USCIS Updates Policy Guidance on TPS and Eligibility for Adjustment of Status Under INA §245(a)

USCIS is updating policy guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual regarding whether TPS beneficiaries are eligible for adjustment of status under §245(a) of the INA. Comments are Due November 6, 2020.

Policy Highlights

• Reaffirms USCIS’s long-standing interpretation, affirmed by the Third and Eleventh Circuit Courts of Appeal, that a grant of TPS is not an admission for INA 245(a) adjustment purposes.
• Clarifies that the applicability of the decisions in the Sixth and Ninth Circuits is limited to those jurisdictions.
• Incorporates Matter of Z-R-Z-C, which held that generally TPS beneficiaries who travel outside the United States with prior authorization pursuant to INA 244(f)(3) and return to the United States resume the same immigration status they had when they departed, and therefore by virtue of that travel are not considered inspected and admitted or inspected and paroled for purposes of INA 245(a).

Related Resources

• USCIS Press Release: USCIS Updates Policy Guidance Regarding Temporary Protected Status and Eligibility for Adjustment of Status – October 6, 2020
• USCIS Issues Policy Memorandum Designating Matter of Z-R-Z-C- as an Adopted Decision (Matter of Z-R-Z-C-, Adopted Decision 2020-02 (AAO Aug. 20, 2020))
• USCIS Issues Policy Memorandum Designating AAO Decision in Matter of H-G-G- as an Adopted Decision (Matter of H-G-G-, Adopted Decision 2019-01 (AAO July 31, 2019))
• CA9 Says TPS Recipient Is Eligible to Adjust to LPR Status (Ramirez, et al. v. Brown, et al., 3/31/17)
• CA6 Finds EWI TPS Beneficiary Eligible for Adjustment of Status (Flores v. USCIS, 6/4/13)
• Court Decisions Ensure TPS Holders in Sixth and Ninth Circuits May Become Permanent Residents
• CA11 Says No §245(a) Adjustment for TPS Beneficiaries Who Enter Without Inspection (Serrano v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 9/16/11)