Temporary Protected Status
Registrations, re-registrations, and a longer-term plan for a status that was never meant to be permanent.
Temporary Protected Status
What is Temporary Protected Status?
TPS is temporary protection from removal, with work authorization, for nationals of countries the government has designated because conditions there make return unsafe.
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It is decided country by country.
A designation, an extension, or a termination applies to one country at a time. What is true for one nationality tells you nothing about another.
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Re-registration is what keeps it.
Protection continues only if you register inside each window announced for your country. Windows open with little warning, and a missed one can cost the status outright.
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It was never a path to a green card.
TPS is temporary by name and by design. Anyone relying on it should be screened in parallel for something durable — an asylum claim, a family petition, or a defense.
Our approach
How Olvera Law Office keeps a TPS case current.
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Establish where your country stands.
Designations have been terminated, extended, and restored by court order inside the same year, so the first step is confirming what applies today rather than last time.
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File inside every window.
We register or re-register as each window opens and file for work authorization alongside it, so nothing depends on a notice you happened to see.
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Plan for the designation ending.
Because termination is a live possibility for most countries, every case carries a parallel assessment of what comes next — and representation if it moves into court.
Eligibility
Eligibility.
Eligibility follows your country's designation and the two dates fixed by it.
You must be a national of a designated country, have continuously resided here since the date set for that designation, have been present since its effective date, register during an open window, and be admissible.
A felony conviction, or two or more misdemeanors committed here, bars TPS. Brief trips generally do not break continuous presence, but travel should be cleared first — and the expiration printed on a card is not always the operative one.
Book a Consultation
Start with a consultation.
As an immigration attorney, Mosiah Olvera reviews your case, identifies the strongest path forward, and helps you take the next step.
Related services
Explore related immigration services.
Your case may touch more than one area of immigration law.