The US government has decided to terminate the temporary protected status (TPS) for around 9,000 Nepali immigrants that is effective since the Gorkha Earthquake in 2015, following the assessment that the overall humanitarian situation in Nepal has stabilised in the past three years. 

 

Secretary of the US Department of Homeland Security Kirstjen M Nielsen has determined that termination of the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designation for Nepal was required pursuant to the statute, the  US Homeland Security said in a statement on Thursday.   

 

To allow for an orderly transition, the US government has delayed the termination by 12 months to provide time for TPS holders to arrange for their departure or to seek an alternative lawful immigration status, if eligible. The designation will terminate on June 24, 2019.

 

The 12 months will also provide time for Nepal to prepare for the return and reintegration of its citizens, the DHS statement said. During this timeframe, DHS will work with the Department of State and the government of Nepal to help educate relevant stakeholders and facilitate an orderly transition.

 

The decision to terminate TPS for Nepal was made after a review of the environmental disaster-related conditions upon which the country’s original designation was based and an assessment of whether those originating conditions continue to exist as required by statute, the DHS said. 

 

Since the last review of the country’s conditions in October 2016, Nepal has made substantial progress in post-earthquake recovery and reconstruction, the statement said. It added that Nepal can now adequately manage the return of its nationals.

 

Meanwhile, a US based human rights organisation, Adhikar, which works for the welfare of migrant workers, has called the US Congress to take action to protect the TPS holders and create a permanent solution.

 

“We are deeply disappointed and saddened by the DHS Secretary Nielsen’s decision to end this much needed humanitarian immigration programme for Nepal. Nepal has only had TPS for three years, and more than 75 percent of the infrastructure destroyed by the earthquake has not been built. This decision was unexpected, given the relentless termination of TPS for countries like Haiti, El Salvador, Nicaragua and others,” Adhikar said in a statement. 

 

The organisation said that it will work with legal aid providers around the US to support TPS holders.

 

Nepali citizens with current TPS registrations will have to re-register for the TPS and apply for Employment Authorisation Documents in order to legally work in the US until the termination of Nepal’s TPS designation becomes effective on June 24, 2019. 

 

TPS is a temporary immigration status granted to eligible nationals of a country designated due to ongoing armed conflict, environmental disaster, or other extraordinary and temporary conditions. On June 24, 2015, the Department of Homeland Security of the United States announced the designation of Temporary Protected Status for Nepalis temporarily in the United States who had been displaced by the earthquakes on April 25 and May 12, 2015.