Is Your Temporary Protected Status Scheduled to End Soon?

Temporary Protected Status (TPS) is a designation given to citizens of a protected country by the Secretary of Homeland Security. TPS is granted due to conditions in a person’s or group of person’s home country that temporarily prevent them from returning safely, or in situations in which the country’s officials are not able to manage the return of its nationals adequately. Reasons the Secretary may grant protected status include:

• Ongoing armed conflict;
• An environmental disaster (such as a hurricane or earthquake);
• An epidemic; or
• Other extraordinary and temporary conditions.

Typically, when one is in the U.S. on TPS, he or she is eligible for employment, is not removable from the U.S. for any reason, and enjoys the freedom to travel as any other citizen of the world would. TPS usually lasts for six to 18 months but can be extended on an as-needed basis.

Countries Currently Under TPS

As of right now, there are currently 10 countries on Temporary Protected Status:

• El Salvador
• Haiti
• Honduras
• Nepal
• Nicaragua
• Somalia
• Sudan
• South Sudan
• Syria
• Yemen

Though Syrian nationals did receive an extension, the U.S. government plans to remove all 10 countries from the list in the coming years. For some, protected status ends this summer, while for others, such as citizens of Syria, TPS designation will continue through the fall of 2019.

Your Options

If your TPS designation is set to end within the coming months or year, you may be feeling nervous and overwhelmed. Whether you want to continue living in the U.S. because you enjoy it or because you fear returning to your home country, you deserve a shot at permanent residency and eventual citizenship. A skilled Chicago immigration lawyer can help you become a permanent lawful resident by doing one of the following three things:

• Apply for nonimmigrant status;
• File for an adjustment of status based on an immigrant petition; or
• Apply for another immigration protection benefit for which you may be eligible.

When Continued TPS is Not an Option

For some, continued protection status or permanent residency is not an option. Those individuals include:

• Those who have been convicted of a felony or two or more misdemeanors while in the U.S.;
• Those who failed to meet the continuous physical presence and continued residence in the United States requirements;
• Those who fail to register for TPS, as required; and
• Those who fail to meet the initial or late-initial TPS registration requirements.

If you do not meet any of the above requirements, you are likely eligible for continued TPS designation and non-immigrant status.

Contact a Chicago Immigration Lawyer

Temporary Protected Status is in place to protect nationals of certain countries from the hostile environments and governments of their home countries. If you are on TPS and worried about what the impending expiration of your TPS designation means for your future, reach out to the Chicago immigration attorneys at Kriezelman Burton & Associates, LLC, to discuss your options for non-immigration status today. Do not wait, as the permanent residency application takes significant time to complete. Call now to get started.