USCIS Restores Pathway to a Green Card for TPS Holders

On July 1, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published a new policy memorandum that has eradicated hindrances for several Temporary Protected Status (TPS) recipients and restored a pathway.

• For obtaining a green card
• Provides beneficiaries with a process for traveling outside of the country and returning in TPS status if still eligible.

The new memo has abrogated the Matter of Z-R-Z-C- a policy of August 2020 adopting the decision which had targeted the recipients with Temporary Protected Status who had entered the country through the border sans inspection.

These changes will apply post-grant to TPS recipients who had traveled with advance parole between the time frame of August 20, 2020, and July 1, 2022, if their cases are applicable within the jurisdiction of the federal Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

For the recipients having cases in other parts of the state, USCIS will make a case-by-case determination. For instance, the agency will consider factors of reliance on USCIS by the recipient before their interpretation if they are to be harmed or aided if their previous entry is now to be considered as admission.

In conclusion, providing the TPS recipients with a pathway for a green card can reassure them after residing in the United States in a precarious and unpredictable state of being for years with the fear of danger in their home countries.