1. What is Temporary Protected Status?
Temporary Protected Status (TPS) is a temporary immigration status granted to eligible nationals of designated countries or parts thereof.
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.
2. Who is eligible to apply for Temporary Protected Status?
You may be eligible to apply for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) if:
• You are a national of a country designated by the Attorney General for TPS. You may also be eligible if you are a person who has no nationality but last habitually resided in a designated country
• You apply for TPS during the specified registration period. The registration period is stated in the Federal Register notices of designation and is also generally noted in USCIS press releases
• You have been continuously physically present in the U.S. since the TPS designation began, or since the effective date of the most recent re-designation
• You are admissible as an immigrant and are not otherwise ineligible for TPS
• You have continuously resided in the U.S. since a date specified by the Attorney General
Note: This date is listed in the Federal Register notice of designation and may be different than the date TPS became effective.
3. Who is ineligible to apply for Temporary Protected Status?
You are ineligible for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) if you:
• Have been convicted of any felony or two or more misdemeanors committed in the U.S.
• Are a persecutor, terrorist or otherwise subject to one of the bars to asylum
• Are subject to one of several criminal-related grounds of inadmissibility for which a waiver is not available
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