Around 9,000 Nepalis in the United States may face deportation as the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) prepares to cancel the temporary residence permits, reported The Washington Post.

The Nepalis were granted Temporary Protected Status (TPS) which allowed them to legally stay in the US after the devastating earthquake on April 25, 2015.

The Washington Post states Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen at the DHS will give one-year period for Nepalis to prepare for their departure but they would face deportation after June 24, 2019.

The DHS has already cancelled residency permits of Salvadorans, Haitins, Nicaraguans and Sudanese, the daily reported.

Nearly 15,000 Nepalis received TPS status after the quake but only 9,000 remain in the country, most of them concentrated in the New York City area.

Secretary Nielsen had not yet signed off on Nepal decision, but as per the American daily, the agency is preparing to make its announcement in coming days.

The DHS secretary is required to make a decision 60 days in advance of the TPS expiration date. In Nepal’s case, that deadline falls on the anniversary of the earthquake, which is Wednesday.