Temporary Protected Status (TPS)

No, TPS is not automatic. People must apply, pay a filing fee, and pass immigration screening. The application process can be complicated, and we recommend contacting a licensed immigration attorney. The registration period for eligible individuals to submit TPS applications is stated in the Federal Register Notice for each country with TPS. 

TPS is a temporary status, granted because conditions in the home country  prevent safe return of that country’s nationals living in the United States, or because the home country temporarily is unable to accept their return. TPS has been extended year after year when country conditions have not improved, so that many TPS holders have lived in the United States for decades, with strong ties to work, families, and communities.

People with TPS are not subject to deportation and can get work permits, but TPS does not give them a path to permanent residence or citizenship. Only DHS can grant or extend TPS, but Congress could create a pathway to permanent residence for people with TPS and similar statuses, as it did on December 26, 2019 for Liberians who have lived in the United States since November 20, 2014.

The registration period determines how long individuals have to apply for TPS. The designation period determines how long TPS and the protections under TPS are valid.

The Center for Migration Studies analyzed the TPS beneficiaries from Haiti, Honduras, and El Salvador and found:

• The labor force participation rate of the TPS population from the three nations ranges from 81 to 88 percent, which is well above the rate for the total U.S. population (63 percent) and the foreign-born population (66 percent).
• Roughly 30 percent own homes in the United States.
• About 68,000, or 22 percent, of the TPS population from these nations arrived as children under the age of 16.
• TPS beneficiaries from these nations have 273,000 U.S. citizen children.
• More than one-half of El Salvadoran and Honduran, and 16 percent of the Haitian TPS beneficiaries have resided in the United States for 20 years or more.
• Eighty-seven percent of the TPS population from these countries speaks at least some English, and slightly over one-half speak English well, very well, or only speak English.
• About 27,000, or 11 percent, of those in the labor force are self-employed, having created jobs for themselves and likely for others as well.

• Temporary Protected Status (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services website)
• Temporary Protected Status (U.S. Department of Justice Executive Office for Immigration Review website)
• A Statistical and Demographic Profile of the US Temporary Protected Status Populations from El Salvador, Honduras, and Haiti (Center for Migration Studies, 2017)
• Temporary Protected Status: An Overview (American Immigration Council)