Temporary Protected Status Lawyer in Milwaukee, WI
Some scenarios may make it dangerous or unwise for a foreign person visiting the United States illegally to return to their native country or area of citizenship for one reason or another.
When the US government formally acknowledges these unsafe conditions in other countries, it may grant Temporary Protection Status (TPS) to citizens or residents of those countries in the US, permitting them to avoid returning to their home countries when their current visas expire.
Suppose you or someone you know requires or wants to apply for TPS registration. In that case, you should speak with a temporary protected status attorney in Wisconsin, especially if you have missed any registration dates. In such circumstances, exemptions or other options for acquiring TPS may be available.
What is Temporary Protected Status (TPS)?
Temporary Protected Status (TPS) is a temporary immigration status given to foreign nationals facing issues that make deporting their citizens difficult or dangerous. TPS has provided a lifeline for hundreds of thousands of individuals already in the United States who face deportation due to concerns in their home country.
Congress established TPS under the Immigration Act of 1990. It is a temporary immigration status granted to certain foreign nationals facing an ongoing armed war, an environmental disaster, or other uncommon and temporary circumstances. It gives foreign citizens from specified nations a work permit and a stay of deportation if they are in the country when the US government announces the designation. As of May 2021, there were roughly 320,000 TPS recipients in the United States.
How is a country designated for TPS?
TPS can be granted to a country for one or more of the following reasons:
- A continuing armed battle, such as a civil war, poses a substantial risk to returning nationals’ safety.
- Natural causes such as earthquake, storm, or pandemic yield a significant but temporary disturbance in living circumstances. As a result, the foreign state is temporarily unable to handle the return of its people appropriately.
- Conditions in a foreign country are unusual and transient and restrict its citizens from returning home safely (unless the U.S. government finds that permitting these nationals to remain temporarily in the United States is contrary to the U.S. national interest).
What is the duration for TPS designations?
A TPS designation can be given for 6, 12, or 18 months. The Secretary must determine whether to extend or cancel TPS at least 60 days before it expires, based on the conditions in the foreign country. TPS decisions must be published in the Federal Register before they are enforced, extended, or terminated. The designation is automatically renewed for six months if an extension or termination decision is not publicized at least 60 days before it expires. The law does not define “temporary” or set a temporal limit on how long a country may be designated as a TPS recipient.
Who is qualified for Temporary Protected Status?
To qualify for TPS, you must meet the following requirements:
- Be a national of a TPS-eligible country or a person without a nationality who last lived in the TPS-eligible country.
- Within any extension of your country’s TPS designation, you must file during the open initial registration or re-registration period or fulfill the standards for the late initial filing.
- Have been constantly physically present (CPP) in the United States since the most recent designation date of your country’s most recent designation date.
Since the date provided for your country, you have been continuously resident (CR) in the United States. (To the left, you’ll see the TPS website for your country.) For short, casual, and innocent absences from the United States, the law offers an exemption to the continuous physical presence and continuous residency requirements. You must notify the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) of any absences from the United States since the CPP, and CR dates when applying for TPS or re-registering for TPS. USCIS will examine your case to see if the exemption applies.
Who is NOT qualified for Temporary Protected Status?
If you have done any of the listed below, you may not be eligible for TPS or may not be able to keep your current TPS.
- Have been convicted in the United States of any felony or two or more misdemeanors.
- Are deemed inadmissible to the United States as an immigrant for any of the reasons listed in INA section 212(a), including non-waivable criminal and security-related grounds.
- Are subject to any of the statutory asylum prohibitions. These include, but are not limited to, engaging in or instigating terrorist acts or participating in the persecution of another individual.
- Fail to maintain a continuous physical presence in the United States and a continuous residence in the United States.
- TPS registration criteria are not met or are not completed on time.
- Without sufficient reason, you fail to re-register for TPS after being granted TPS.
What are the Benefits of Temporary Protected Status?
The two of the main advantages of Temporary Protected Status are:
- Provisional protection from deportation, and
- The ability to work in the United States.
Authorized Stay in the United States
The freedom to stay in the United States for the authorized term for your TPS country is the most important advantage of Temporary Protected Status. The duration of your stay in the United States with Temporary Protected Status will vary based on the severity of the emergency in your home country and the amount of time that the Department of Homeland Security has designated as eligible for TPS protection. The initial phase will be at least six months but maybe as long as 18 months. If the situation in your home country does not improve, DHS has the discretion for a time extension. As a result, some TPS recipients have been permitted to live and work in the United States for almost ten years.
Employment Authorization
Able to work in the United States is another key benefit of Temporary Protected Status. You may apply for an Employment Authorization Document (commonly known as an EAD or work permit) as a TPS recipient, which will enable you to work in the United States for the duration of your TPS. Application for Employment Authorization (Form I-765), must be filed simultaneously as Application for TPS Benefits (Form I-821).
Travel Outside the United States
You must get US Citizenship and Immigration Services permission before traveling outside the US. Complete and submit the Application for Travel Document (FormI-131) to request this approval. Once your application is approved, you will receive an Advance Parole travel document. This document will allow you to travel overseas and return to the United States within the time frame you have been granted. Although this permit allows for numerous reentries, you can only stay outside the United States for 90 days.
If you do not get your Advance Parole documents or return them within the allowed timeframes, your Temporary Protected Status will most certainly be revoked.
How long will a work permit be good for?
USCIS usually offers an automatic extension of EADs in conjunction with announcing TPS status renewal for a specific country and will expire on the same day as your TPS status. That way, it will have enough time to deal with the influx of EAD applications before everyone’s work authorization expires.
In this case, you’ll need to show employers and others your expired work permit card and a copy of the notice published in the Federal Register, which is essentially the US government’s daily newspaper. Expect to hear something like this a few months before your EAD expires.
Traveling Outside US while on TPS
Application for Travel Document (Form I-131), is required to apply for advance parole. If you’re filing Form I-131 and Form I-821 together, send your forms to your state USCIC office. Check the Direct Submitting Addresses for Form I-131 page if you’re filing Form I-131 separately based on a pending or approved Form I-821.
You may lose TPS and be unable to re-enter the country if you leave without first obtaining prior parole.
While you are outside the United States, you may miss essential USCIS communications, such as Requests for Additional Evidence, if USCIS is still adjudicating your TPS case. If you do not answer these queries, your application for a green card may be rejected.
Can I get permanent residency or citizenship through TPS?
TPS does not provide a different path to legal permanent residence (a green card) or citizenship for recipients. A TPS recipient who is otherwise qualified for permanent residency may apply for it.
An individual who entered the US without being inspected can generally not qualify for permanent residency. Six federal appellate circuits have previously decided on this issue. According to three federal appellate circuits (the Sixth, Eighth, and Ninth Circuits), even if they entered the United States without inspection, a person with valid TPS status could adjust status to lawful permanent residence if otherwise eligible through a family-based or employment-based petition. The Third, Fifth, and Eleventh Circuits found that a TPS recipient who arrived without inspection cannot adjust to permanent residence.
In June 2021, the Supreme Court overturned the Sixth, Eighth, and Ninth Circuits’ previous rulings, declaring that a TPS recipient who entered the United States without inspection cannot adjust to permanent residence from within the United States. A TPS individual who entered the United States without inspection must leave the country to get a visa processed at a consular post to earn permanent residence status. For many TPS holders, leaving the country for a visa interview would result in re-entry bans of up to ten years.
Alternatively, certain TPS applicants may be entitled to change status if they received advance approval from USCIS, traveled overseas, and were paroled back into the country.
How to File for Temporary Protected Status
A TPS application requires a large number of paperwork and legal documents. You must provide proof of your identification and nationality and evidence of your date of admission and continuous residency in the United States to be awarded TPS. Because TPS clearance requires clear and substantial documentation, you should deal with a Wisconsin immigration attorney with experience in assembling applications and carefully filling out papers.
Get Immigration Help from Milwaukee Temporary Protected Status Lawyers!
Miller & Miller Immigration Lawyers, LLC assists anyone interested in applying for TPS in completing all the appropriate documents and gathering the requisite proof. The USCIS must meet many standards and processes. With the help of a seasoned temporary protected status in Milwaukee, WI, you can file your application for TPS quickly and accurately!
