Temporary Protected Status (TPS)

Temporary Protected Status (TPS) is a place immigration policy that allows individuals from designated countries experiencing dire circumstances such as civil strife and natural disasters, to remain in the United States. Individuals with TPS can obtain an EAD while applying for travel authorization via Form I-131. By March 2024, there are 863,880 recipients of TPS in the United States.

Origin of Temporary Protected Status (TPS)

In the Immigration Act of 1990, there was inclusion of the Attorney General’s, who heads the Department of Justice, ability to grant TPS, a non-immigrant status. It established the idea of permitting individuals to remain in the US temporarily, as long as it is unsafe for them to go back to their country due to civil strife, natural disaster, or some other extraordinary condition.

With the creation of the DHS through the Homeland Security Act, the responsibility of supervising TPS changed from the Attorney General to the Secretary of Homeland Security. This was part of an overall shift that established three new bodies dealing with immigration: USCIS, ICE, and CBP.

Eligibility Determination for the TPS

The Secretary of DHS has the power to grant TPS, but they make sure to discuss it with several other federal organizations, like the Departments of State, Defense, or Justice. There are several criteria which make it possible for specific countries, or their portions, to have TPS granted to them:

1. Armed Conflict: Internal conflicts that have been internationalized or civil wars, this also includes conflicts with non-state actors like DAESH.

2. National Calamity: This can include catastrophes like earthquakes, pandemics or tsunamis which severely disrupt the living conditions of a country. If the infrastructure has been majorly damaged, then returning to those places could be life threatening.

3. Temporary Conditions: There might be other issues, not mentioned in the two criteria, that put the individual at risk if they return and so it’s necessary for the individual to stay until deemed necessary. Most importantly, if government officials perceive it as being against national interest, then the put the remaining individual under TPS.

Eligibility Requirement for TPS

A citizen of a country that is designated for TSP can seek for that status if the individual has shifted to USA after the specific designation. However, if the person comes to USA after the designation has been claimed, then he/she is liable in not being eligible for that protection.

The TPS of a country lasts for a maximum of six, twelve, or eighteen months, and this period is extendable at the discretion of the Secretary of Homeland Security. If the country is ‘redesignated,’ any nationals who entered the U.S. after the original TPS designation are eligible to file for the protection. If an extension of a country’s designation is granted, the status of all persons currently holding TPS is also granted until the new expiration date.

In order to apply for TPS, one needs to:

– Be an individual from a designated country, or a stateless person that is habitually residing there.
– Remain physically present in the United States since the designation of the TPS from that particular country.
– Have lived in the United States since the date ascribed by the Secretary of the Homeland Security.
– Not constitute an actionable threat against the United States in terms of criminal, security, or any other reasons as determined by the appropriate agency in the US.

Countries Currently Under Temporary Protected Status

TPS Application Process

When applying for TPS, applicants need to complete certain forms, submit supporting documents, pay the necessary fees, or if eligible, ask for a fee exemption.

Necessary Forms

– To apply to i-821 form: Application for Temporary Protected Status (TPS): This form allows registering or re-registering for TPS. This form is available on the USCIS TPS websites or the register address country specific to the applicant (except Venezuela). Instructions for filing are found on the TPS country specific site at the USCIS web page.
*Note: Applicants from Burma, Somalia, Syria, Venezuela, and Yemen can file Form I-821 on line*.

– To I-765 form: Application for Employment Authorization (Optional): This form is optional with respect to the Amendment of Protective Status and may be filed at any time during the period in which the person is under the protection of the Amendment Status. It is worth noting that I-765 is likely to be received earlier when jointly filed with I-821 than when submitted separately.

– Form I-601, Application for Waiver of Grounds of Inadmissibility (if applicable): This form should be submitted if the applicant is deemed inadmissible to the U.S. but seeks a waiver based on those grounds.

Supporting Documents

A copy (not the original) of the documents listed below is usually required when applying for a TPS visa so make sure to bring these along.

Primary Evidence:

– A passport copy.
– Your birth certificate and a photo ID.
– Any of the following documents from your native country’s consulate or embassy in the U.S.: Naturalization certificate, national ID card, or any form of identification that has a photograph or fingerprint.

In case primary evidence is unattainable, an affidavit detailing why it was not possible to obtain these documents, what efforts were made toward it, and why consular processing could not be used along with a claim of nationality assertion, may be used.

Secondary Evidence:

– Nationality documents which do not have a picture or fingerprint (example is naturalization certificate).
– If the baptism certificate has the child’s parents name rather than the child’s from a TPS country.
– School records or medical records that are able to support the claim of citizenship nationality from an TPS designated nation.
– Other immigration papers that reveal identity and nationality.

Personal statements issued by relatives or close friends that clearly contain details of the applicant’s date of birth, place of birth, and parents nationality. Friends and family members of the applicant should specify their relationship with the applicant and why they are privy to this information.

Evidence Of Date Of Entry:

It incorporates an I-94 Arrival/Departure record or any other document like the passport which is mentioned on the evidence list ‘Continuous Residence (CR)’.

Continuous Residence (CR) Evidence:

Documents which confirm that person lived in the United State of America when the TSP was applied for the individual’s country. Employment records, tenancy agreements, utility bills, educational records, medical or surgery records, as well as testimonies made by the officials of church, union or any other group known to the applicant can also be used.

Fees

The first time registrants for TSP are expected to pay a couple of variable charges ranging from application fees to payment for processing which can be paid using a money order, or a personal or cashier’s check. Payment utilizing a credit card is accepted at USCIS Lockbox facilities when accompanied with Form G-1450, Authorisation for Credit Card Transactions. The registration fees for form I-821 depend on many aspects. A fee schedule with all the other fees accompanying I-765 can be found posted on the internet. Form I-601, on the other hand cost $1050.

Those who face challenges in paying the fees have the option of submitting a fee waiver application on Form I-912, which is the “Request for Fee Waiver”, or through other formats .You may also visit the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services page dealing with fee waivers for more information. In the event that the fee waiver application is turned down, the applicant can submit a new application, as well as the relevant fees. However, this must be done before the registration expiration date, or 45 days following the receipt of the notice of rejection, whichever falls later.

More Tips regarding TPS

The registration and application for a Temporary Protected Status (TPS) can be lodged through the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) processes. With TPS, there is a temporary protection against deportation, as well as a work permit, valid for the same time. Even though it does not offer a means to get a green card or citizenship, these statuses do not prevent someone from applying for such. In the spring of 2021, the Supreme Court of the United States will hear the arguments involving granting TPS holders who entered the borders of the U.S. without permission a chance to apply for permanent residency. In order to change status in line with the current rules, a person is required to exit the United States and undergo consular processing.

In the absence of TPS, an individual’s status before protection is granted is reinstituted unless it has been modified during the TPS period. Similar to TPS,Ã DED or Deferred Enforced Departure is a status that is not sanctioned by the legislature, but instead, is an executive power. As of February 2021 only Liberia, whose designation was valid until June 30th, 2022, and Venezuela, whose designation expiration date is July 20th, 2022, are DED designations.