TPS for Ukraine: 2025 Extension, Eligibility, and New Fees

Temporary Protected Status for Ukrainian nationals is active through October 19, 2026, but the January 2025 government action was an extension rather than a redesignation. That single distinction shapes everything else: people who already held TPS for Ukraine could re-register to keep it, while first-time applicants have no open filing window. The 2025 One Big Beautiful Bill Act also raised filing fees sharply, made the core TPS fee non-waivable, and capped new work permits at one year of validity.

Extension, Not Redesignation: What That Means for You

Ukraine was first designated for TPS on April 19, 2022, after Russia’s invasion. The Department of Homeland Security extended and redesignated Ukraine in August 2023, which set the eligibility cutoff dates still in effect. In January 2025, DHS published an 18-month extension running April 20, 2025 through October 19, 2026.¹

Because 2025 was an extension only, no new filing window opened. If you did not already hold TPS, you cannot file an initial I-821 based on the current Ukraine designation. Existing beneficiaries had a 60-day re-registration period from January 17, 2025 through March 18, 2025.¹ If you missed that window, your status may have lapsed. USCIS has limited discretion to accept late re-registrations, so if this describes your situation, talk to an immigration attorney quickly.

Who Qualifies

Federal law sets three core requirements for any TPS applicant: nationality, continuous residence, and continuous physical presence.²

You must be a national of Ukraine, or a stateless person whose last habitual residence was Ukraine.
You must have continuously resided in the United States since August 16, 2023.
You must have been continuously physically present in the United States since October 20, 2023.

The two continuity requirements sound alike but do different work. Continuous residence means the United States has been your primary home since the cutoff. Continuous physical presence means you have not left the country since the cutoff, with one narrow exception.

Brief, Casual, and Innocent Absences

A short trip does not automatically break physical presence. Federal regulations recognize a “brief, casual, and innocent” absence if the trip was short and had a reasonable purpose, was not the result of a deportation or voluntary departure order, and involved no illegal activity. You carry the burden of proving each of those elements, and USCIS expects documentary evidence beyond your own statement: airline tickets, passport stamps, receipts showing purpose and duration.

Who Does Not Qualify

Some factors bar TPS even when residence and presence are met. The statute automatically disqualifies anyone convicted of a felony committed in the United States, or convicted of two or more misdemeanors committed in the United States.² The bars are rigid; how minor or old the misdemeanors were does not matter once there are two.

A separate set of bars comes from the asylum provisions, incorporated by reference into the TPS statute. Those reach persecutors, people convicted of a particularly serious crime, national security risks, people who have engaged in terrorist activity, and people firmly resettled in another country before arriving in the United States.² USCIS also cannot waive certain inadmissibility grounds tied to criminal activity, drug offenses (other than simple possession of a small amount of marijuana), and national security.

Any criminal history, including an arrest without a conviction, is a reason to get an attorney’s read before filing. A weak application can put you on USCIS’s radar without giving you the protection you expected.

What H.R. 1 Changed in 2025

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed July 22, 2025, reshaped the cost and duration of TPS benefits.

Fees Went Up, and Waivers Went Away

H.R. 1 raised the Form I-821 filing fee from $50 to a minimum of $500 and made it non-waivable.³ Inflation-adjusted amounts under H.R. 1 took effect January 1, 2026, so the real number may run slightly higher than the statutory floor.⁴ The Form I-765 work authorization fee also rose substantially, with separate rates for initial applications and renewals; the H.R. 1 portion of that fee is likewise non-waivable, though a portion of the regulatory fee may still qualify for a waiver. The biometrics fee is required for applicants 14 and older and can still be waived through Form I-912 on financial hardship grounds.⁵ Submitting the wrong fee amount results in automatic rejection of the entire application, so check the current USCIS fee schedule before filing.

Shorter Work Permits

H.R. 1 capped TPS-based employment authorization renewals at a maximum validity of one year. EADs previously could run for the full length of a designation. The practical result is more frequent renewals and more filing fees over time. USCIS also ended the automatic 540-day EAD extension for renewal applications filed on or after October 30, 2025.⁶ For TPS holders, EADs can still be extended through Federal Register notices tied to a TPS extension, but the general safety net is gone.

Federal Benefits

H.R. 1 also narrowed noncitizen eligibility for Medicaid, SNAP, Medicare, and Affordable Care Act premium tax credits. TPS holders are among the groups that lost access. If you were relying on any of these, confirm whether coverage is still active and look into state programs, since some states offer health coverage regardless of immigration category.

Documents You Need to File

The application centers on two forms. Form I-821 is the TPS application itself; Form I-765 is for work authorization and can be filed together with the I-821 or later.⁴

For identity and nationality, a valid Ukrainian passport is the strongest single document. A birth certificate or national identity card with a photograph can substitute when a passport is unavailable.

For residence and physical presence, plan to layer evidence rather than rely on one document. Signed leases, utility bills in your name, pay stubs, school enrollment records, and medical records all help. A single lease covering the full period is useful, but pairing it with monthly utilities or bank records fills the gaps more convincingly. This is where many applications succeed or fail.

Any document not in English must include a full English translation, with the translator’s written certification that the translation is complete and accurate and that they are competent to translate the source language.⁴

Work Authorization You May Already Have

The January 2025 Federal Register notice automatically extended certain existing Ukraine TPS EADs through April 19, 2026. If your card shows category code A12 or C19 and a printed expiration date of April 19, 2025 or October 19, 2023, that card remains valid as proof of work authorization through the automatic extension date even though it looks expired.¹

Some employers push back on a card that looks expired on its face. Federal law prohibits employers from discriminating based on citizenship status or national origin in hiring, and from demanding specific documents during employment verification when you have presented valid alternatives. The Department of Justice’s Immigrant and Employee Rights Section enforces those rules and runs a worker hotline at 1-800-255-7688, with information available in Ukrainian and Russian.⁷

Think Twice Before Traveling

Leaving the country without advance authorization can destroy your TPS status. Before any trip, file Form I-131 and wait for approval. Approved TPS holders receive a Form I-512T travel authorization; those with a pending initial TPS application receive a Form I-512L advance parole document instead.⁸

Even with authorization, travel carries risk. USCIS may send requests for evidence to your U.S. address while you are abroad, and missing a deadline because you were traveling is not an accepted excuse. DHS also keeps discretion at the port of entry over whether to readmit you into TPS. Unless the trip is genuinely necessary, staying in the country is safer.

TPS Is Not a Green Card

TPS does not build toward permanent residence, and it ends when the designation ends. It also does not block you from pursuing other immigration benefits. You can apply for adjustment of status based on a family or employment petition, file for asylum, or apply for a nonimmigrant visa while holding TPS.⁹ TPS can also coexist with statuses like F-1 or H-1B, though you must comply with the rules of each. Working for multiple employers is fine under TPS but can violate H-1B’s single-sponsor limit. Treating TPS as a safety net while you look at longer-term options is a reasonable way to plan.

1
Federal Register. Extension of the Designation of Ukraine for Temporary Protected Status
2
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1254a – Temporary Protected Status
3
Federal Register. USCIS Immigration Fees Required by HR-1 Reconciliation Bill
4
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-821, Application for Temporary Protected Status
5
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-912, Request for Fee Waiver
6
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Interim Final Rule Published Ending the Practice of Automatically Extending Certain EADs
7
U.S. Department of Justice. Immigrant and Employee Rights Section
8
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-131, Application for Travel Documents, Parole Documents, and Arrival/Departure Records
9
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Temporary Protected Status