The United States has notified El Salvador that the temporary protected status of its citizens and those of five other countries will be extended through June 30, 2024, Salvadoran Ambassador to the United States Milena Mayorga said Thursday.
The other countries are Haiti, Nicaragua, Sudan, Honduras and Nepal, according to a document filed Thursday by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. The action means their temporary protected status (TPS) will no longer expire on December 31, 2022, as previously scheduled.
"Thanks be to God," said Mayorga, who tweeted the document, adding work visas for recipients would be valid for another 18 months.
According to the American Immigration Council, TPS is provided to nationals of certain countries experiencing problems that make it difficult or unsafe to deport them back to those countries.
The Department of Homeland Security announced the extension, set to be published next week, "to ensure its continued compliance" with two ongoing court cases, the document said.
President Joe Biden's administration in October pulled out of settlement talks that could have provided further protections to the TPS enrollees from these countries, according to plaintiffs in the case.
