Subscribe to Immigration Newsletter & Immigration News Update | Temporary Protected Status (TPS) Section 244(b) (1) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, authorizes the Secretary of Homeland Security, after consultation with appropriate agencies of the government, to designate a Country (or part thereof) for Temporary Protected Status (TPS). The Secretary of Homeland Security may designate a country for TPS due to the following temporary conditions in the country: - Ongoing armed conflict (such as civil war).
- An environmental disaster (such as earthquake or hurricane).
- Other extraordinary and temporary conditions.
TPS is an Immigration status granted to eligible nationals of a designated country who are already in the United States and are temporarily unable to safely return to their home country because of ongoing armed conflict, environmental disaster, or other extraordinary and temporary conditions or where the designated country is unable to handle the return of its nationals adequately.
Eligible individuals without nationality who last resided in the designated country may also be granted TPS. During a designated period, eligible individuals: - Are not removable from the United States.
- Cannot be detained by Department of Homeland Security.
- Can obtain an employment authorization document (EAD).
- May apply for travel authorization.
Back to Top TPS and Permanent Resident Status The granting of TPS does not lead to permanent resident status. When the Secretary of Homeland Security terminates a country's TPS designation, beneficiaries return to the same immigration status they maintained before TPS was granted (unless that status has since expired or been terminated) or to any other status they may have obtained while registered for TPS. There are certain criminal and security-related grounds of inadmissibility that will render and alien ineligible for TPS. Further, aliens who have been convicted of any felony or two or more misdeamnors commited in the United States are ineligible for TPS.
TPS is a temporary benefit. Having been granted TPS does not, of itself, provide an alien with a legal basis for seeking permananent resident status. A TPS beneficiary who would like to become a permanent resident must qualify for this status based on a family relationship, employment-based classicfication, or other generally available basis and meet all eligibility requirements in accordance with the Immigration laws. When a country's TPS designation is terminated an Alien will maintain the same Immigration status that the Alien held prior to obtaining TPS (unless that status has since expired or been terminated), or any other status the Alien may have acquired while registered for TPS. Accordingly, if an Alien held no lawful Immigration status prior to being granted TPS and did not obtain any other status during the TPS period,The Alien will revert to unlawful status upon the termination of the TPS designation. When the Secretary of Homeland Security terminates a Country's TPS designation, aliens who had TPS under that designation, and who do not hold any other lawful Immigration status, are required to depart from the United States. Registration for TPS does not prevent an Alien from applying for nonimmigrant status, filing for adjustment of status based on an Immigtrant petition, or applying for any other Immigration benefit or protection. However, if an alien has periods of time when he or she had no lawful Immigration staus before, or after, the alien's time in TPS, those period(s) of unlawful presence may negatively affect taht alien's ability to adjust to permanent resident status or be granted other Immigration benefits, depending on the circumstances. Back To Top
TPS Eligibilty
An Alien is eligible for TPS if an Alien meets all of the following requirements: Is a national of a country designated for TPS, or a person without nationality who last habitually resided in the designated country; File during the open registration or re-registration period, or meet the requirements for late initial registration Have been continuously physically present in the United States since the most recent designation date of the Alien's country; Have been continuous resident in the United States since the most recent designation date of the Alien's country; Have not been convicted of any felony or two or more misdemeanors in the United States; Is not the persecutor, or otherwise subject to one of the bars to asylum; Is not subject to one of the criminal or security related grounds of inadmissibility for which a waiver is not available; and
Have met all the requirements for TPS registration or re-registration as specified for the Alien's country.
Maintaining TPS Once an Alien is granted TPS, he or she must re-register during each re-registration period to maintain
TPS benefits. Such Alien is also required to maintain continuous physical presence in the United
States. Late Re-Registration for TPS An Alien may file for late re-registration application if the Alien have good cause for filing after the end of the re-registration period of the Alien's country. Late re-registration may lead to gaps in an Alien work Authorization.
Late Initial Filing for TPS If the registration period for the most recent designation of an Alien's country has closed, an Alien can still apply for TPS for the first time. To be eligible one of the following conditions must have existed during the initial registration period for the most recent designation for the Alien's country: The Alien was a nonimmigrant, was granted voluntary departure status, or any relief from removal; The Alien had an application for change of status, adjustment of status, asylum, voluntary departure, or any relief from removal which was pending or subject to further review or appeal; The Alien was a parolee or had a pending request for re-parole; The Alien was a spouse of an individual eligible for TPS, or such Alien is still the spouse of that person who is currently eligible for TPS; or The Alien was and remains a child of an individual eligible for TPS.
The Alien must file an Alien's TPS application no later than 60 days after one of these conditions ends (except for a continuing spousal or child relationship to an individual eligible for TPS). Back to Top Countries that are Currently Designated for TPS
| Designated Country | Most Recent Designation Date | Must Have continuous
resident in the U.S. Since | Must Have continuous
physical present in the
U.S. since | Current
Expiration
Date | Current Re-Registration
Period | EAD Automatically
Extended Through | | El Salvador | March 9, 2001 | February 13,
2001 | March 9, 2001 | September 9, 2010 | October 1, 2008 to December
30, 2008 | September 9, 2009 | | Haiti | January 21,
2010 | January 1, 2010 | January 21, 2010 | July 22, 2011 | ----- | ----- | | Honduras | January 5,
1999 | December 30,
1998 | January 5, 1999 | July 5, 2010 | October 1, 2008 to December 30, 2008 | July 5, 2009 | | Nicaragua | January 5,
1999 | December 30,
1998 | January 5, 1999 | July 5, 2010 | October 1, 2008 to December 30, 2008 | July 5, 2009 | | Somalia | September 4, 2001 | September 4, 2001 | September 4, 2001 | March 17, 2011 | July 27, 2009 to September 24, 2009 | March 17, 2010 | | Sudan | Septemeber 4, 2001 | October 7, 2004 | October 7, 2004 | November 2, 2011 | December 31, 2009 to March 1, 2010 | No Automatic
Extension |
Links to: | |
