Temporary protected status

Temporary protected status (also called "TPS") is a temporary immigration status to the United States, granted to eligible nationals of designated countries.

In 1990, as part of the Immigration Act of 1990 ("IMMACT"), P.L. 101-649, Congress established a procedure by which the Attorney General may provide TPS to immigrants in the United States who are temporarily unable to safely return to their home country because of ongoing armed conflict, an environmental disaster, or other extraordinary and temporary conditions.

On March 1, 2003, pursuant to the Homeland Security Act of 2002, Public Law 107-296, authority to designate a country (or part thereof) for TPS, and to extend and terminate TPS designations, was transferred from the Attorney General to the Secretary of Homeland Security. At the same time, responsibility for administering the TPS program was transferred from the former Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), a component of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

During the period for which a country has been designated for TPS, TPS beneficiaries may remain in the United States and may obtain work authorization. However, TPS does not lead to permanent resident status (green card). When the Secretary terminates a TPS designation, beneficiaries revert to the same immigration status they maintained before TPS (unless that status had since expired or been terminated) or to any other status they may have acquired while registered for TPS. Accordingly, if an immigrant did not have lawful status prior to receiving TPS and did not obtain any other lawful status during the TPS designation, the immigrant reverts to unlawful status upon the termination of that TPS designation. TPS is not granted to persons that try to register after the first registration period ends, so if a person of a country that is currently under TPS did not register the first time TPS was assigned, then that person does not qualify for TPS.

Deferred Enforced Departure is an immigration status similar to TPS, and is currently active for Liberia. Liberians previously were able to hold TPS status.

Countries that are currently under TPS

• El Salvador — initiated in response to the 2001 El Salvador earthquakes
• Haiti — initiated in response to the 2010 Haiti earthquake
• Honduras — initiated in response to Hurricane Mitch in 1998
• Haiti
• Nicaragua
• Somalia
• Sudan
• Syria

Countries Requesting TPS

• Guatemala as of early June 2010
• Pakistan as of early January 2011

Background

Who Qualifies for TPS

An immigrant who is a national of a country (or immigrant having no nationality who last habitually resided in that country) designated for TPS is eligible to apply for TPS benefits if he or she:

• Establishes the necessary continuous physical presence and continuous residence in the United States as specified by each designation;
• Is not subject to one of the criminal, security-related, or other bars to TPS; and
• Applies for TPS within the specified time period. If the Secretary of Homeland Security extends a TPS designation beyond the initial designation period, the beneficiary must timely re-register to maintain his or her TPS benefits under the TPS program.

An immigrant is not eligible for TPS if he or she:

• Has been convicted of any felony or two or more misdemeanors committed in the United States;
• Is a persecutor, or otherwise subject to one of the bars to asylum; or
• Is subject to one of several criminal-related or terrorism-related grounds of inadmissibility for which a waiver is not available.

TPS and Employment Authorization

TPS applicants are eligible to receive an Employment Authorization Document (EAD/card) based on TPS only if they have a pending or approved initial Form I-821 (Application for Temporary Protected Status). Category C19 appears on EADs issued while the initial Form I-821 is pending approval or denial. Category A12 appears on EADs issued after the initial Form I-821 has been approved. An applicant who seeks employment authorization along with her re-registration Form I-821 application will only receive an approval or denial notice based on the associated Form I-765 (Application for Employment Authorization), whereas an applicant who does not seek employment authorization along with her re-registration Form I-821 application will receive an approval or denial notice based on the re-registration Form I-821.

Denial or Withdrawal of TPS

Applicants are not eligible to re-register for TPS if their initial Form I-821 has been denied or if USCIS has withdrawn its approval of the initial Form I-821. However, if the first initial Form I-821 has been denied or withdrawn, it is possible to file another initial Form I-821. USCIS will treat the new initial Form I-821 as a late initial registration application. The full initial application fees must be paid for all multiple initial Form I-821s, and in Part 1 of the new initial Form I-821, Box A must be selected. An applicant seeking employment authorization should select the Permission to Accept Employment box on the Form I-765 that is submitted along with the new initial Form I-821. If USCIS approves a subsequent initial Form I-821, the applicant's TPS status will be established or restored and she or he may thereafter file re-registration applications. Alternatively, an applicant whose initial Form I-821 has been denied or withdrawn may follow the instructions provided in the Notice of Denial or Withdrawal for appealing or filing a Form I-290B (Notice of Appeal or Motion).

External links

• Temporary protected status (USCIS)
• TPS Extended For Somalia
• TPS issued for Syrians (DHS)