The Secretary of Homeland Security has just added Nepal to the list of nations whose citizens can apply for Temporary Protected Status in the United States. This brings the current list of such nations to an even dozen.
The rationale was the recent earthquake in that country.
As has been the case in recent TPS actions, the cut off date for Nepalis in the United States is midnight today – I saw a 2:17 pm press release, so alert Nepalis who happen to be at the Mexican or Canadian borders can slip into the United States and still meet the deadline of midnight tonight.
TPS, all too often, is rolled over again and again as the years pass, in 18-month increments. While in this status, an alien from the country in question is immune to deportation and free to work legally in the United States and to travel across our borders.
Last month, after the Ebola epidemic ended in Liberia, DHS created another TPS situation for that country, Guinea, and Sierra Leone.
CIS is currently preparing a Backgrounder on the TPS program.