Temporary Protected Status (TPS): Eligibility, Filing, and Fees

Temporary Protected Status eligibility and how to apply come down to three things: you must be a national of a country the Secretary of Homeland Security has currently designated for TPS, you must have lived in the United States continuously since the dates set for that country, and you must file Form I-821 (with Form I-765 if you want a work permit) during an open registration or re-registration window.¹ As of early 2026, designated countries include Burma (Myanmar), El Salvador, Ethiopia, Haiti, Honduras, Lebanon, Nepal, Nicaragua, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Ukraine, Venezuela, and Yemen. That list is unusually unstable right now. The current administration has moved to terminate several designations, and federal courts have stayed many of those terminations, so check the USCIS TPS page for your specific country before you rely on any date in this article.

Who Qualifies

You need to be a national of a designated country, or a person without nationality whose last habitual residence was there. Beyond nationality, two separate residency requirements apply, and the difference between them catches people out.

The first is continuous physical presence in the United States since the most recent designation date for your country. That means you were actually here on that date and have stayed here since. The second is continuous residence since a separate, earlier date the Secretary specifies for your country.¹ Continuous residence means the United States has been your home since that earlier date, though short trips abroad don’t automatically break it.

Brief, casual, and innocent departures don’t automatically defeat either requirement, but you must disclose every absence when you apply. USCIS decides case by case whether a trip qualifies for the exception.¹ Because each country carries its own two dates, look them up on the USCIS page for your designation before assuming you qualify.

What Disqualifies You

Meeting the nationality and residency rules is not enough if certain bars apply. A conviction for any felony committed in the United States disqualifies you, as does being convicted of two or more misdemeanors committed here.² These bars are absolute. No waiver exists, and the misdemeanors don’t have to be serious to count.

The statute also blocks anyone who ordered, incited, assisted, or participated in persecuting others on the basis of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a social group. Involvement in terrorist activity or posing a danger to national security likewise disqualifies you.²

Inadmissibility Grounds and the TPS Waiver

TPS applicants are subject to the general grounds of inadmissibility that apply to most immigration benefits, including certain health conditions, prior immigration fraud, and past unlawful presence. Unlike many other applications, TPS comes with a broad waiver. USCIS can waive most inadmissibility grounds “for humanitarian purposes, to assure family unity, or when it is otherwise in the public interest.”³ If a waivable ground applies, file Form I-601 with your application. Miss it and USCIS will typically send a request for evidence before denying the case.

The waiver has limits. National security grounds, terrorism-related inadmissibility, and participation in Nazi persecution or genocide cannot be waived. Drug trafficking and certain serious criminal convictions are also non-waivable, with a narrow exception for a single incident involving simple possession of 30 grams or less of marijuana.³

The Forms and Documents You Need

The core form is Form I-821, Application for Temporary Protected Status. If you also want work authorization, file Form I-765 in the same package.⁴

You then need to prove three things: your identity, your nationality, and your presence in the United States. The strongest identity and nationality evidence is a passport, a birth certificate with an English translation, or a national identity card from your home country. For entry, include your I-94 Arrival/Departure Record or other travel documents. For continuous residence, gather records that cover the full required period: rent receipts, utility bills, school transcripts, pay stubs, medical records, or bank statements. Organize them chronologically so the reviewing officer can follow the timeline without questions.

When You Cannot Get Primary Documents

Many applicants fled emergencies and have no passport or birth certificate. The regulations account for that. If you can’t obtain primary identity documents, submit an affidavit explaining the efforts you made to get them, why consular help is unavailable, and affirming your nationality. USCIS will then schedule a personal interview where you can present secondary evidence.⁵ Acceptable secondary evidence, in order of preference, is a passport, a birth certificate with photo ID, or any national identity document bearing a photo or fingerprint from your country of origin.

How to File and What It Costs

You can file Form I-821 online through a USCIS account or mail a paper application. USCIS accepts online filing for all currently designated countries.⁴ If you mail it, use the address on the USCIS page for your specific country; the location varies by designation.

After filing, you’ll get a receipt notice with a case number for tracking. USCIS will schedule a biometrics appointment at a local Application Support Center for fingerprints and a photograph. If your documentation falls short, USCIS issues a Request for Evidence with a deadline. Miss that deadline and the case gets denied, so respond promptly and completely.

2026 Fees and Waivers

USCIS raised TPS-related fees effective January 1, 2026. Form I-821 is $510. An initial Employment Authorization Document on Form I-765 costs $560. Renewing or extending an existing TPS-based EAD costs $280.⁶ Re-registrants are exempt from the I-821 fee itself, though they may still owe the EAD renewal fee.

If you can’t afford the costs, you can request a fee waiver on Form I-912 with evidence of financial hardship such as proof of unemployment, medical expenses, or homelessness.⁷ For initial I-821 applicants, the fee waiver covers only the biometric services fee, not the full application fee.⁸

Re-registering to Keep Your Status

TPS is not a one-time approval. Every time the government extends a country’s designation, current beneficiaries must re-register during a designated window to keep their status. This applies whether you originally received TPS from USCIS, an immigration judge, or the Board of Immigration Appeals.¹

Re-registration means filing Form I-821 again, with Form I-765 if you want to renew your EAD. Re-registrants don’t pay the I-821 application fee but still owe the $280 EAD renewal fee if requesting a new work card.⁶

Missing the re-registration window without good cause can cost you your TPS entirely. If you file late, include a letter explaining why. USCIS has discretion to accept late re-registrations when you can show the delay wasn’t your fault, such as a medical emergency or not receiving the notice. Even accepted late filings tend to produce processing delays and gaps in work authorization.¹ Calendar reminders and regular checks of the USCIS country page are the simplest safeguards.

Working and Traveling With TPS

Once approved, you receive an Employment Authorization Document you can show to any employer. The EAD is valid through the end of your country’s current designation period, and you renew it if the designation is extended.⁴

When the government extends a designation, your physical EAD card may show a date that has already passed. That doesn’t necessarily mean your authorization has lapsed. USCIS can automatically extend TPS-based EADs through a Federal Register notice or an individual I-797 notice mailed to you. TPS EADs carry a category code of A12 or C19, which tells employers the card is TPS-related. Employers must accept an EAD that looks expired on its face if it’s covered by an automatic extension, and they cannot demand that you prove which TPS country you belong to.⁹

Travel Abroad Requires Advance Permission

Leaving the country without permission is one of the fastest ways to lose TPS. Before any international travel, file Form I-131 and receive an approved travel authorization. USCIS now issues Form I-512T specifically for TPS travel, which allows a Customs and Border Protection officer to admit you back into TPS at the port of entry. Traveling without this authorization risks losing your status and being denied re-entry. Even with approval, admission at the port of entry is not automatic, and DHS can turn you away if you’ve become inadmissible on criminal or security grounds since your last entry.¹⁰

An authorized trip and lawful return can also matter later for a green card. Since a July 2022 policy change, USCIS treats TPS holders who travel abroad with prior authorization and return through a port of entry as “inspected and admitted” for purposes of adjusting status to permanent resident, even if they originally entered without inspection.¹¹ A single properly authorized trip can unlock adjustment eligibility that otherwise wouldn’t exist, provided you have an underlying basis such as an approved family or employment petition.

When a Designation Ends

TPS is temporary by design. When a designation terminates and no court order blocks it, beneficiaries revert to whatever status they held before receiving TPS, or to no status at all if they had none. The government typically provides a wind-down period during which work authorization stays valid. Once that period expires, former holders without another lawful status become subject to removal proceedings. Long-term ties to the country, including U.S. citizen children and years of employment, do not create independent legal protection. For anyone with a possible route to permanent residency through a family or employer petition, the 2022 adjustment policy is the most concrete option to secure lawful status before a designation ends, and it’s worth talking with an immigration attorney while your TPS is still in effect.

1
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Temporary Protected Status
2
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1254a – Temporary Protected Status
3
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1254a – Temporary Protected Status
4
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form I-821, Application for Temporary Protected Status
5
eCFR. Temporary Protected Status for Nationals of Designated States
6
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Announces FY 2026 Inflation Increase for Certain Immigration-Related Fees
7
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Additional Information on Filing a Fee Waiver
8
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form I-912, Request for Fee Waiver
9
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Automatic EAD Extensions for TPS Beneficiaries
10
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-131, Application for Travel Documents, Parole Documents, and Arrival/Departure Records
11
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Policy Alert – Temporary Protected Status and Eligibility for Adjustment of Status