Temporary Protected Status (TPS)

What It Means

Temporary Protected Status was created by the Immigration Act of 1990 and is codified at INA section 244. The Secretary of Homeland Security may designate a country for TPS when conditions there temporarily prevent nationals from safely returning, specifically: ongoing armed conflict, an environmental disaster (like an earthquake or hurricane) or epidemic, or other extraordinary and temporary conditions. Designations last from 6 to 18 months and may be extended or redesignated. Beneficiaries register using Form I-821 and may concurrently file Form I-765 for a TPS-based EAD (category (a)(12) or (c)(19)); total fees are typically around $545 plus biometrics. To qualify, applicants must be a national of the designated country (or a stateless habitual resident), have been continuously physically present in the U.S. since the effective designation date, have been continuously residing in the U.S. since a designated date specified in the Federal Register notice, and not be inadmissible or disqualified by certain criminal grounds. TPS does not itself lead to LPR status, but holders who otherwise qualify may adjust to LPR status, and the Sixth and Ninth Circuits (and, as of Sanchez v. Mayorkas, arguably all circuits) have addressed whether TPS constitutes an admission for adjustment purposes. Currently designated countries have included El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, Syria, Ukraine, Venezuela, Yemen, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Burma (Myanmar), and Lebanon, with combined beneficiary populations in the hundreds of thousands. Termination of a TPS designation is judicially reviewable only in narrow circumstances and has been the subject of significant litigation (Ramos v. Nielsen).

Frequently Asked Questions

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