Secretary Mayorkas Announces Extension and Redesignation of Burma (Myanmar) for Temporary Protected Status

WASHINGTON – Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas today announced the extension and redesignation of Burma for Temporary Protected Status for 18 months, from May 26, 2024, to November 25, 2025, due to extraordinary and temporary conditions in Burma that prevent individuals from safely returning. The corresponding Federal Register notice provides information about how to register as a new first-time applicant or current beneficiary for TPS under Burma’s extension and redesignation.

After consultation with interagency partners, Secretary Mayorkas determined that an 18-month TPS extension and redesignation are warranted because conditions that support Burma’s TPS designation are ongoing. Burma’s democratically elected civilian government was overthrown in a military coup on February 1, 2021, giving rise to further widespread violence that continues to put individuals in Burma at significant risk. Burma also continues to face challenges in the provision of food, access to health care, and economic stability.

Accompanying this announcement is a Special Student Relief notice for F-1 nonimmigrant students whose country of citizenship is Burma so that eligible students may request employment authorization, work an increased number of hours while school is in session, and reduce their course load while continuing to maintain F-1 status through the TPS designation period.

The extension of TPS for Burma allows approximately 2,300 current beneficiaries to retain TPS through November 25, 2025, if they continue to meet TPS eligibility requirements. The redesignation of Burma for TPS allows an estimated 7,300 additional nationals of Burma (or individuals having no nationality who last habitually resided in Burma) to file initial applications to obtain TPS, if they are otherwise eligible and if they established residence in the United States on or before March 21, 2024, and have continued to reside in the United States since then.

Re-registration is limited to individuals who previously registered for and were granted TPS under Burma’s prior designation. Current beneficiaries under TPS for Burma must re-register in a timely manner during the 60-day re-registration period from March 25, 2024, through May 24, 2024, to ensure they keep their TPS and employment authorization.

The Department of Homeland Security recognizes that not all re-registrants may receive a new Employment Authorization Document (EAD) before their current EAD expires and is automatically extending through May 25, 2025, the validity of EADs previously issued under Burma’s TPS designation. When the registration period for TPS for Burma opens on March 25, 2024, new registrants who are granted TPS and who filed an approved Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, under this announcement for extension and redesignation will be issued an EAD for 18 months that will be valid through November 25, 2025.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services will continue to process pending applications filed under previous TPS designations for Burma. Individuals with a pending Form I-821, Application for Temporary Protected Status, or a related Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, as of March 25, 2024 do not need to file either application again. If USCIS approves a pending Form I-821 or Form I-765 filed under the previous designation of TPS for Burma, USCIS will grant the individual TPS through November 25, 2025, and issue an EAD valid through the same date.

Under the redesignation of Burma, eligible individuals who do not have TPS may submit an initial Form I-821, Application for Temporary Protected Status, during the initial registration period that runs from March 25, 2024, through November 25, 2025. Applicants also may apply for TPS-related EADs and for travel authorization. Applicants can request an EAD by submitting a completed Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, with their Form I-821, or separately later.

The Federal Register notice explains eligibility criteria, timelines, and procedures necessary for current beneficiaries to re-register and renew EADs, and for new applicants to submit an initial application under the redesignation and apply for an EAD.