecution in their home countries or forced to wait in Mexico for a time when the border will reopen to those seeking asylum.” You can read Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas' statement on the CDC’s Title 42 Order Termination here. 

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New Temporary Protected Status (TPS) Designations 

The Department of Homeland Security announced the extension of TPS for Somalia for 18 months, from March 18, 2023, through Sept. 17, 2024. Recently, a new designation of Yemen for TPS for 18 months from March 4, 2023 through Sept. 3, 2024 was also announced. 

Other recent TPS designations and extensions include Ethiopia from Dec. 12, 2022 through June 12, 2024; Haiti from Feb. 4, 2023 through Aug. 3, 2024; Burma (Myanmar) from Nov. 26, 2022 through May 25, 2024; Syria from Oct. 1, 2022 through March 31, 2024 and Venezuela from Sept. 10, 2022, through March 10, 2024. For a full list of countries that are currently designated for TPS, please visit the USCIS website.  

Temporary Protected Status (TPS) allows people from certain countries to stay in the United States if it would be dangerous for them to return to their home country due to an unsafe humanitarian situation. TPS allows recipients to work in the United States lawfully and protects them from deportation while the TPS designation is in effect. 

If you have questions about whether you or someone you know are eligible for TPS, click here for a list of legal organizationsthat provide free and low-cost legal help in San Mateo County. You can also contact our office at ImmigrantServices@smcgov.org or 650-363-4194.