On June 5, 2025, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem announced that the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designation for Nepal would not be extended and would be terminated, effective August 5, 2025. The current TPS designation for Nepal is scheduled to expire on June 24, 2025, but beneficiaries will be granted a sixty-day transition period through August 5, 2025.
Quick Hits
- On June 5, 2025, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem announced the termination of TPS for Nepal, effective August 5, 2025.
- DHS has determined that the TPS designation—originally granted in 2015 after an earthquake that substantially disrupted the living conditions in Nepal—together with its subsequent extensions, is now unnecessary.
- Certain Nepali employment authorization documents (EADs) are automatically extended through August 5, 2025.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) created the TPS designation to provide temporary protected status to foreign nationals living in the United States who are unable to return safely and immediately to their home countries due to events or circumstances, such as natural disasters or armed conflicts, present in their countries. During a designated TPS period, TPS beneficiaries:
- are not removable from the United States;
- can obtain an employment authorization document (EAD); and
- may be granted travel authorization.
Nepal was granted TPS in 2015 following a devastating earthquake that caused extensive damage to the country's infrastructure and resulted in nearly 9,000 fatalities. The disaster severely disrupted living conditions and the socioeconomic stability of thousands of individuals. Initially designated for an eighteen-month period, Nepal's TPS designation was extended in 2016 after DHS determined that the conditions justifying the designation persisted. In 2018, DHS announced the termination of TPS, which led to litigation and subsequent extensions through June 24, 2025. During this period, approximately 12,700 Nepalese nationals held TPS, and 5,500 became lawful permanent residents of the United States.
Secretary Noem, in consultation with the U.S. Department of State, has determined that Nepal has made significant strides in environmental disaster preparedness and response capacity, as well as substantial progress in reconstructing the damage caused by the earthquake. As a result, living conditions are no longer disrupted, and Nepal is now deemed capable of adequately managing the return of its nationals.
Practical Impact
Although the initial TPS designation for Nepal was scheduled to expire on June 24, 2025, DHS regulations mandate that if the secretary determines the foreign state no longer meets the conditions for TPS, the secretary may terminate the designation with a notice period of at least sixty days. The termination of Nepal's TPS designation was published in the Federal Register on June 5, 2025, resulting in an effective end date for TPS benefits, including work authorization for Nepali nationals, on August 5, 2025.
The Federal Register notice specifically confirms that EADs granted to Nepali TPS beneficiaries also will be automatically extended through the sixty-day notice period. This signifies that employers may accept, for the purposes of I-9 verification, any TPS EADs presented by Nepali beneficiaries that have the notation "A-12" or "C-19" under "Category," and a "Card Expires" date of June 24, 2018, June 24, 2019, March 24, 2020, January 4, 2021, October 4, 2021, December 31, 2022, June 30, 2024, or June 24, 2025, as valid through August 5, 2025.
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