Form I-821 guide: Application for Temporary Protected Status

Wang Law Firm, LLC · David Wang, Managing Attorney · Attorney-reviewed · Updated October 2026

The official name of Form I-821 is Application for Temporary Protected Status. It is used to apply for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and is processed by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). TPS is temporary humanitarian protection based on country: when a country experiences ongoing armed conflict, a serious natural disaster or other extraordinary and temporary conditions that prevent its nationals from returning safely, the Secretary of Homeland Security can "designate" it as a TPS country. Eligible nationals of that country who are already in the United States can register through I-821, are protected from removal during the designation period, and can apply for a work permit.

TPS does not require proof of individual persecution, but it is only a temporary status: it cannot by itself lead to a green card, and protection ends when the country's designation is terminated. Since 2025, the U.S. government has terminated TPS designations for many countries, with frequent litigation and court rulings, and the situation has changed dramatically. This page covers only the general rules for I-821; whether a particular country currently has TPS, and what its registration period is, must be confirmed on the official USCIS TPS country pages and in Federal Register notices.

At a glance

Item	Details
Official name	Form I-821, Application for Temporary Protected Status
Where it is filed	USCIS; for people already in immigration court proceedings, an immigration judge may also decide TPS eligibility in certain situations
Who files	Nationals of a designated TPS country (or stateless people whose last habitual residence was in that country)
When to file	Initial registration: during the registration period announced in the Federal Register (eligible applicants may file late); re-registration: during the re-registration period in each extension notice
Online filing	USCIS has opened online filing for I-821; follow the instructions on the USCIS form page and the country's TPS page
Common related forms	I-765 (work permit), I-131 (travel authorization), I-601 (waiver of certain inadmissibility grounds), G-28 (attorney representation)
Official page	uscis.gov/i-821; USCIS TPS main page (with country pages)

Country designation, extension and termination

Designation: decided by the Secretary of Homeland Security under INA 244 (8 U.S.C. 1254a); each designation lasts 6 to 18 months and is announced in the Federal Register, which states the continuous residence and continuous physical presence dates and the registration period.
Extension: before a designation expires, the Secretary reviews conditions in the country and decides whether to extend it. After an extension, current TPS holders must re-register during the re-registration period.
Redesignation: updates the continuous residence and continuous physical presence dates so that nationals of the country who arrived later can also apply.
Termination: when the Secretary determines the country no longer meets the conditions, the designation is terminated, usually with a transition period. Once termination takes effect, TPS and TPS-based work permits end, and the person returns to the immigration status they had before obtaining TPS (unless they have another status).

Major recent changes: since 2025, the Department of Homeland Security has announced terminations of TPS designations for a number of countries, including Venezuela, Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua, Nepal and Afghanistan, and many of these terminations have gone through lower-court stays, appeals and U.S. Supreme Court involvement. In June 2026, in Mullin v. Doe, a case involving TPS for Haiti and Syria, the U.S. Supreme Court held that the TPS statute's limits on judicial review apply to all non-constitutional claims, allowing the terminations for these two countries to proceed; related litigation for other countries is at varying stages. Whether a particular country currently has TPS, when it expires and how long the transition period is can change at any time; always rely on the official USCIS TPS page and Federal Register notices. China (including Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan) is not a designated TPS country.

Who can apply: eligibility

Under INA 244 and 8 CFR Part 244, initial applicants generally must meet all of the following:

Nationality: a national of the designated country, or a stateless person whose last habitual residence was in that country;
Timely registration: filed during the announced initial registration period;
Continuous residence: has resided in the United States continuously since the date specified in the country's designation notice; brief, casual and innocent departures generally do not break it;
Continuous physical presence: has been physically present in the United States continuously since the effective date of that designation (brief, casual and innocent departures are likewise permitted);
Admissibility: admissible as an immigrant, or the relevant inadmissibility grounds can be waived. TPS has special rules: some inadmissibility grounds (such as lacking a labor certification or a valid visa) do not apply; some can be waived through I-601; criminal, drug trafficking and security-related grounds generally cannot be waived;
Not subject to a ground of ineligibility (see below).

Grounds of ineligibility

Conviction in the United States of any felony or two or more misdemeanors;
Being subject to a statutory bar to asylum, such as having participated in the persecution of others, conviction of a particularly serious crime, commission of a serious nonpolitical crime outside the United States, being a danger to U.S. security, or terrorism-related activity;
Having been firmly resettled in a third country before arriving in the United States;
Failing to register or re-register as required (without good cause).

Late initial filing

If you missed the initial registration period, you may still file if you meet certain conditions listed in the federal regulations, such as holding another lawful status or parole during the initial registration period, having a pending application for status or relief, or being the spouse or child of a TPS-eligible person; you generally must file within 60 days after that condition ends. Whether this applies must be checked case by case.

Initial registration and re-registration

Item	Initial registration	Re-registration
Who it is for	People applying for TPS for the first time (including late filers)	People who already have TPS whose country's designation has been extended
Filing period	The registration period announced in the Federal Register	The re-registration period in the extension notice, usually shorter, so watch for it
What must be shown	Nationality, identity, continuous residence and continuous physical presence, admissibility	Generally only updated information; you do not need to resubmit all of the initial documents (unless USCIS asks)
Fees	Pay according to the current USCIS fee schedule (2025 legislation added statutory TPS fees)	Pay according to the current USCIS fee schedule, following the country's TPS page
Consequences of missing the deadline	You cannot apply (unless you qualify for late filing)	Missing it without good cause may lead to withdrawal of TPS

Tips for completing the form

Application type: at the start of the form, correctly select initial registration or re-registration and state the country you are applying under. Selecting the wrong type is a common cause of rejections and delays.
Entry information: the date, place and manner of your last entry, and your earlier entry and departure records; these must match the I-94 and other records.
Residence history: describe your residence in the United States since the designation date and every departure. Whether a departure was "brief, casual and innocent" affects eligibility.
Eligibility questions: the form contains a series of questions about crimes, security and immigration violations that must be answered truthfully; for any "yes" answer, attach an explanation and court records.
Work permit: the form asks whether you are also requesting work authorization; if you need a work permit, file I-765 together with it (using the category stated on the country's TPS page).
Use the current edition: USCIS updates form editions from time to time; confirm the accepted edition on the official page before filing.

Evidence and documents to include

Identity and nationality: passport, birth certificate together with a photo identity document, national identity card, and so on;
Date of entry: passport entry stamp, I-94, and so on;
Continuous residence and continuous physical presence: leases, utility bills, pay stubs, school records, medical records, bank records and similar documents covering the period;
Criminal records: for any arrest or conviction, provide the court's final disposition;
Photos (as the instructions require);
Foreign-language documents must include a complete English translation and a translator's certification; see Translation and notarization requirements for immigration documents.

How to file and fees

File using the method and address listed on the USCIS form page and the country's TPS page (online or by mail). Filing addresses and instructions may differ by country.
New fees enacted in 2025: the "H.R. 1" law signed in July 2025 set statutory fees for TPS applications and TPS work permits; the law provides that these fees cannot be waived, and the amounts may be adjusted for inflation. Some fees that could previously be waived may no longer be waivable. Whether they apply to initial registration or re-registration, and how to pay, are as currently published by USCIS.
Check the exact amounts in the USCIS Fee Schedule G-1055 and on the TPS page; see also How to check immigration fees and processing times.

Work permits and travel

Work authorization: TPS holders can apply for a work permit through I-765. Under the 2025 legislation and an interim final rule issued by DHS in 2026, a TPS work permit is generally valid for at most 1 year or until the country's TPS designation expires, whichever is shorter, and must be renewed on time. Implementation details may still change; check current USCIS rules.
Automatic extensions: when a country's designation is extended, DHS sometimes automatically extends the validity of certain work permits in the notice; follow the notice.
Travel: before leaving the United States, you must obtain travel authorization through I-131. Leaving without authorization may cause you to lose TPS or even be unable to return. People with other immigration issues (such as a prior removal order) must consult an attorney before traveling.

What happens after filing

Receipt: keep the receipt notice. While an initial application is pending, temporary protection from removal may be available in some situations.
Biometrics: attend for fingerprints and photos as notified, for background checks.
Requests for evidence: you may receive a request for evidence (see What to do when you receive an RFE), commonly when residence evidence, proof of nationality or criminal records are incomplete.
Decision: if approved, you receive an approval notice; the work permit is issued separately.

Check processing times on the USCIS processing times page; to check case status, see How to check your USCIS case status.

TPS and green cards

TPS itself is not a path to a green card. While in TPS, you can apply for other status (such as family-based or employment-based immigration, or asylum).
In Sanchez v. Mayorkas (2021), the U.S. Supreme Court held that a grant of TPS to a person who entered without inspection does not constitute an "admission" for purposes of adjustment of status. In other words, a person who entered without inspection and later obtained TPS generally cannot rely on TPS alone to meet the lawful admission requirement for adjusting status in the United States.
Maintaining TPS can qualify as one of the "extraordinary circumstances" exceptions to the 1-year asylum filing deadline, provided the asylum application is filed within a reasonable period after TPS ends (see I-589).
When a designation is terminated, TPS holders should assess in advance whether they can apply for another status, to avoid falling out of status once the termination takes effect.

Options after a denial or withdrawal

If USCIS denies an initial application, you may be able to appeal to the Administrative Appeals Office (AAO), depending on the reason for denial; for people in removal proceedings, TPS eligibility can be reviewed again before an immigration judge. The available remedies are as stated in the denial notice; the related form is I-290B.
If TPS was withdrawn for failure to re-register on time and you had good cause, you can try to explain and remedy it.
Loss of TPS because a country's designation was terminated is not an individual denial, and there is generally no individual appeal.

How it differs from similar forms

Item	I-821 (TPS)	I-589 (asylum)	I-821D (DACA)
Basis	Designation of the home country	Individual persecution or well-founded fear	Arrival as a child and other conditions; an exercise of prosecutorial discretion to defer removal
Proof of individual persecution required?	No	Yes	No
Path to a green card?	Not by itself	May apply 1 year after approval	Not by itself
Can family members be included?	Each family member must qualify and apply separately	Spouse and unmarried minor children can be included	Each person applies separately
Duration	Follows the extension or termination of the country's designation	Asylee status has no fixed end date	Two years at a time; must be renewed

Frequently asked questions

Can citizens of China apply for TPS?

China (including Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan) is not a designated TPS country, so Chinese citizens generally cannot apply. Hong Kong residents have been covered by a separate presidential arrangement called Deferred Enforced Departure (DED), which is not TPS; whether it is still in effect and whom it covers are as currently published by official sources. Whether there is any new TPS designation is as shown on the official USCIS TPS page.

My country's TPS was terminated. What is my status now?

Once the termination takes effect, TPS and TPS-based work permits end, and you return to the immigration status you had before obtaining TPS. If you previously had another lawful status or have a pending application, the situation may be different. You should assess other options, such as family-based immigration or asylum, as soon as possible before the termination takes effect.

What if I missed the re-registration period?

Re-registering late without good cause may lead to withdrawal of TPS. If you have good cause, file as soon as possible with an explanation and evidence; USCIS decides whether to accept it.

Can I travel abroad with TPS?

You must first obtain travel authorization through I-131. Leaving without authorization may cause you to lose TPS. Even with travel authorization, people with a history of immigration violations may still face risks when leaving and returning, so consult an attorney before traveling.

I have one DUI on my record. Can I still apply for TPS?

The criminal bar for TPS is a conviction in the United States of any felony or two or more misdemeanors. A single DUI may be a misdemeanor or a felony depending on the state, the specific offense and the circumstances. You must provide the court's final disposition, and an attorney should assess its effect under immigration law.

Can I apply for a green card while in TPS?

TPS cannot by itself lead to a green card, but while in TPS you can apply through other routes, such as a family-based petition by a U.S. citizen spouse. A person who entered without inspection and later obtained TPS generally cannot rely on TPS alone to meet the lawful admission requirement for adjusting status in the United States, and may need to go through consular processing and assess waivers; this requires case-by-case analysis.