Mexico does not have TPS. The Secretary of Homeland Security has never designated Mexico for Temporary Protected Status, so no Mexican national can register for it, file a Form I-821 for it, or claim its protection from removal. Anyone telling you otherwise is either mistaken or running a scam. If you are a Mexican national in the United States looking for protection, the real question is which of the other humanitarian options you might qualify for.
Why Mexico Has Never Been Designated
Federal law gives the Secretary of Homeland Security only three grounds for designating a country: an ongoing armed conflict that would put returning nationals in serious danger, an environmental disaster combined with an official request from the country’s government, or extraordinary and temporary conditions that prevent nationals from returning safely.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1254a – Temporary Protected Status No administration has concluded that Mexico meets any of them.
The armed conflict ground requires more than generalized crime or cartel violence. Countries designated under this provision have typically faced civil wars or insurgencies endangering civilians across large regions. Cartel violence in Mexico, however severe, has not been treated by the U.S. government as an armed conflict in the statutory sense.
The environmental disaster ground requires Mexico itself to formally request the designation after a qualifying event such as an earthquake or hurricane. Mexico has not made that request.
The third ground, extraordinary and temporary conditions, gives the Secretary broader discretion, but the conditions still have to be both extraordinary and temporary rather than chronic. Advocacy groups have pressed for a Mexican designation, citing cartel violence, displacement, and natural disasters, but advocacy alone does not trigger anything. The decision belongs entirely to the Secretary of Homeland Security, and no Secretary has found the criteria met.2U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Temporary Protected Status
The Direction of TPS Right Now
Anyone hoping Mexico might be added to the TPS list soon should look at where the program is actually heading. In 2025, the Department of Homeland Security terminated TPS designations for Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua, Venezuela, South Sudan, Burma, Haiti, and Ethiopia.2U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Temporary Protected Status Those terminations stripped protection from hundreds of thousands of people, some of whom had held TPS for decades.
When a designation ends, beneficiaries revert to whatever status they held before receiving TPS. Someone who entered without inspection and has no other basis for status becomes undocumented and subject to removal. Against that backdrop, a new designation for Mexico is not a realistic near-term possibility, and no immigration plan should depend on one.
What a Designation Would Actually Require
A TPS designation begins when the Secretary of Homeland Security publishes a notice in the Federal Register naming the country and setting an initial registration period lasting between 6 and 18 months.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1254a – Temporary Protected Status Without that notice, there is no application form to file, no registration window open, and no benefit to claim. That is the current situation for Mexico. No Federal Register notice exists, so no Mexican national can file for TPS today, regardless of what any website, notary, or paid preparer says.
It is also worth being clear about what TPS is not. Even in countries that hold it, TPS is temporary and does not by itself lead to a green card or citizenship. When the designation ends, the protection ends with it.
What Mexican Nationals Can Actually Apply For
Because TPS is off the table, Mexican nationals who need protection from removal have to work with the options that exist. Each has real limits, and none is easy.
Asylum
Asylum requires a well-founded fear of persecution based on race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group. The persecution must come from the government or from actors the government cannot or will not control. General crime, poverty, or unsafe conditions do not qualify. You must generally file within one year of your last arrival, though exceptions exist for changed circumstances or extraordinary situations that prevented timely filing.3eCFR. 8 CFR 208.4 – Filing the Application A grant of asylum eventually opens the door to a green card.
Withholding of Removal
Withholding of removal is a backstop when asylum is barred, including when the one-year deadline was missed. There is no filing deadline, but the standard of proof is higher: you must show it is more likely than not that you would be persecuted if returned, roughly a 51% probability compared with asylum’s roughly 10% threshold. Withholding does not lead to a green card and only bars removal to the country of feared persecution; the government could still remove you to a third country that will accept you.
U Visa
If you were the victim of a qualifying crime in the United States and helped or are willing to help law enforcement investigate or prosecute it, you may qualify for a U visa. Qualifying crimes include domestic violence, sexual assault, trafficking, kidnapping, extortion, and other serious offenses.4U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Victims of Criminal Activity: U Nonimmigrant Status A law enforcement certification of your helpfulness is required. U visa holders can eventually apply for a green card, but the waiting list runs years long.
DACA Renewals
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals is currently available only as a renewal for people who already have it. USCIS accepts initial DACA requests on paper but is not processing them because of ongoing court orders. If you already hold DACA, file your renewal 120 to 150 days before your current authorization expires.5U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Consideration of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) DACA does not lead to permanent residence, but while active it provides work authorization and protection from removal.
Family or Employment-Based Petitions
Some Mexican nationals in the United States have a path through a qualifying family relationship or an employer sponsor. Those paths sit outside humanitarian protection and have their own rules, waits, and bars, particularly for anyone who entered without inspection or accumulated unlawful presence. An immigration attorney can tell you whether one of them applies to you.
Watch Out for TPS Scams Targeting Mexicans
Because so many Mexican nationals are looking for any way to legalize their status, TPS scams aimed at this community are common. The classic version involves someone calling themselves a “notario” who offers to file a TPS application on your behalf. In much of Latin America a notario is a licensed legal professional; in the United States a notary public has no legal training and no authority to give immigration advice or prepare immigration forms. Only licensed attorneys and representatives accredited by the Department of Justice can legally advise you.
If someone says they can file TPS for you as a Mexican national, they are describing something that does not exist. There is no form, no fee, and no filing address for a Mexican TPS case, because there is no designation. Paying for one will cost you money and can also damage a future case if false claims or bad paperwork end up on your immigration record.
Report immigration scams to your state consumer protection office and to the Federal Trade Commission at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. Reporting a scam will not affect your own immigration case.6U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Report Immigration Scams If you need help but cannot afford a private attorney, look for a DOJ-accredited representative through a nonprofit legal services organization in your area. That is the person who can honestly tell you what you qualify for, and it will not be TPS.