Temporary Protected Granted For Ukraine and Afghanistan
On March 3, 2022, The Department of Homeland Security granted temporary protected status (TPS) to Ukraine for 18 months in light of the war with Russia and the ongoing emergency with civilians. Those that are eligible for this protected status must have lived in the United States since March 1, 2022. Those who try to travel to the U.S. after March 1, 2022 are not considered eligible for TPS.
Also, The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced March 16, 2022 the designation of Afghanistan for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for 18 months. Only individuals who are already residing in the United States as of March 15, 2022, will be eligible for TPS.
Individuals will need to meet all the requirements to receive TPS including security and background checks. Those that try to travel to the U.S. after March 15, 2022 will not be eligible.
The designated of Temporary Protected Status
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.
The Secretary designate a country for TPS due to the following temporary conditions in the country:
- Ongoing armed conflict
- An environmental disaster
- Other extraordinary and temporary conditions like earthquakes, epidemics etc.
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:
- Applying for nonimmigrant status
- Filing for adjustment of status based on an immigrant petition
- Applying for any other immigration benefit or protection for which you may be eligible
- Burma (Myanmar)
- El Salvador
- Haiti
- Honduras
- Nepal
- Nicaragua
- Somalia
- Sudan
- South Sudan
- Syria
- Venezuela
- Yemen
To be eligible for TPS, you must:
- Be a national of a country designated for TPS, or a person without nationality who last habitually resided in the designated country;
- File during the open initial registration or re-registration period, or you meet the requirements for late initial filing during any extension of your country’s TPS designation (Late initial filers see ‘Filing Late’ section below);
- Have been continuously physically present (CPP) in the United States since the effective date of the most recent designation date of your country; and
- Have been continuously residing (CR) in the United States since the date specified for your country. (See your country’s TPS web page to the left). The law allows an exception to the continuous physical presence and continuous residence requirements for brief, casual and innocent departures from the United States. When you apply or re-register for TPS, you must inform USCIS of all absences from the United States since the CPP and CR dates. USCIS will determine whether the exception applies in your case.
You may NOT be eligible for TPS or to maintain your existing TPS if you:
- Have been convicted of any felony or two or more misdemeanors committed in the United States;
- Are found inadmissible as an immigrant under applicable grounds in INA section 212(a), including non-waivable criminal and security-related grounds;
- Are subject to any of the mandatory bars to asylum. These include, but are not limited to, participating in the persecution of another individual or engaging in or inciting terrorist activity;
- Fail to meet the continuous physical presence and continuous residence in the United States requirements;
- Fail to meet initial or late initial TPS registration requirements; or
- If granted TPS, you fail to re-register for TPS, as required, without good cause.
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.
What happens after 18 months?
Should the situation in Ukraine or Afghanistan not improve drastically by the time the TPS elapses, the Department of Homeland Security has the authority to extend the protected status. Should this happen, individuals should check if it’s necessary to re-register or renew their work authorization
To learn more about TPS including how to file and the reliability requirements, click here.
The information on this page comes from USCIS and other trusted sources. It is intended for guidance and is updated as often as possible. citizenstests.com does not give legal advice, nor are any of our materials intended to be taken as legal advice. We only provide a video courses question & answer for all.
Want to sign up for our weekly newsletter covering all things immigration?
You may also know this
