This site is designed
to be a one-stop resource for all TPS-related
information. Below, please find a basic
introduction to the TPS program, links to
the statute, regulations, and pertinent
application forms, as well as information
specific to each country (or part thereof)
that is or was designated under the TPS
program. For information about past TPS
designations, please go to our
TPS Archives page.
Countries (or parts thereof) which are
currently designated under the TPS program
are listed below:
Burundi: TPS re-registration period
ended November 1, 2005. EAD extension
sticker valid through February 28, 2006.
El Salvador: TPS re-registration period
from July 3, 2006 to September 1, 2006. EADs
auto-extended to March 9, 2007.
Honduras: TPS re-registration period
ended June 1, 2006. EADs auto-extended to
January 5, 2007.
Liberia: TPS registration period ended
October 14, 2005. EAD extension sticker
valid through February 28, 2006.
Nicaragua: TPS re-registration period
ended June 1, 2006. EADs auto-extended to
January 5, 2007.
Somalia: TPS re-registration period from
July 27, 2006 to September 25, 2006. EADs
auto-extended to March 17, 2007.
Sudan: TPS re-registration period ended
November 1, 2005. EAD extension sticker
valid through May 2, 2007.
Deferred Enforced Departure (DED)
Countries (or parts thereof) that are
currently designated under the DED (Deferred
Enforced Departure) program are listed
below. (Currently, none)
What is
Temporary Protected Status?
Temporary Protected Status (TPS) is a
temporary immigration status granted to
eligible nationals of designated countries
(or parts thereof). In 1990, as part of the
Immigration Act of 1990 (“IMMACT”), P.L.
101-649, Congress established a procedure by
which the Attorney General may provide TPS
to aliens in the United States who are
temporarily unable to safely return to their
home country because of ongoing armed
conflict, the temporary effects of an
environmental disaster, or other
extraordinary and temporary conditions. On
March 1, 2003, pursuant to the Homeland
Security Act of 2002, Public Law 107-296,
the authority to designate a country (or
part thereof) for TPS, and to extend and
terminate TPS designations, was transferred
from the Attorney General to the Secretary
of Homeland Security. At the same time,
responsibility for administering the TPS
program was transferred from the former
Immigration and Naturalization Service
(Service) to U.S. Citizenship and
Immigration Services (USCIS), a component of
the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
During the period for which a country has
been designated under the TPS program, TPS
beneficiaries may remain in the United
States and may obtain work authorization.
However, TPS does not lead to permanent
resident status. When the TPS designation of
a country is terminated, 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
alien had unlawful status prior to receiving
TPS and did not obtain any status during the
TPS period, the alien reverts to unlawful
status upon the termination of that TPS
designation.
Who is Eligible?
An alien who is a national of a country
(or alien having no nationality who last
habitually resided in that country)
designated for TPS is eligible to apply for
benefits under the TPS program if he or she:
- Establishes continuous physical
presence and continuous residence in the
United States for a specified period of
time;
- Is not subject to one of the
criminal, security-related, or other
bars to TPS; and
- Timely applies for TPS benefits. If
the Secretary of Homeland Security
extends a TPS designation beyond the
initial designation period, the
beneficiary must timely re-register to
maintain his or her benefits under the
TPS program.
An alien is not eligible for TPS
if s/he:
- Has been convicted of any felony or
two or more misdemeanors committed in
the United States;
- Is a persecutor, terrorist or
otherwise subject to one of the bars to
asylum; or
- Is subject to one of several
criminal-related grounds of
inadmissibility for which a waiver is
not available.
For more specific information relating to
eligibility, see INA section 244(c)(2) and 8
CFR §§ 244.1 - 244.4.
What is DED
(Deferred Enforced Departure)?
Like TPS, DED is a temporary protection
from removal which is granted to aliens from
a designated country. Unlike TPS, DED is
designated by the Office of the President of
the United States of America, as a
constitutional power to conduct foreign
relations. The Secretary of Homeland
Security can designate a country for TPS,
but the President is the one to designate
DED for nationals of a particular country by
Executive Order or Presidential Memorandum.
DED was first used in 1990 and has been used
a total of five times.
