INSIGHTi

Afghanistan Designated for Temporary
Protected Status
March 29, 2022
On March 15, 2022, the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced the
designation of Afghanistan for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for a period of 18 months. The
designation of Afghanistan for TPS is based on ongoing armed conflict “as the Taliban seeks to impose
control in all areas of the country and Islamic State-Khorasan (IS-K) conducts attacks against civilians.”
The announcement also references the “extraordinary and temporary” conditions that prevent Afghans
from being able to return safely to Afghanistan: a “collapsing public sector, a worsening economic crisis,
drought, food and water insecurity, lack of access to healthcare, internal displacement, human rights
abuses and repression by the Taliban, destruction of infrastructure, and increasing criminality.” According
to data provided to the Congressional Research Service (CRS) by DHS on March 7, DHS says the TPS
designation will allow some 74,500 Afghans who were residing in the United States as of March 15,
2022, to remain and work legally through September 2023.
Tens of thousands of Afghans were evacuated from Afghanistan and relocated to the United States in
2021 as a result of the U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan. These Afghan nationals included
persons who had assisted the United States during its two-decade military presence in Afghanistan. Most
Afghan evacuees who were allowed to enter the United States were granted immigration parole. Parolees
are permitted to remain in the United States for the duration of the grant of parole, and may obtain work
authorization. These benefits are temporary; parole does not provide a recipient with a designated
pathway to lawful permanent resident (LPR) status. Most Afghan evacuees were granted parole for two
years, though some were reportedly granted one year.
What is Temporary Protected Status?
Congress established TPS in 1990 (Title III of P.L. 101-649) to provide safe haven for foreign nationals in
the United States—regardless of their immigration status—who are from countries experiencing armed
conflict, natural disaster, or other extraordinary circumstances that prevent their safe return. Individuals
granted TPS are eligible for employment authorization, cannot be detained on the basis of their
immigration status, and are not subject to removal from the United States while they retain TPS.
The DHS Secretary can designate a country for TPS for periods of 6 to 18 months and can extend these
periods if the country continues to meet the conditions for designation. Each designation specifies the date
Congressional Research Service
https://crsreports.congress.gov
IN11903
CRS INSIGHT
Prepared for Members and
Committees of Congress

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Congressional Research Service
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from which individuals must have continuously resided in the United States in order to qualify. If a
designation is extended, this date may be moved forward to allow those who arrived later to qualify, an
action referred to as redesignation. A foreign state may not be designated for TPS if the DHS Secretary
finds that allowing its nationals to temporarily stay in the United States is against national interests.
To obtain TPS, nationals of foreign countries designated for TPS must pay specified fees and submit an
application to DHS’s U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) before the deadline set forth in
the Federal Register notice announcing the TPS designation. The application must include supporting
documentation as evidence of eligibility (e.g., a passport issued by the designated country and records
showing continuous physical presence in the United States since the date established in the TPS
designation). The statute specifies grounds of inadmissibility that cannot be waived, including those
relating to criminal convictions, drug offenses, terrorist activity, and the persecution of others. Foreign
nationals outside the United States are not eligible to apply for TPS.
As of the date of this Insight, there are 14 countries and approximately 355,000 individuals covered by
TPS designations (according to data provided to CRS by DHS on March 14, 2022). Some of these
countries—such as El Salvador, Honduras, and Somalia—have had TPS for decades; others—such as
Venezuela, Burma, Ukraine, and Afghanistan—were designated for the first time during the Biden
Administration.
What does TPS mean for Afghan nationals in the United States?
In 2019, there were an estimated 132,000 foreign-born individuals from Afghanistan living in the United
States. The largest populations were residing in California, Virginia, and Texas. Most Afghans in the
United States have LPR status or U.S. citizenship. Some, however, are in the United States in a temporary
lawful status (e.g., nonimmigrants) or are without lawful status. These two groups could benefit from
TPS.
DHS’s estimate of 74,500 Afghan nationals who could be eligible for TPS includes about 72,500 who
were paroled into the United States following the evacuation. The remaining 2,000 include
nonimmigrants such as students, exchange visitors, temporary workers, and tourists, as well as those
without lawful status. TPS may be held concurrently with another status, including parole or
nonimmigrant status. Eligible Afghans have the option of applying for TPS in order to guarantee
protection from removal for at least 18 months. After 18 months, if conditions in Afghanistan have not
sufficiently improved, TPS could be extended for an additional period.
As noted above, a grant of TPS does not provide a recipient with a designated pathway to LPR status;
however, a TPS recipient is not barred from acquiring nonimmigrant or immigrant status if he or she
meets the requirements. Some of the Afghans who were evacuated to the United States were in the
process of becoming LPRs. For example, certain Afghans who worked as translators or interpreters, or
who were employed by, or on behalf of, the U.S. government in Afghanistan, were in the process of
obtaining special immigrant status through the Afghan Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) program. Others are
in the process of obtaining permanent status through other pathways, such as the refugee program or
family-based or employment-based sponsorship. Many, however, have no immediate pathway available
for obtaining LPR status. Advocates and some Members of Congress have expressed interest in passing
legislation to provide a pathway to LPR status for such individuals.

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Author Information

Jill H. Wilson

Analyst in Immigration Policy




Disclaimer
This document was prepared by the Congressional Research Service (CRS). CRS serves as nonpartisan shared staff
to congressional committees and Members of Congress. It operates solely at the behest of and under the direction of
Congress. Information in a CRS Report should not be relied upon for purposes other than public understanding of
information that has been provided by CRS to Members of Congress in connection with CRS’s institutional role.
CRS Reports, as a work of the United States Government, are not subject to copyright protection in the United
States. Any CRS Report may be reproduced and distributed in its entirety without permission from CRS. However,
as a CRS Report may include copyrighted images or material from a third party, you may need to obtain the
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