| On Oct. 6, 2020, USCIS issued policy guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual clarifying whether temporary protected status (TPS) beneficiaries are eligible for adjustment of status under section 245(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). INA 245(a) requires an alien to have been inspected and admitted or inspected and paroled into the United States, unless exempt from this requirement.
Overview The updated guidance also incorporates Matter of Z-R-Z-C-, which held that generally TPS beneficiaries who travel outside the United States with prior authorization under INA 244(f)(3) retain the same status when they return to the United States that they had when they departed. If they were not considered inspected and admitted or inspected and paroled before their departure, that will not change when they return. This updated policy guidance clarifies that decisions in the Sixth and Ninth Circuits holding the TPS is an admission for INA 245(a) purposes are limited to those jurisdictions. Outside of the Sixth and Ninth Circuits, Matter of H-G-G-, 27 I. & N. Dec. 617, 635 (AAO 2019), applies. USCIS has published this policy guidance in Volume 7, Part B of the USCIS Policy Manual. For More Information |