ICYMI: USCIS Issues Policy Alert on TPS and Eligibility for Adjustment under INA §245(a)

USCIS issued a policy alert noting that it is updating the USCIS Policy Manual to address the proper mechanism for authorizing travel by Temporary Protected Status (TPS) beneficiaries and how such travel may affect their eligibility for adjustment of status under INA §245(a). USCIS is also updating the USCIS Policy Manual to reflect the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in Sanchez v. Mayorkas, 141 S.Ct. 1809.

Comments are due by August 1, 2022.

Policy Highlights

• Incorporates the Supreme Court’s decision in Sanchez v. Mayorkas.
• Reflects the rescission of Matter of Z-R-Z-C- as an adopted decision.
• Clarifies that if a TPS beneficiary is inspected and admitted into TPS following a return from authorized travel, this meets the requirements of INA §§245(a) and 245(k) for adjustment of status.
• Provides that USCIS may deem past travel under advance parole to have been an admission into TPS in certain cases.
• Clarifies the circumstances under which USCIS or EOIR have jurisdiction over adjustment of status applications following a TPS beneficiary’s inspection and admission into TPS after a return from authorized travel.
• Clarifies that jurisdiction over an adjustment application by a noncitizen in removal proceedings is based on whether or not DHS placed the noncitizen into those proceedings as an “arriving alien.”
• Removes and reserves guidance discussing TPS when considering whether a naturalization applicant was lawfully admitted as a permanent resident as required under INA §318.

Related Resources

• Supreme Court Says TPS Is Not an Admission (Sanchez et ux. v. Mayorkas, 6/7/21)
• USCIS Rescinds Matter of Z-R-Z-C- As an Adopted Decision – July 1, 2022
• AILA Requests USCIS Rescind the Adopted AAO Decision of Matter of Z-R-Z-C-