Temporary Protected Status Attorney in West Covina

Protection Has Requirements.

TPS rules, deadlines, and eligibility can change over time.

Temporary Protected Status, commonly known as TPS, is a humanitarian immigration protection available to certain nationals of countries designated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security because of armed conflict, environmental disasters, or other extraordinary and temporary conditions.

TPS can allow an eligible person who is already in the United States to remain here temporarily while the designation for that country is in effect. Eligible beneficiaries may also obtain employment authorization and, in appropriate circumstances, permission to travel outside the United States.

The Law Firm of Oscar A. Ischiu assists individuals with Temporary Protected Status matters from its West Covina office, serving clients throughout the San Gabriel Valley and Los Angeles County. Because TPS rules are tied to specific country designations, registration periods, residence dates, and federal announcements, eligibility should be evaluated using the current requirements rather than an older list of countries or deadlines.

What Is Temporary Protected Status?

The Secretary of Homeland Security may designate a foreign country for TPS when conditions temporarily prevent that country’s nationals from returning safely or when the country is unable to adequately handle their return.

Possible reasons for a TPS designation can include:

• ongoing armed conflict;
• environmental disasters and related disruptions;
• extraordinary and temporary conditions that make safe return difficult; or
• other qualifying circumstances identified by the Department of Homeland Security.

A TPS designation applies only under the terms announced by the federal government. Each designation has its own effective dates, continuous-residence requirements, continuous-physical-presence requirements, registration periods, and re-registration rules.

That means nationality alone is not enough. A person must satisfy the requirements applicable to the specific TPS designation.

Who May Qualify for TPS?

To qualify for TPS, an applicant generally must be a national of a country currently designated for TPS or, in some situations, a person without nationality who last habitually resided in a designated country.

The applicant must also satisfy the applicable continuous residence and continuous physical presence dates established for that country’s designation.

TPS is generally designed to protect qualifying individuals who were already present in the United States by the required dates. A new TPS designation does not ordinarily create a way for someone outside the United States to enter simply because conditions in the designated country are dangerous.

People outside the United States or those who arrived after the applicable TPS eligibility dates may need to explore a different immigration or humanitarian process depending on their circumstances.

TPS Registration and Re-Registration

TPS protection is not automatic. An eligible person generally must file Form I-821, Application for Temporary Protected Status, and comply with the registration requirements established for the applicable designation.

DHS establishes specific registration periods. Current beneficiaries may also be required to re-register during an announced re-registration window when a designation is extended.

In limited circumstances, USCIS permits late initial registration when an applicant meets specific regulatory requirements. A person who missed an initial filing period should not assume that late registration is either automatically available or automatically barred. The reason for the late filing and the person’s immigration circumstances matter.

Because registration windows can be relatively short and may change after extensions, redesignations, litigation, or new federal announcements, applicants should verify the current deadline for their particular country before filing.

Continuous Residence and Physical Presence

TPS applicants must generally establish both continuous residence in the United States and continuous physical presence beginning on the dates specified for their country’s designation.

These are separate requirements. The relevant dates differ by country and designation.

Brief, casual, and innocent departures may not necessarily destroy eligibility in every case, but international travel should be evaluated carefully. Leaving the United States without the appropriate travel authorization can create serious immigration consequences depending on the person’s history and circumstances.

Can TPS Holders Work in the United States?

TPS beneficiaries may obtain employment authorization while their TPS protection remains valid. Employment authorization is generally documented through an Employment Authorization Document, commonly called an EAD.

Depending on the applicable federal announcement, DHS may also automatically extend certain previously issued TPS-related EADs. The dates and documents covered by an automatic extension vary by designation, so workers and employers should rely on the current USCIS or Federal Register notice rather than an older expiration date.

Travel While You Have TPS

A TPS beneficiary may be able to request authorization to travel outside the United States. Travel should be planned carefully and generally requires obtaining the appropriate authorization before departure.

The immigration consequences of TPS-authorized travel can depend on the person’s prior manner of entry, immigration history, removal proceedings, unlawful presence, and future plans for adjustment of status.

USCIS guidance recognizes that certain TPS beneficiaries who are inspected and admitted following authorized TPS travel may satisfy the inspection-and-admission requirement for adjustment of status under federal law. That does not mean TPS itself creates eligibility for a green card, and other adjustment requirements and grounds of inadmissibility still apply.

What Can Make Someone Ineligible for TPS?

TPS has statutory eligibility restrictions. An applicant may be disqualified because of certain criminal convictions, inadmissibility grounds, security-related concerns, or mandatory asylum bars.

Among the criminal restrictions, a person generally cannot receive TPS if convicted in the United States of:

• one felony; or
• two or more misdemeanors.

How an offense is classified for TPS purposes can require more analysis than simply looking at the label used in a state criminal case. Anyone with an arrest or conviction history should have the record reviewed before assuming they are eligible or ineligible.

Other issues can include failure to satisfy the registration requirements, failure to meet the applicable residence or physical-presence dates, and certain grounds that make a person inadmissible or otherwise barred under federal law.

Does TPS Lead to a Green Card?

TPS by itself does not grant lawful permanent residence and does not create an automatic path to U.S. citizenship.

A TPS beneficiary may, however, have a separate immigration basis that could lead to permanent residence. Examples can include an approved family-based petition, employment-based immigration, asylum, or another form of relief.

Whether a person can adjust status inside the United States depends on more than TPS. Entry history, authorized travel, prior immigration violations, admissibility, available visa categories, and other statutory requirements can all affect eligibility.

For this reason, a TPS beneficiary considering permanent residence should have the potential immigration path reviewed separately rather than assuming TPS automatically converts into a green card.

What Happens When a TPS Designation Ends?

TPS is temporary by definition. DHS periodically reviews each country’s designation and may extend, redesignate, or terminate TPS depending on conditions and applicable federal law.

If a country’s TPS designation ends, TPS protection does not automatically turn into another immigration status. A beneficiary generally returns to whatever lawful immigration status the person otherwise holds, if any, or may need to evaluate another available immigration option.

This makes long-term planning important. Someone who may qualify for another immigration benefit should not necessarily wait until a TPS termination date before reviewing that possibility.

Why We Do Not Publish a Static TPS Country List

The countries covered by TPS, along with registration deadlines, employment authorization extensions, residence dates, and termination dates, can change through DHS announcements, Federal Register notices, and court decisions.

For that reason, an older list on a law firm’s website can become inaccurate even when it was correct when first published.

Applicants should confirm the current designation for their country through USCIS and the applicable Federal Register notice. The Law Firm of Oscar A. Ischiu can also review the current designation and determine how its requirements apply to the individual’s circumstances.

TPS and Other Immigration Options

TPS is only one part of U.S. immigration law. Depending on the circumstances, a person may also have questions involving family-based immigration, adjustment of status, asylum, removal proceedings, employment authorization, or another humanitarian benefit.

Having TPS does not prevent someone from pursuing another immigration benefit for which that person is independently eligible. At the same time, filing for another benefit does not guarantee approval simply because TPS has been granted.

People with complicated immigration histories, prior removal orders, criminal records, previous periods of unlawful presence, or plans to travel should be particularly careful before making assumptions about how TPS interacts with another immigration process.

Temporary Protected Status Help in West Covina

The Law Firm of Oscar A. Ischiu assists clients with Temporary Protected Status matters from its West Covina office, serving the San Gabriel Valley and communities throughout Los Angeles County.

If you are considering an initial TPS application, need to re-register, have questions about employment authorization or travel, or want to understand whether another immigration path may be available while you have TPS, the first step is confirming the rules currently applicable to your country and your individual immigration history.

Contact the firm to discuss your Temporary Protected Status matter and the immigration options that may apply to your circumstances.