Temporary Protected Status attorneys in New Orleans

Who qualifies for TPS?

Generally speaking, to qualify for Temporary Protected Status, an applicant must comply with three basic requirements.

First, the applicant needs to prove that is a citizen of the designated country or a stateless person who has last habitually resided in the TPS designated country. The simplest way to prove citizenship is using a passport or birth certificate issued by the designated country’s authorities.

Second, the applicant needs to prove ‘physical presence’ in the U.S. at the time the TPS designation was officialized. Typically, the DHS publishes a resolution on the Federal Register stating that citizens of the designated country physically present in the U.S. before a specific date, are eligible for temporary protected status. Usually, the date precedes the publication on the official registrar. There are several ways to prove physical presence before the stipulated date, among them, bank statements, lease contracts, pay stubs, proof of insurance and school records. Any document or affidavit able to confirm the presence of a person in the U.S. can be submitted to the immigration authorities.

Finally, the applicant must show continuous residence in the U.S., from the time in which the designation occurred, until the application is formally submitted, however, briefs or accidental absences from the US territory can be forgiven under exceptional circumstances. Travel records obtained through CBP, copies of the passport’s pages, along with the same sort of evidence capable of proving the physical presence mentioned above, can be used to demonstrate that the applicant has remained in the US since the designation.

Furthermore, a TPS applicant cannot be inadmissible under immigration law. Admissibility is a concept within the Immigration and Nationality Law that bars aspirants for admission to the U.S. under certain circumstances. Under INA, a person is inadmissible if suffers certain medical conditions, has committed specific types of crimes, has violated the immigration law, or represents a danger to the security of the United States.

In this specific context, this means that the applicant should not have committed one serious crime or two misdemeanors, since most of the inadmissibility grounds are waived for TPS applicants, especially those related to violations of the immigration laws.