There are several countries that have been given temporary protected status. These include people from Haiti, El Salvador, Honduras, Syria, Nepal, Yemen, Somalia, Sudan, Nicaragua, and South Sudan. Nowadays, many people live in the United States under TPS. Most of them currently live in Washington, New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Boston, or Houston.

TPS holders reside all over the United States. The largest populations of TPS holders live in California (17.95%), Florida (13.75%), Texas (12.88%), New York (12.33%), and Virginia (6.75%).

Today, an estimated 320,000 people hold TPS in the United States from 10 designated countries;
more than 90 percent of these individuals are from El Salvador, Honduras, and Haiti. TPS is granted for set periods of time ranging from six to 18 months, and decisions as to whether to continue TPS for Honduras, Haiti, and El Salvador must occur by November 6, 2017, November 23, 2017, and January 8, 2018, respectively.

It is very important to keep in mind that TPS has an expiration time, just as the name says, it is temporary. TPS can be extended once the clerk evaluates the original conditions of the applicants. If the clerk decides that it is necessary to extend it, then you can do it for 6, 12, or up to 18 months more.

These constant revisions should be done at least 2 months before the expiration date. Recently, the secretary of Homeland Security extended TPS for some countries, but not others.

Many TPS holders wonder what would happen to them once the TPS designation ends for their country of origin. And it is not just the TPS holders, but countries from TPS protected countries who are planning to get one but are not sure about what would happen in the future.

In any case, it is important to know that there is a ruling from a California court judge, which forbids the current administration to eliminate TPS for immigrants from certain countries.

How can you know whether you are eligible for TPS? The truth of the matter is that there are several conditions that can work in your favor if you wish to apply for TPS:

• You must be a citizen of a TPS country or a stateless person who has lived in such a country.
• Having been physically present, during the initial record, although there are some exceptions for some applicants who would make a late application. You might be able to discuss it with one of our immigration attorneys in Houston.
• You must be continually present in the United States since the country was designated with TPS. 
• There might be some exceptions for those who have not been able to stay continuously. 

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.