What Is Form I-821? TPS Eligibility, Filing, and Fees

Form I-821 is the application you file with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to request Temporary Protected Status (TPS). TPS is a temporary immigration status granted to nationals of countries the Secretary of Homeland Security has designated because armed conflict, an environmental disaster, or another extraordinary condition makes safe return impossible. Approval does not lead directly to a green card, but it protects you from deportation, gives you lawful status, and lets you apply for permission to work. As of January 1, 2026, the filing fee is $510.¹

What Approval Gives You

If USCIS grants your TPS application, you cannot be removed from the United States while you maintain the status, and you are treated as being in lawful nonimmigrant status for purposes of adjusting to permanent residence or changing to another category later.² You can also apply for an Employment Authorization Document (EAD) by filing Form I-765 with your I-821 or after it, which lets you work legally.³ The I-765 also lets you request a Social Security number at the same time; if your work authorization is approved, the Social Security Administration mails the card separately, typically within 14 days of receiving your EAD.⁴

Having TPS does not stop you from pursuing other immigration options. You can still apply for asylum, file through an immigrant petition, or seek any other benefit for which you qualify.³ TPS can also toll the one-year filing deadline for asylum, meaning the clock pauses while you hold TPS, as long as it had not already run out before your TPS was granted.

Who Can File

To qualify, you must be a national of a country currently designated for TPS, or a person with no nationality who last habitually resided in a designated country. Country designations change; check the USCIS TPS page before filing to confirm your country is still designated and to see the specific dates for its designation.

You must also have been continuously physically present in the United States since the effective date of the most recent designation for your country, and continuously resident since a date the Secretary of Homeland Security sets for that designation.⁵ Short trips abroad do not automatically break continuous presence. A “brief, casual, and innocent” absence is one that is short in duration, reasonably related to its purpose, not the result of a deportation or voluntary departure order, and not for any unlawful reason.⁶

You must be admissible as an immigrant, although certain grounds of inadmissibility can be waived. You are not eligible if you have been convicted of any felony or two or more misdemeanors committed in the United States.⁵ You are also barred if any of the mandatory bars to asylum apply to you, such as having participated in persecution or engaged in terrorist activity.³

Holding citizenship in another country in addition to a TPS-designated country does not automatically disqualify you, though USCIS can look at whether your status elsewhere raises a firm resettlement concern.⁷

Filing Late for a First-Time Application

If you missed the initial registration window for your country’s designation, you may still be able to file. Late initial filing is allowed if, during the original registration period, you held nonimmigrant status, had a pending change of status or asylum application, were a parolee, or were the spouse or child of someone eligible for TPS. You generally have to file while one of those conditions still exists or within 60 days after it ends.³ Children of TPS-eligible individuals have no time limit for late filing, even if they are now over 21 or married.

Documents You Need

Your I-821 package has to establish four things: identity, nationality, when you entered the United States, and continuous residence.

For identity and nationality, USCIS accepts a copy of your passport, a birth certificate paired with a separate photo ID, or a national identity document from your country bearing your photo or fingerprint.⁸ Any document not in English must include a complete English translation with a certification from the translator stating they are competent to translate and that the translation is accurate, along with their name, signature, address, and the date.

For date of entry, provide a copy of your Form I-94 arrival/departure record or other official entry documentation.⁸

For continuous residence, you need records that place you in the United States across the required period. Rent receipts, utility bills, school records, medical or hospital records, employment records, and bank statements all work.⁸ More documentation covering more of the timeframe makes for a stronger case.

If you want to work, prepare Form I-765 to file with your I-821. Filing them together typically speeds up the EAD.³ Be ready to list every address you have lived at since arriving and every interaction with law enforcement.

What It Costs

The I-821 filing fee is $510 as of January 1, 2026. The statutory maximum was raised from $50 to $500 under the H.R. 1 reconciliation law and then adjusted for inflation.¹ This fee cannot be waived.⁹

Applicants age 14 and older also pay a $30 biometric services fee for fingerprinting and background checks. That fee can be waived for financial hardship by filing Form I-912.³

If you request work authorization, the initial TPS EAD (Form I-765) fee is $560; renewals and extensions are $280.¹ Additional regulatory fees may apply depending on how you file. Because fees have shifted under H.R. 1 and continue adjusting for inflation, verify the current amounts on the USCIS fee schedule before you send payment.

How to Submit It

You can file Form I-821 online through a USCIS account or on paper by mail to the designated lockbox. All applicants eligible under a current designation may use the online option.³ Online filing sends notices to your account, flags common mistakes like missing signatures or wrong fees, and lets you upload documents and responses to any request for evidence directly. You can also file the I-765 online at the same time.

If you mail the application, send the forms, supporting documents, and payment to the lockbox address in the I-821 instructions. Either way, USCIS will send a receipt notice with a 13-character tracking number you can use to check your case status.¹⁰

After acceptance, USCIS schedules a biometrics appointment for fingerprints and a photograph. If the officer needs more information, you will get a Request for Evidence; respond promptly, because failing to answer can lead to denial. Median processing time for Form I-821 in fiscal year 2025 was about six months, and current times are posted on the USCIS website.¹⁰

Keeping Status After Approval

TPS is not permanent. Each country’s designation runs for a set period, usually 6, 12, or 18 months, and may be extended. Before each extension, USCIS publishes a Federal Register notice with a re-registration window. You must re-register during that window to keep your status. Miss the deadline without good cause and USCIS can withdraw your TPS, your work authorization, and your protection from removal.¹¹

If you do file late, include a letter explaining why. USCIS may accept it for good cause; if not, you will get written notice and 30 days to provide evidence of good cause before your status is withdrawn.¹¹

When you renew your EAD on time, your work authorization may be automatically extended while USCIS processes the renewal. For TPS-based EAD renewals filed on or after July 22, 2025, the automatic extension lasts for one year or the duration of your TPS designation, whichever is shorter. To qualify, the renewal must be filed during your country’s re-registration period, your Form I-797C receipt must show a received date on or after May 4, 2022, and your EAD category must be A12 or C19.¹²

If you need to leave the country, file Form I-131 for travel authorization first. Departing without prior USCIS approval can cost you your TPS and your ability to return.³

What Happens When a Designation Ends

When the Secretary of Homeland Security terminates a country’s TPS designation, beneficiaries typically have 60 days from the date the notice is published in the Federal Register before protections end. After that, you revert to whatever status you held before TPS, or to no lawful status if you had none. That is why any long-term plan to remain in the United States has to be built while your TPS is still active, through asylum, an immigrant petition, or another benefit you independently qualify for.³

1
USCIS. USCIS Announces FY 2026 Inflation Increase for Certain Immigration-Related Fees
2
eCFR. 8 CFR Part 244 – Temporary Protected Status for Nationals of Designated States
3
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Temporary Protected Status
4
Social Security Administration. Apply for Your Social Security Number While Applying for Your Work Permit, Lawful Permanent Residency, or U.S. Naturalization
5
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1254a – Temporary Protected Status
6
eCFR. 8 CFR 244.1 – Definitions
7
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Temporary Protected Status for Venezuela – 2021 Extension and 2023 Re-Designation Frequently Asked Questions
8
USCIS. Form I-821, Instructions for Application for Temporary Protected Status
9
Federal Register. USCIS Immigration Fees Required by HR-1 Reconciliation Bill
10
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Checking Your Case Status Online
11
eCFR. 8 CFR 244.14 – Withdrawal of Temporary Protected Status
12
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Automatic Employment Authorization Document (EAD) Extension