The Secretary of Homeland Security may designate a foreign country for TPS due to conditions in the country that temporarily prevent the country’s nationals from returning safely, or in certain circumstances, where the country is unable to handle the return of its nationals adequately. USCIS may grant TPS to eligible nationals of certain countries (or parts of countries), who are already in the United States. Eligible individuals without nationality who last resided in the designated country may also be granted TPS.

To be eligible for TPS, you must:

• Be a national of a country designated for TPS, or a person without nationality who last habitually resided in the designated country;
• File during the open initial registration or re-registration period, or you meet the requirements for late initial filing during any extension of your country’s TPS designation (Late initial filers see ‘Filing Late’ section below);
• Have been continuously physically present (CPP) in the United States since the effective date of the most recent designation date of your country; and
• Have been continuously residing (CR) in the United States since the date specified for your country. (See your country’s TPS web page to the left). The law allows an exception to the continuous physical presence and continuous residence requirements for brief, casual and innocent departures from the United States. When you apply or re-register for TPS, you must inform USCIS of all absences from the United States since the CPP and CR dates. USCIS will determine whether the exception applies in your case.

You may NOT be eligible for TPS or to maintain your existing TPS if you:

• Have been convicted of any felony or two or more misdemeanors committed in the United States;
• Are found inadmissible as an immigrant under applicable grounds in INA section 212(a), including non-waivable criminal and security-related grounds;
• Are subject to any of the mandatory bars to asylum. These include, but are not limited to, participating in the persecution of another individual or engaging in or inciting terrorist activity;
• Fail to meet the continuous physical presence and continuous residence in the United States requirements;
• Fail to meet initial or late initial TPS registration requirements; or

If granted TPS, you fail to re-register for TPS, as required, without good cause.

Once you have prepared your TPS package with the forms, evidence and filing fees (or request for a fee waiver), you will need to send it to the address indicated on your TPS country page to the left. Please make sure you sign your application and include the correct fee amount (or fee waiver request). These are the two of the most common mistakes USCIS receives on TPS applications. Please look above at the fee chart to see what fees you must pay (a properly documented fee waiver request may be submitted). If you do not pay the proper fees (or submit a proper fee waiver request), your application will be When USCIS receives your application, we will review it for completeness and for the proper fees or a properly documented fee waiver request. If your case meets the basic acceptance criteria, your application will be entered into our system and we will send you a receipt notice.

If USCIS needs to collect your photograph, signature, and/or fingerprints (biometrics), USCIS will send you an appointment notice to have your biometrics captured at an Application Support Center (ASC). Every TPS applicant over 14 years old must have their biometrics collected. Biometrics are required for identity verification, background checks and the production of an EAD, if one has been requested.

In certain situations, such as when it’s impossible to take a fingerprint, USCIS can waive the collection of biometrics. In some cases, we may be able to reuse the biometrics previously collected in association with your previous TPS application. Even if you do not need to attend an ASC appointment, you still need to pay the biometrics fee (if required) to help cover costs associated with reusing your biometrics.

When you report to an ASC, you must bring:

• Evidence of nationality and identity with a photograph of you, such as a passport
• Your receipt notice
• Your ASC appointment notice
• Your current EAD, if you already have one

Then USCIS will approve or deny your application