Temporary protected status

Temporary protected status (TPS) is given by the United States government to eligible nationals of designated countries, as determined by the Secretary of Homeland Security, who are present in the United States. In general, the Secretary of Homeland Security may grant temporary protected status to people already present in the United States who are nationals of a country experiencing ongoing armed conflict, an environmental disaster, or any temporary or extraordinary conditions that would prevent the foreign national from returning safely and assimilating into their duty. Temporary protected status allows beneficiaries to live and, in some cases, work in the United States for a limited amount of time. As of March 2022, there are more than 400,000 foreign nationals in Temporary Protected Status. History In 1990, as part of the Immigration Act of 1990 ("IMMACT"), P.L. 101–649, Congress established a procedure by which the Attorney General may provide temporary protected status to immigrants in the United States who are temporarily unable to safely return to their home country because of ongoing armed conflict, an environmental disaster, or other extraordinary and temporary conditions. On March 1, 2003, pursuant to the Homeland Security Act of 2002, Public Law 107–296, the former Immigration and Naturalization Services of the Department of Justice was divided into three different agencies under the Department of Homeland Security, namely U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (USCBP). As of October 2017, the authority to designate a country for temporary protected status rests with the United States Secretary of Homeland Security. TPS beneficiaries and those who are found preliminarily eligible for TPS upon initial review of their cases are not removable from the United States, can obtain employment authorization (with an Employment Authorization Document/EAD), and may be granted travel authorization via Form I-131, Application for Travel Document.