On July 1, USCIS rescinded its decision in Matter of Z-R-Z-C.

Let me break this down.

What is TPS?

TPS = temporary protected status for people from certain countries that have faced civil strife and natural disasters. It allows people to live and work in the U.S. temporarily.

For a long time, USCIS considered that people who had TPS and traveled with a document called advance parole and then returned to the US to be considered “paroled in.”

Why was that important?

For people from certain countries who entered the country without inspection by illegally crossing the border, that meant that they would later be eligible to file for adjustment of status (the green card) without having to file for a waiver and return to their home countries to process their cases through the consulate.

In 2020, USCIS issued Matter of Z-R-Z-C-, instructing that TPS beneficiaries returning to the US on advance parole should not be considered inspected or paroled for the purpose of adjustment of status.

Now as of July 1st that harmful policy no longer exists and we are back to the status quo. TPS beneficiaries can indeed use advance parole as before to return to the US and be considered inspected and paroled.

There are currently 15 countries part of the TPS program – Afghanistan, Burma, Cameroon, El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua, Syria, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, Ukraine, Venezuela, and Yemen.