Temporary Protected Status for Honduras Terminated: Green Card Options

Temporary Protected Status for Honduras ended on September 8, 2025, and the termination is currently in force. A federal judge in the Northern District of California vacated the decision on December 31, 2025, but the Ninth Circuit stayed that ruling on February 9, 2026, finding the government likely to win on appeal. The Honduras TPS termination therefore stands as of early 2026, and roughly 72,000 former beneficiaries have lost the work authorization and protection from removal that came with the designation.¹²

What Changed on September 8, 2025

The Secretary of Homeland Security concluded in July 2025 that Honduras no longer met the statutory conditions for TPS: the disruption caused by Hurricane Mitch had resolved, and the country was able to handle the return of its nationals. DHS published a Federal Register notice terminating the designation effective September 8, 2025, with a 60-day transition window for employment authorization documents.³

That transition window has closed. Employment authorization documents issued under Honduras TPS are no longer valid, and DHS is not issuing further auto-extensions through Federal Register notice. Continuing to work on an expired Honduras TPS EAD carries enforcement risk for both the worker and the employer. Protection from removal that flowed from TPS is also gone.

The Court Fight and Why It Still Matters

In National TPS Alliance v. Noem, a district judge vacated the Secretary’s termination decision on December 31, 2025. That order would have restored TPS for Honduran beneficiaries, but the government appealed immediately, and on February 9, 2026, the Ninth Circuit stayed the district court’s order after finding the government likely to succeed on the merits.²

The practical effect: termination remains in effect while the appeal proceeds. TPS is not currently active for Honduran nationals, and no benefits flow from it in the interim. If the Ninth Circuit ultimately rules against the government, TPS could be reinstated, so anyone affected should track the litigation and keep documentation of continuous residence and identity in case reinstatement or a future redesignation opens a filing window.

Your Immigration Status Now

When a TPS designation ends, a beneficiary reverts to whatever immigration status they held before receiving TPS, provided that status is still valid.³ If you held a valid visa, a pending adjustment of status application, or another lawful basis before or during your time on TPS, that basis continues as long as it hasn’t lapsed.

If you entered the country without inspection and had no other status before receiving TPS, termination puts you back in the position of having no lawful immigration status. That is where the majority of former Honduras TPS holders now stand, and it is the point where the pathway questions below become urgent.

Whether You Can Still Get a Green Card

TPS by itself never created a green card. The Supreme Court settled that in Sanchez v. Mayorkas (2021): a grant of TPS does not count as an “inspection and admission,” so someone who originally entered the country without inspection cannot use TPS alone to adjust to lawful permanent resident status.⁴

There is one important workaround, and whether you used it while TPS was active largely determines your options today. A TPS holder who obtained a travel authorization (Form I-131, resulting in a Form I-512T document), left the country, and returned through a U.S. port of entry was treated as inspected and admitted on re-entry. For returns on or after July 1, 2022, USCIS treats that re-entry as a formal admission.⁵ That admission can still serve as a building block for adjustment of status years later, even though TPS itself has ended.

Meeting the inspected-and-admitted threshold is necessary but not sufficient. You still need a qualifying immigrant petition — family-based, employer-sponsored, or another category — plus an available visa number, and you must not be barred on other inadmissibility grounds.

If you never traveled abroad with TPS travel authorization and originally entered without inspection, adjustment inside the United States is generally not available. The realistic route usually involves consular processing abroad, which can trigger three- or ten-year bars on re-entry based on prior unlawful presence. Waivers exist in some circumstances, but they are fact-specific and should be evaluated with an immigration attorney before anyone leaves the country.

Other Options Worth Discussing With an Attorney

USCIS notes that former TPS holders can still apply for any immigration benefit they otherwise qualify for, including nonimmigrant status and adjustment based on a qualifying immigrant petition.² Options worth reviewing include:

A family-based petition from a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident relative.
An employment-based petition where an employer is willing to sponsor.
Humanitarian relief such as asylum, withholding of removal, or protection under the Convention Against Torture, where the facts support it.
U or T nonimmigrant status for certain victims of crime or trafficking.
Any pending application that predates the termination and remains valid on its own basis.

Timing matters. Some options close quickly once TPS ends, others depend on whether you have already accrued unlawful presence, and a few (like consular processing) can make your situation worse if pursued without a clear plan. A consultation with an immigration attorney before taking any action — including travel — is the single most useful step right now.

If Honduras Is Redesignated or TPS Is Restored

Should the courts reinstate the designation, or should DHS issue a new designation for Honduras in the future, eligibility would be governed either by the terms of the original designation or by whatever dates a new notice sets. Under the original framework, applicants had to show continuous residence in the United States since December 30, 1998, and continuous physical presence since January 5, 1999.⁶

The statutory bars would still apply: a felony conviction or two or more misdemeanor convictions in the United States disqualifies an applicant, along with security-related grounds, serious nonpolitical crimes committed abroad, and certain non-waivable inadmissibility grounds.⁷ For TPS purposes, a misdemeanor is any offense punishable by up to one year of imprisonment, whether or not jail time was actually served; offenses with a maximum sentence of five days or less do not count.⁸

Brief, casual, and innocent absences from the United States do not break continuous physical presence, and short trips required by emergencies or circumstances beyond the applicant’s control are excused from breaking continuous residence.⁷ Anyone hoping to file if the program returns should be gathering evidence of residence now: employment records, rent receipts, utility bills, school and medical records, and similar documentation covering the required periods.

1
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. With Improved Conditions, DHS Ends TPS for Honduras
2
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Temporary Protected Status
3
Federal Register. Termination of the Designation of Honduras for Temporary Protected Status
4
Supreme Court of the United States. Sanchez v. Mayorkas, 593 U.S. 785 (2021)
5
Congressional Research Service. Inspected and Admitted or Paroled Into the United States
6
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Temporary Protected Status Designated Country: Honduras
7
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 US Code 1254a – Temporary Protected Status
8
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Adjudicators Field Manual Chapter 38.1(e)(12)