WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Homeland Security utilizes Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to provide a temporary, legal haven for foreign nationals in the United States who are unable to return safely to their home countries.

• What TPS Provides – TPS offers temporary protection from deportation and eligibility for an Employment Authorization Document (EAD) to qualifying individuals, but it does not grant permanent residency or a path to citizenship.
• Who Makes the Decision – The Secretary of Homeland Security has the sole discretion to designate a foreign country for TPS based on specific, dangerous conditions within that country.
• Conditions for Designation – A country can be designated for TPS due to ongoing armed conflict, environmental disasters like earthquakes or hurricanes, or other extraordinary and temporary conditions.

The designation is a key component of U.S. immigration policy, frequently appearing in headlines but often surrounded by complex legal and procedural questions.

How Does a Country Receive a TPS Designation?

The authority to designate a country for Temporary Protected Status rests exclusively with the Secretary of Homeland Security. This decision is not arbitrary; it must be based on one of three statutory conditions that make it unsafe for the country’s nationals to return.

The primary conditions for a TPS designation are:

• Ongoing armed conflict: This can include civil war or other internal strife that poses a serious threat to personal safety.
• Environmental disaster: A country may be designated following a natural disaster such as an earthquake, hurricane, or epidemic, if the country is unable to adequately handle the return of its nationals.
• Extraordinary and temporary conditions: This is a broader category for other unsafe situations that are temporary in nature.

Once designated, the status is granted for a specific period, typically ranging from 6 to 18 months. The Secretary of Homeland Security must review conditions at least 60 days before the designation expires to determine whether an extension is warranted.

Who Is Eligible to Receive TPS?

Simply being a citizen of a TPS-designated country is not sufficient for an individual to receive protection. Each person must apply with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and meet several stringent eligibility criteria.

An applicant must:

• Be a national of the designated country (or a person without nationality who last habitually resided in the designated country).
• File for TPS during the specified open registration or re-registration period.
• Have been “continuously physically present” in the U.S. since the effective date of the most recent designation of their country.
• Have been “continuously residing” in the U.S. from a date specified by the Secretary.

Furthermore, individuals may be ineligible if they have been convicted of any felony or two or more misdemeanors committed in the U.S., or if they are found inadmissible on certain security-related grounds. Each application is adjudicated on a case-by-case basis.

What Rights and Limitations Come with TPS?

For those who qualify, TPS provides two main benefits: temporary protection from deportation from the United States and eligibility to apply for an Employment Authorization Document (EAD), which allows them to work legally. In some cases, TPS beneficiaries may also be granted travel authorization to leave and return to the U.S.

It is critical to understand the temporary nature of the status. TPS does not provide a direct path to lawful permanent resident status (a “green card”) or U.S. citizenship. When a country’s TPS designation is terminated, an individual’s status reverts to what it was before they were granted TPS. They are then subject to the immigration laws that would have otherwise applied, unless they have successfully secured another form of legal immigration status.