U.S. expands, extends Myanmar immigration status to May 2024

About 150,000 immigrants from Myanmar lived in the U.S. in 2019, according to the Migration Policy Institute analysis of census data

The Biden administration has said it is expanding and extending temporary legal status in the U.S. for several thousand people from Myanmar after a military coup last year in the Asian country.

The Monday's decision extends Temporary Protected Status for 18 months for an estimated 970 people of Myanmar until May 25, 2024, and makes an additional 2,290 eligible to live and work until that date if they were in the United States on Sunday.

People of Myanmar “are continuing to suffer a complex and deteriorating humanitarian crisis due to a military coup, upheaval, and security forces' brutal violence against civilians", said Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

Myanmar, also called Burma, has been ruled by the military for most of the past 70 years.

Also Read | The Myanmar coup

The army's takeover interrupted a gradual transition toward democratic civilian government and a more modern, open economy and resulted in a slew of sanctions against the military, which controls many industries as well as army family members and cronies.

About 150,000 immigrants from Myanmar lived in the U.S. in 2019, according to the Migration Policy Institute analysis of census data.