Brooklyn, N.Y. – Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke released the following statement on the decision by the Department of Homeland Security to extend the initial registration deadline for Temporary Protected Status from May 20, 2015, to Aug. 18, 2015, for eligible nationals of Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone. On May 15, 2015, Congresswoman Clarke, with several members of the New York City Delegation to Congress, asked the Department of Homeland Security to extend the deadline to allow more eligible registrants to participate.

To register for Temporary Protected Status, individuals must submit Form I-821, Application for Temporary Protected Status, the biometrics services fee (for applicants fourteen-years-of-age or older), Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, and an application fee or a fee-waiver request.

“As the representative of many first-generation and second-generation immigrants from Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone to the United States, I know the importance of Temporary Protected Status. Since the Ebola epidemic that started in March 2014, these nations have succeeded in reducing the number of people infected and in preventing many unnecessary deaths. With Temporary Protected Status, nationals of Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone who are now here will have the ability to support the recovery with remittances to their families – a critical factor in allowing individuals to purchase the basic necessities required to protect themselves from the Ebola virus. I want to thank Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson for his efforts to assist the people of West Africa in this crisis,” said Congresswoman Clarke, who since the start of the Ebola epidemic has spoken with people in Brooklyn to disprove rumors about the disease and assisted in connecting people with public health and medical professionals to increase awareness.

Applicants could download Temporary Protected Status forms from www.uscis.gov/forms or request them by calling USCIS toll-free at 1-800-870-3676.

The letter to the Department of Homeland Security was also signed by Senator Charles E. Schumer, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, Congressman Charles Rangel, Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney, Congressman Joseph Crowley, Congressman Steve Israel, Congresswoman Grace Meng, and Congressman Gregory W. Meeks.

Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke is a member of the Committee on Energy and Commerce in the House of Representatives, a member of the Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade, the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, and the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, as well as the Committee on Ethics and the Committee of Small Business. She represents many neighborhoods in central and southern Brooklyn, NY which include Brownsville, Crown Heights, East Flatbush, Flatbush, Gerritsen Beach, Madison, Midwood, parts of Park Slope and Flatlands, Prospect Heights, Prospect-Lefferts Gardens, Sheepshead Bay, and Windsor Terrace.