Temporary Protected Status

ALERT: The Department of Homeland Security has extended through Aug. 3, 2025, the validity of certain Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) issued to Temporary Protected Status (TPS) beneficiaries under the designation of Haiti.

If you are currently a TPS beneficiary under the Haiti designation and you have not yet re-registered for TPS under the most recent extension, you must submit Form I-821, Application for Temporary Protected Status, by Aug. 30, 2024, to keep your TPS benefits.

It is important to timely re-register during the re-registration period and not to wait until your EAD expires. Delaying re-registration could result in gaps in your employment authorization documentation. For additional information, please see the Federal Register notice.

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ALERT: Certain TPS beneficiaries and applicants who electronically filed Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, did not receive a receipt notice or their receipt notice did not include language about the 540-day automatic Employment Authorization Document (EAD) extension. On or before the week of March 13, we will send these applicants an email and/or text notification instructing them to sign into their USCIS online account and obtain a corrected, printable receipt notice. We will also send corrected paper receipt notices by mail. Please note that, if you are a TPS beneficiary and your TPS country designation is still current, you are authorized to work. However, you must obtain your corrected receipt notice to present when completing Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification. If you are eligible for the 540-day automatic EAD extension, any USCIS receipt notice for your Form I-765-- together with your expired EAD-- will serve as acceptable proof of employment authorization and EAD validity during the automatic extension period.

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ALERT: Beginning July 1, 2022, USCIS will issue a new travel authorization document to Temporary Protected Status (TPS) beneficiaries: Form I-512T, Authorization for Travel by a Noncitizen to the United States.

Beginning July 1, 2022, USCIS will issue a new travel authorization document to Temporary Protected Status (TPS) beneficiaries: Form I-512T, Authorization for Travel by a Noncitizen to the United States. We will no longer issue advance parole documents as evidence of our prior consent to a TPS beneficiary’s travel outside the United States.

If you are a TPS beneficiary with an existing, unexpired advance parole document, you may continue to use it for travel outside the United States through the period of validity printed on it.

If you are a TPS beneficiary applying for a new travel authorization document, you should continue to use Form I-131, Application for Travel Document. If you have a pending Form I-131, you do not need to file a new application.

We will continue issuing advance parole documents to noncitizens with pending applications for TPS (Form I-821).

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Recent TPS Designations/Extensions:

What is TPS

The Secretary of Homeland Security may designate a foreign country for TPS due to conditions in the country that temporarily prevent the country's nationals from returning safely, or in certain circumstances, where the country is unable to handle the return of its nationals adequately. USCIS may grant TPS to eligible nationals of certain countries (or parts of countries), who are already in the United States. Eligible individuals without nationality who last resided in the designated country may also be granted TPS.

The Secretary may designate a country for TPS due to the following temporary conditions in the country:

During a designated period, individuals who are TPS beneficiaries or who are found preliminarily eligible for TPS upon initial review of their cases (prima facie eligible):

Once granted TPS, an individual also cannot be detained by DHS on the basis of his or her immigration status in the United States.

TPS is a temporary benefit that does not lead to lawful permanent resident status or give any other immigration status. However, registration for TPS does not prevent you from:

PLEASE NOTE: To be granted any other immigration benefit you must still meet all the eligibility requirements for that particular benefit. An application for TPS does not affect an application for asylum or any other immigration benefit and vice versa. Denial of an application for asylum or any other immigration benefit does not affect your ability to register for TPS, although the grounds of denial of that application may also lead to denial of TPS.

Countries Currently Designated for TPS

Select the country link for additional specific country information.

Eligibility Requirements

To be eligible for TPS, you must:

You may NOT be eligible for TPS or to maintain your existing TPS if you:

What to File

You must include the necessary forms, evidence, fees, or fee waiver request when filing your TPS application. Below is information about what you must include in your TPS package. Please also check your country’s specific TPS page to the left to see if there are any special filing instructions specific to your TPS-designated country.

Forms

To register or re-register for TPS you must file Form I-821, Application for Temporary Protected Status. Eligible nationals of certain countries, or individuals without nationality who last habitually resided in those countries, can now file Form I-821 online. All applicants eligible to file for TPS under one of the current designations may file Form I-821 online.

When filing an initial TPS application or re-registering for TPS, you can also request an employment authorization document (EAD) by submitting a completed Form I-765, Request for Employment Authorization, at the time of filing Form I-821. You may also file your Form I-765 request separately at a later date. Filing Form I-821 with Form I-765 may help you receive your EAD more promptly if you are eligible. You may also file Form I-765 online if filing concurrently with Form I-821 online.

When you apply, if you are aware that a relevant ground of inadmissibility applies to you and you need a waiver to obtain TPS, please include a Form I-601, Application for Waiver of Grounds of Inadmissibility, with your TPS application package. However, you do not need to file a new Form I-601 for an incident that USCIS has already waived with a prior TPS application. USCIS may grant a waiver of certain inadmissibility grounds for humanitarian purposes, to assure family unity, or when it is in the public interest.

These forms are free and available on the forms section of the USCIS website at: www.uscis.gov/forms.

Evidence

When filing an initial TPS application, you must submit:

Any document that is not in English must be accompanied by a complete English translation. The translator must certify that:

Identity and Nationality Evidence
We encourage you to submit primary evidence (see below), if available. If USCIS does not find the document(s) you submit with your application to be sufficient, we will send you a request for additional evidence. If you cannot submit primary evidence of your identity and nationality, you may submit the secondary evidence listed below with your application.

The following table explains the different types of evidence you can provide.

If you do not have any of the primary evidence listed above, you must submit an affidavit with:

USCIS may interview you regarding your identity and nationality, and you may also submit additional evidence of your nationality and identity then, if available.

You may also provide any other document or information that you believe helps prove your nationality.

PLEASE NOTE: Birth in a TPS-designated country does not always mean you are a national of that country. Please see your TPS-designated country’s nationality laws for further information.

Date of Entry Evidence

Continuous Residence (CR) Evidence

Please see Form I-821 instructions for more details on acceptable evidence.

Fees

There is a fee for Form I-821 if you are registering for TPS for the first time. There is no fee for Form I-821 if you are re-registering for TPS.

Other related fees for initial registrations and re-registrations vary depending on:

Please review the Form I-821 webpage carefully before applying, including the form instructions (PDF, 366.78 KB) and the Filing Fee section. This section explain what fees to pay and your payment options. Refer to the chart under Special Instructions for fee information. If you do not pay the appropriate fees (or submit a proper fee waiver request), we will reject your application. You can also find the filing fees for TPS-related forms on our Fee Schedule page.

Fee Waiver

If you cannot afford the costs associated with the TPS filing, please make sure to include a fee waiver request on Form I-912, Application for Fee Waiver (or other written request). For more information about filing a fee waiver request, visit the webpages on Form I-912 and on Additional Information on Filing a Fee Waiver.

If you are filing an initial application and USCIS denies your fee waiver request, you may re-file and pay the correct fees either before the registration deadline or within 45 days of the date on the fee waiver denial notice, whichever is later.

If you are filing a re-registration application and USCIS denies your fee waiver request on or before the re-registration deadline, we recommend that you re-file and pay the correct fees before the re-registration deadline. If you are unable to file before the re-registration deadline, you may still re-file after the deadline and this will be reviewed under good cause for late re-registration.

When and Where to File

For information about when and where you must file your TPS application, please see the country specific pages to the left.

Application Process

Step 1: File Your Application
Once you have prepared your TPS package with the forms, evidence and filing fees (or request for a fee waiver), you will need to send it to the address indicated on your TPS country page to the left. Please make sure you sign your application and include the correct fee amount (or fee waiver request). These are the two of the most common mistakes USCIS receives on TPS applications. Please look above at the fee chart to see what fees you must pay (a properly documented fee waiver request may be submitted). If you do not pay the proper fees (or submit a proper fee waiver request), your application will be rejected.

Step 2: USCIS Receives Your Application
When USCIS receives your application, we will review it for completeness and for the proper fees or a properly documented fee waiver request. If your case meets the basic acceptance criteria, your application will be entered into our system and we will send you a receipt notice. At the top of this notice you will find a receipt number which can be used to check the status of your case online.

If you do not receive your receipt notice within three weeks of filing, you can call the USCIS Contact Center at 1-800-375-5283 to request assistance. If your application is rejected at the initial review stage, you may re-file within the registration period after correcting the problems described in the USCIS notification.

If your application was rejected because we determined you were not eligible for a fee waiver, you may submit a new TPS package. Go to the ‘Fee Waiver’ section above for more information.

Step 3: USCIS Contacts You
If USCIS needs to collect your photograph, signature, and/or fingerprints (these are called biometrics), USCIS will send you an appointment notice to have your biometrics captured at an Application Support Center (ASC). Every TPS applicant over 14 years old must have their biometrics collected. Biometrics are required for identity verification, background checks and the production of an EAD, if one has been requested.

In certain situations, such as when it’s impossible to take a fingerprint, USCIS can waive the collection of biometrics. In some cases, we may be able to reuse the biometrics previously collected in association with your previous TPS application. Even if you do not need to attend an ASC appointment, you still need to pay the biometrics fee (if required) to help cover costs associated with reusing your biometrics.

Step 4: Go to the ASC
When you report to an ASC, you must bring:

  1. Evidence of nationality and identity with a photograph of you, such as a passport
  2. Your receipt notice
  3. Your ASC appointment notice
  4. Your current EAD, if you already have one

If you cannot make your scheduled appointment, you may reschedule. To reschedule an ASC appointment, make a copy of your appointment notice to retain for your records, then mail the original notice with your rescheduling request to the ASC address listed on the notice. You should submit your request for rescheduling as soon as you know you have an unavoidable conflict on your scheduled ASC date. A new appointment notice will be sent to you by mail. Please note that rescheduling a biometrics appointment may cause the adjudication of your application to be delayed.

If you need an accommodation due to a disability that affects your ability to go to the ASC, please go to the Disability Accommodations for the Public webpage for more information.

WARNING: If you fail to appear for your ASC appointment without rescheduling, or if you repeatedly miss scheduled ASC appointments, your TPS application could be denied for abandonment.

If there is an emergency need for you to travel abroad for humanitarian reasons, you may request expedited processing on your advance parole application (Form I-131) after you have appeared at an ASC for your biometrics appointment. Please see the travel section below for more information.

Step 5: USCIS Determines Work Eligibility
If you are not seeking an employment authorization document (EAD), skip to Step 6.

USCIS will review your case to determine whether you are eligible to work before we make a final decision on your TPS application. If you are found to be eligible upon initial review of your TPS application (prima facie eligible) you will receive an EAD.

Note: If your application is denied and you choose to appeal to the USCIS Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) or request review of your application by an immigration judge, your EAD will be extended while you are waiting for a decision. If your EAD expires, to request an extension of your EAD, you must file a Form I-765 along with evidence of your appeal to the AAO or that you have requested an immigration judge to review your TPS application.

USCIS makes every effort to avoid backlogs at this step, but we urge you to remember that USCIS may experience a higher volume of applications in the first few months of a registration period.

Step 6: USCIS Adjudicates the Application
During this phase, we may ask you for additional documents to establish your eligibility for TPS. If you receive a request for evidence (RFE) or a notice of intent to deny, it is extremely important that you respond immediately to avoid processing delays and possible denial for failure to timely respond. Upon completion of your case, USCIS will notify you if your request for TPS is granted or denied. If one of the waivable grounds of inadmissibility applies to you, USCIS will give you an opportunity to submit a Form I-601, Application for Waiver of Grounds of Inadmissibility if you did not include this with your TPS package. Please submit this form within the time frame specified in the USCIS notice, or your case will be denied.

Step 7: USCIS Approves or Denies the Application

If your application for TPS is…Then…
Approved and you filed an initial applicationUSCIS will send you an approval notice and an EAD, if you requested one and haven’t received it before this step.
Approved and you filed a re-registration applicationUSCIS will send you an approval notice if you do not request an EAD.
USCIS will send you a new EAD if you do request one.
DeniedUSCIS will send you a letter indicating the reason for your denial and, if applicable, provide you with the opportunity to appeal the denial.
Maintaining TPS

Once you are granted TPS, you must re-register during each re-registration period to maintain TPS benefits. This applies to all TPS beneficiaries, including those who were initially granted by USCIS, an Immigration Judge, or the BIA. Follow the instructions above to apply for re-registration.

Employment Authorization Document (EAD) Extension

If you have and maintain TPS, you may receive an extension of your EAD:

Filing Late

Late Re-Registration for TPS
USCIS may accept a late re-registration application if you have good cause for filing after the end of the re-registration period of your country. You must submit a letter that explains your reason for filing late with your re-registration application.
If you file your TPS re-registration application late, processing may be delayed and can lead to gaps in your work authorization.

Late Initial Filing for TPS
You can apply for TPS for the first time during an extension of your country’s TPS designation period. If you qualify to file your initial TPS application late, you must still independently meet all the TPS eligibility requirements listed in the Eligibility section above.

To qualify to file your initial TPS application late, you must meet at least one of the late initial filing conditions below: