TPS for Liberia, Guinea, Sierra Leone

Department of Homeland Security Announces Temporary Protected Status for Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone.

Lost in the immigration news avalanche of last week, in which President Obama announced executive action for deferred action, business immigration reforms, and enforcement priorities, was the granting of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to nationals of three countries. On November 20, the Department of Homeland Security granted TPS to nationals of Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone, in response to the ebola crisis that is ravaging those nations.

Temporary Protected Status means that nationals of those countries (and stateless people who last habitually resided there) will not be removed from the United States and will have work authorization, effective November 21, 2014. The grant lasts for 18 months (May 2016). Not all nationals are automatically eligible. Nationals must pass a criminal background check and cannot be national security threats. There is a 180 day registration period. An applicant must show that he or she has been continuously residing in the United States since November 20, 2014 and has been continuously physically present in the United States since November 21, 2014. The date requirements are strict. Nationals cannot start arriving from those countries and request TPS. It is a very limited grant of status – it is nothing like asylum status or a green card – but it is often a necessary protection for individuals fleeing civil war, disease, natural disasters, and awful country conditions,

Other countries currently with Temporary Protected Status include El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, and Syria.

If you have any questions about your eligibility for Temporary Protected Status or would like assistance, please contact immigration attorney Andrew Wood.