US Temporary Protected Status (TPS) Attorney

No, TPS alone does not give a green card. Under the Supreme Court's Sanchez v. Mayorkas decision, TPS does not count as an 'admission'; so a TPS holder who entered the US without inspection cannot adjust status on their own. Someone who entered with inspection on a visa and has a separate qualifying basis, for example a US-citizen spouse's or parent's petition, can move to a green card. For those who entered without inspection, leaving and re-entering on travel authorization can open a route; this is risky and is assessed case by case. We review your eligibility together.

TPS country designations are not fixed; in 2025 and 2026 many countries' designations were terminated or vacated, and those decisions became the subject of heavy litigation. The Supreme Court's 2026 Mullin v. Doe decision held that termination decisions are largely beyond judicial review, narrowing the court route. When a designation ends, TPS protection and work authorization end, but a separate status you obtained earlier may not be affected. Because the status is fragile, parallel routes such as asylum or adjustment should be weighed early. Always verify the current situation from live USCIS sources.

A law that took effect in 2025 (H.R.1) capped the validity of TPS-based work permits at one year or the duration of TPS, whichever is shorter, so the permit should be renewed early. The general automatic-extension rule was removed at the end of 2025, but TPS-specific automatic extensions were preserved through Federal Register notices. You must verify your work permit's validity and its auto-extension end date from the current Federal Register notice published for your country; your employer must also confirm that date separately.

TPS requires several elements together: being a national of the designated country, being continuously present in the US since the country's designation date, having continuously resided since an earlier date, and registering on time. Brief and innocent departures do not break these periods. Bars such as a felony or two misdemeanors committed in the US cut off the application. We assess your eligibility against the current dates published for your country.

You can, but you must first obtain travel authorization from DHS; the request is made with Form I-131 and functions as an advance parole document. Travel on prior authorization preserves your continuous physical presence. Leaving without authorization carries serious risk: it can jeopardize your status and re-entry. Authorized travel can also have an indirect effect on a green-card application. We assess the decision to travel together before you leave.

The application is made with Form I-821; if you want work authorization, Form I-765 is filed together. Each country's eligibility dates, filing window, and fees are set in the Federal Register notice for that country; a fee waiver can be requested. Once TPS is granted, continuity depends on re-registering on time during each re-registration period; missing the window can end the status. We track the correct dates from your country's current notice and prepare the file on time.

Not on its own. TPS opens no independent path to permanent residence. Under the Supreme Court's Sanchez decision, TPS does not count as an 'admission,' so a TPS holder who entered without inspection cannot adjust status on their own. But someone who entered with inspection and has a separate qualifying basis, for example a US-citizen spouse's petition, can move to a green card. For those who entered without inspection, leaving and re-entering on travel authorization can open a route. Because the status is fragile, we weigh parallel routes such as asylum or adjustment early.

Fees are set in the Federal Register notice published by country and cover Form I-821 and Form I-765 for work authorization. For low-income applicants, a fee waiver (Form I-912) can be requested; the waiver is assessed on income level, the public benefits you receive, or documented hardship. Because fees and waiver conditions can change over time, we verify the current amount from the notice published for your country before filing. We work out the total cost based on your file and assess your waiver eligibility.

The lawyer assesses your eligibility against the current dates and bars published for your country, prepares the initial application and re-registration file, and handles the work-permit and travel-authorization filings. When the status becomes fragile, they review your eligibility to move to a green card and parallel routes such as humanitarian parole and asylum together. Because country designations and litigation change quickly, they track the current situation from live sources and build your strategy accordingly. The goal is to keep your options for moving to a permanent route ready while preserving your status.