TPS for Burma: Eligibility, Court Order, and How to Apply

Temporary Protected Status for Burma is currently in effect under a federal court order, even though the Department of Homeland Security tried to end it. DHS set a termination date of January 26, 2026, but on January 23, 2026, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois blocked that termination. Burmese nationals who already hold TPS keep their status and work authorization while the case is litigated.¹

The situation can change. Check the USCIS TPS Burma page before making any decision that depends on your status.²

How the Designation Got Here

Burma was first designated for TPS on May 25, 2021, after the February 2021 military coup and the violence that followed.³ DHS later extended and redesignated the country, opening TPS to Burmese nationals who had been continuously residing in the United States as of September 25, 2022.⁴

On November 25, 2025, DHS published a Federal Register notice terminating Burma’s designation as of January 26, 2026. The notice cited a constitutional election timeline, a ceasefire agreement, and what DHS described as improved conditions, along with visa overstay rates it treated as a national interest concern.⁵

Three days before that termination was to take effect, the Northern District of Illinois postponed it in Aung DOE et al. v. Noem et al., No. 25-cv-15483. The court found the plaintiffs likely to succeed on claims that the government failed to properly review country conditions and that termination would cause irreparable harm, including immediate risk of arrest and deportation. The government appealed and asked for a stay pending appeal; the court denied that stay in March 2026.¹

Who Qualifies

You must be a national of Burma, or a person without nationality who last habitually resided there.⁴ Two timing rules apply under the most recent redesignation. You must have been continuously residing in the United States since September 25, 2022, and continuously physically present since November 25, 2022.⁶

The two are not the same. Continuous residence means keeping your home in the United States without establishing residence elsewhere. Continuous physical presence looks at whether you have actually been in the country. Brief, casual, and innocent departures do not automatically break physical presence, but they need to be documented.

If you missed a previous re-registration window, USCIS has discretion to accept a late filing when you can show good cause, such as serious illness or hospitalization.⁷

What Disqualifies You

The statute lists two automatic bars: a conviction for any felony in the United States, or convictions for two or more misdemeanors in the United States. A crime punishable by five days of imprisonment or less does not count as a misdemeanor for this purpose.⁸

Certain grounds of inadmissibility also apply. USCIS can waive some of them case by case for humanitarian reasons or family unity, but it cannot waive bars tied to serious criminal activity, most drug offenses, terrorism, persecution of others, or genocide. The narrow drug-offense exception is simple possession of 30 grams or less of marijuana.⁸

The mandatory bars to asylum also apply. That includes people who have persecuted others, been convicted of a particularly serious crime, or committed a serious nonpolitical crime outside the United States.

What the Court Order Means for Work Authorization

Employment Authorization Documents issued under Burma’s TPS with category codes A12 or C19 remain valid under the court order, even where the printed expiration date on the card has already passed. EADs with original expiration dates of November 25, 2022, May 25, 2024, or November 25, 2025 have been extended.²

Employers verifying a Burma TPS holder’s work authorization on Form I-9 or in E-Verify should rely on the current USCIS guidance rather than any single date. The instructions have shifted as the litigation has moved, and USCIS is publishing updates specific to Burma.⁹ The SAVE system reflects the extended status with a comment directing verifying agencies to check for updates.¹

How To Apply

Because of the ongoing litigation, it is not clear whether USCIS is currently accepting new initial applications for Burma TPS. Existing holders keep their status under the court order. If a registration or re-registration window is open when you read this, the forms and evidence below apply.

Forms

The core form is Form I-821, the application for Temporary Protected Status.¹⁰ Most applicants file Form I-765 with it to request an Employment Authorization Document. If you cannot afford the fees, Form I-912 requests a fee waiver based on financial hardship, and you only need to qualify under one of its categories.¹¹

Evidence

Nationality is best proved with a valid Burmese passport, birth certificate, or national identity card. If none is available, USCIS may accept secondary evidence such as baptismal records, school transcripts, or affidavits. Consistency across your documents matters; conflicting names or dates will trigger requests for more evidence.

For continuous residence and physical presence, use anything that ties your name to a U.S. address over time: leases, rent receipts, utility bills, bank statements, pay stubs, employment records, school enrollment letters, medical records. Gaps do not automatically disqualify you, but they slow adjudication and invite requests for more evidence.

Any document not in English must include a complete, certified English translation. The translator must sign a certification that the translation is complete and accurate and that they are competent to translate the language, and include their printed name and contact information.

Fees

USCIS overhauled its fees effective April 1, 2024, and applied inflation adjustments effective January 1, 2026. Older figures still circulating online are outdated. Under the 2024 rule, the general biometrics fee was eliminated for most applications, but a $30 biometrics fee still applies specifically to Form I-821.¹² Confirm the current Form I-821 and Form I-765 amounts on the USCIS fee schedule before filing.¹³

Travel While You Have Burma TPS

Leaving the country without permission can destroy your TPS. Before any travel, file Form I-131 to request a TPS travel authorization document. If USCIS approves the request and you already hold TPS, you receive Form I-512T. If your initial TPS application is still pending when the travel request is approved, you instead receive Form I-512L, an advance parole document.¹⁴

Even an approved travel document does not guarantee re-entry. DHS decides during inspection whether to readmit you into TPS, and travelers with unresolved immigration issues or inadmissibility grounds can be turned away. USCIS may also send time-sensitive notices while you are abroad, and missing them can lead to a denial. With the litigation still active, foreign travel carries heightened risk right now.

TPS Does Not Lead To a Green Card

TPS is temporary. It protects you from removal and lets you work, but it does not by itself convert to lawful permanent residence. Holding TPS does not stop you from pursuing other paths you qualify for on their own, including family-based or employer-sponsored petitions, adjustment of status, or nonimmigrant categories.¹⁵

Each path has its own eligibility rules. A denial elsewhere does not cost you TPS, and losing TPS does not automatically disqualify you from other relief. If the termination is eventually allowed to take effect, examining these options earlier is better than later.

1
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Update on Termination of Temporary Protected Status for Burma
2
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Temporary Protected Status Designated Country: Burma (Myanmar)
3
Federal Register. Designation of Burma (Myanmar) for Temporary Protected Status
4
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Secretary Mayorkas Extends and Redesignates Temporary Protected Status for Burma
5
Federal Register. Termination of the Designation of Burma (Myanmar) for Temporary Protected Status
6
eCFR. 8 CFR Part 244 – Temporary Protected Status for Nationals of Designated States
7
eCFR. 8 CFR 244.17
8
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 U.S.C. 1254a – Temporary Protected Status
9
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Update on Termination of TPS for Burma (Release: March 17, 2026)
10
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-821, Application for Temporary Protected Status
11
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-912, Request for Fee Waiver
12
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. 2024 Final Fee Rule
13
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. G-1055, Fee Schedule
14
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-131, Application for Travel Documents, Parole Documents, and Arrival/Departure Records
15
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Temporary Protected Status