After TPS Expires, What Are My Immigration Options?

When the U.S. government makes a humanitarian grant of Temporary Protected Status (TPS), it always provides an expiration date, typically of 1 year or 18 months into the future. The hope is that conditions in the country will improve by then, and it will be unsafe for everyone to go home. If not, the U.S. might redesignate the country for TPS (as it often does), allowing current TPS holders to submit renewal applications. Redesignation is not guaranteed, though. If the U.S. government doesn't find evidence of ongoing civil war, environmental disaster, or other major problems, it will refuse to renew or redesignate your country's TPS. Without TPS, you will have to leave the United States unless you have, or can get, some other legal immigration status or permission to stay. This article will tell you about the possible ways to stay.

Use Your Alternative Legal Immigration Status If You Have One

First of all, you can stay in the U.S. if you have, in addition to your TPS, some other legal immigration status or permission to be here. When you got your TPS, you didn't have to give up any other status you had, and if you got some other status while you already had TPS, you didn't have to give up your TPS. You could have both at the same time, so long as you abide by the legal conditions of both. Assuming you do so, if your TPS ends, you still have the other status, as long as it hasn't expired also.

An example would be someone who applied for asylum before or after getting TPS, who is still waiting for a decision from USCIS on the asylum application. If that person's TPS ends, it's okay for them to remain in the United States until receiving a decision on the asylum application. On the other hand, if their TPS is still active when and if USCIS denies the asylum application, USCIS wouldn't be able to refer your asylum case to an immigration judge for a second chance, but would simply have to deny the asylum application. (See 8 C.F.R. Section 208.14(c)(2).)

Another example would be an "F-1" student who also has TPS. If his TPS ends while the student is still in school, they can continue their studies in F-1 immigration status. But there's a major caution in such a case: If the student obtained a TPS employment authorization document and used it to work, they are likely to have violated the terms of their student visa, and thus might have invalidated it or need to request reinstatement. (Definitely see your school's DSO and possibly an attorney in this situation.)

If you don't have any existing legal immigration status or permission to stay on the date when your TPS ends, you will need to find one if you plan to stay in the United States. The ways to remain legal are discussed below.

Apply for Asylum If You Need It

If you need asylum in the United States because you fear persecution in your home country, you might be eligible to apply for it. (See Asylum or Refugee Status: Who Is Eligible?) As soon as U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) receives your asylum application, you are legally entitled to stay in the United States until USCIS makes a decision on it.

One year after applying, if USCIS hasn't made a decision on your application, you are eligible to obtain a permit to work legally in the United States. If USCIS approves your asylum application, you can stay in the U.S. (with work permission) until it's safe for you to go home. If you want to become a permanent resident of the United States, you can apply for a green card after you've had asylum status for one year.

There is a one-year filing deadline for asylum, however. Normally it runs from U.S. entry, but USCIS policy is to give people a reasonable time after their legal status runs out to apply. So, you might not be eligible to apply for asylum if you wait too long after your TPS expires to pursue it, or if you were in the United States for more than a year before you got your TPS. (See Can I Still Apply for Asylum After the One-Year Filing Deadline?)

Change From TPS to Another Nonimmigrant Status If You Can

There are many "nonimmigrant" (temporary) immigration statuses in the United States, including "F-1" student and the various work-related statuses, such as "E," "H-1B," and "O." If you are eligible for one of those statuses, there's a small chance you might be able to apply to change your status without leaving the United States.

Many nonimmigrant statuses require a U.S. employer to offer you a job and file a petition for you. You should consult with an immigration lawyer to see if such a change is possible.

One big roadblock for TPS holders to change status, however, is that USCIS doesn't think a grant of TPS is "admission" to the United States, and you must have been legally admitted to the United States, and continue to be in legal status, in order to change your immigration status. This has been the subject of litigation, so check with a lawyer for the latest in your area.

If you qualify for a nonimmigrant status but for some reason are not eligible to change your status from within the United States, you might be able to leave, obtain a nonimmigrant visa at a U.S. embassy or consulate overseas, and return to resume your life in the United States. Definitely talk with an immigration lawyer before leaving the United States, however, to make sure you can get back in.

There are also legal nonimmigrant statuses for certain victims of crime who are assisting law enforcement ("U") and human trafficking ("T"). You can apply for those after your TPS expires whether you were ever lawfully admitted to the United States or not.

Apply to Become a U.S. Permanent Resident If You Can

There are several ways to become a permanent resident of the United States (a green card holder). The main ones are through sponsorship by a close family member or through employment, which usually requires an employer to sponsor you. (See Green Card Qualification.)

If you are eligible for permanent residence in the United States, you might be able to "adjust" your status from TPS to permanent resident without having to leave the United States, most likely if you entered legally and maintained legal status, or if you left the United States under a grant of "advance parole" (permission to return) and then returned. Upon reentry, you'd have the legal admission required to adjust status. This strategy has risks, so consult with an immigration lawyer before trying it.

If you qualify for U.S. permanent residence but for some reason are not eligible to adjust status from within the United States, you might be able to leave, obtain an "immigrant visa" at a U.S. embassy or consulate overseas, and return to resume your life in the United States. Always talk with an immigration lawyer before leaving the United States, however, to make sure you can get back in.

Prove You're a U.S. Citizen, or Take Steps to Become One

You might have been living in the United States under a grant of TPS for a long time without knowing that you are actually a U.S. citizen through family, by operation of law. If your parents or grandparents ever spent any time in the United States or in the U.S. military before you were born, or if you know that either one of your parents became a U.S. citizen at some point, speak with an immigration lawyer to see whether you might already be a U.S. citizen.

If you're not already a U.S. citizen, usually you have to become a permanent resident before you can apply for U.S. citizenship. However, if you were ever in the U.S. military, check with an immigration lawyer to see if you might be eligible to apply for U.S. citizenship.

Last Resort: If in Deportation Proceedings, Ask the Immigration Judge to Let You Stay

If you have no legal status after your TPS ends, and you choose to stay in the United States, the U.S. government may try to deport you. If an immigration judge orders you deported, you'll have to leave eventually, unless your home country won't accept you.

But it's possible to ask the judge not to order you deported in the first place, and instead give you the right to continue living in the United States. (See Possible Defenses to Deportation of an Undocumented Alien.)

If you're afraid you'll be harmed if you return to your home country, you can ask the judge for asylum, for something similar called "withholding of removal," or for protection under the Convention Against Torture. Of these, only asylum allows someone to continue to live in the United States permanently (assuming you successfully apply for permanent residence a year later). You'd probably be able to live in the United States a long time if granted withholding of removal or protection under the Convention Against Torture, but the U.S. government could find some other country to take you and make you leave the United States at any time.

If you've been in the United States for at least ten years and you have a spouse, parent, or child who is a U.S. citizen or a permanent resident, you can ask the judge for "cancellation of removal." If the judge grants it, you won't be deported, but even better, you will become a permanent resident. You have to show the judge that it if you were deported, your relative would suffer "exceptional and extremely unusual" hardship. That's hard to show, as described in, Green Card Through Cancellation of Removal (Non-LPR): Who Qualifies?

Some people who might qualify for permanent residence through cancellation of removal are tempted to surrender themselves for deportation just so they can ask a judge for permanent residence that way. This is an extremely risky thing to do, because it's difficult to convince a judge that your relative will suffer "exceptional and extremely unusual" in the event that you aren't granted U.S. residence.

Seeking Legal Help

U.S. immigration law is complicated, and having professional help can be useful and cost-effective, both in saving you from having to prepare the paperwork and helping you avoid mistakes that could derail your claim. See How to Find a Good Immigration Lawyer For Your Case.