Department of Homeland Security March 31, 2006 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Lower Mississippi River Waterway Safety Advisory Committee (LMRWSAC) will meet to discuss various issues relating to navigational safety on the Lower Mississippi River and related waterways. The meeting will be open to the public.

The designation for Nicaragua for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) will expire on July 5, 2006. This Notice alerts the public that TPS for Nicaragua has been extended for 12-months, until July 5, 2007, and sets forth procedures necessary for nationals of Nicaragua (or aliens having no nationality who last habitually resided in Nicaragua) with TPS to re-register and to apply for an extension of their Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) for the additional 12-month period. Re-registration is limited to persons who registered under the initial designation (which was announced on January 5, 1999) or who ``late initial registered'' and also timely re-registered under each subsequent extension of the designation. In accordance with the original designation, eligible aliens must also have maintained continuous physical presence in the United States since January 5, 1999, and continuous residence in the United States since December 30, 1998. Certain nationals of Nicaragua (or aliens having no nationality who last habitually resided in Nicaragua) who have not previously applied for TPS may be eligible to apply under the late initial registration provisions. Given the large number of Nicaraguans affected by this Notice, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recognizes that many re- registrants may not receive an extension sticker or new EAD until after their current EADs expire on July 5, 2006. Accordingly, this Notice automatically extends the validity of EADs issued under the TPS designation of Nicaragua for 6 months until January 5, 2007, and explains how TPS beneficiaries and their employers may determine which EADs are automatically extended.

The Commander, Fifth Coast Guard District, has issued a temporary deviation from the regulations governing the operation of the Berkley Bridge across the Eastern Branch of the Elizabeth River, mile 0.4, at Norfolk, Virginia. To facilitate electrical and mechanical repairs, this deviation allows the drawbridge to remain closed to navigation each day, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., on April 18, 19, and 20, 2006.