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.

What is TPS?
Who Is Eligible for TPS?
How Do I Apply for TPS?

The Statute (INA § 244) and Regulations (8 CFR § 244)
Forms:

I-821, Application for Temporary Protected Status
I-765, Application for Employment Authorization

Countries (or parts thereof) which are currently designated under the TPS program are listed below:

Burundi: TPS registration period October 7, 2004, to December 6, 2004
El Salvador
Honduras
Liberia: TPS registration period August 25, 2004 to February 21, 2005
Montserrat: TPS ends effective February 27, 2005
Nicaragua
Somalia
Sudan: TPS re-registration period October 7, 2004, to December 6, 2004; TPS registration period under the re-designation is from October 7, 2004 to April 5, 2005

Deferred Enforced Departure (DED)

What is 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:

1. Establishes continuous physical presence and continuous residence in the United States for a specified period of time;
2. Is not subject to one of the criminal, security-related, or other bars to TPS; and
3. 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:

1. Has been convicted of any felony or two or more misdemeanors committed in the United States;
2. Is a persecutor, terrorist or otherwise subject to one of the bars to asylum; or
3. 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.