Thousands of Hurricane Katrina evacuees staying in hotels at government expense may be able to extend their stays beyond a Feb. 7 deadline, federal officials said.

Those who want to stay must register and obtain an authorization code by the end of January. Otherwise, rooms will not be paid for beyond Feb. 7, a FEMA spokeswoman said.

Evacuees who register will be able to stay until Feb. 13, and possibly longer, depending on when they receive notification about eligibility for other FEMA housing assistance.

Checkout time has been a moving target for those in the FEMA hotel program. The end date had been Dec. 1, but FEMA extended it several times.

A class-action lawsuit led a judge to order that the program be extended until at least Jan. 7 for some evacuees, and as late as Feb. 7 for others.

Howard Godnick, an attorney for evacuees who has been highly critical of the agency, said he hoped FEMA "has taken a step in the right direction" by extending the program.