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Temporary Protected Status Designated Country: El Salvador

ALERT: On Sept. 14, 2020, in Ramos, et al. v. Nielsen, et al., No. 18-cv-01554 (N.D. Cal. Oct. 3, 2018) (PDF, 374.01 KB), the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California enjoined DHS from implementing and enforcing the decisions to terminate Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Sudan, Nicaragua, Haiti and El Salvador, pending further resolution of the case. 

For additional information, please see the Dec. 9, 2020, Federal Register Notice, specific TPS country pages available on the USCIS website, and the Update on Ramos v. Nielsen page on the USCIS website.

TPS Continued Through: As long as preliminary injunction ordered by court in Ramos, et al v. Nielsen, et al., No. 18-cv-01554 (N.D. Cal. Oct. 3, 2018) remains in effect.
Re-registration period for People Who Already Have TPS:

Current beneficiaries under the TPS designation for El Salvador do not need to re-register to maintain TPS, provided that they properly re-registered for TPS during the following registration periods for El Salvador.

  • Jan. 18, 2018, through March 19, 2018
  • July 8, 2016, through Sept. 6, 2016
Employment Authorization Document (EAD) Auto-Extended Through: Oct. 4, 2021
Continuous Residence in U.S. Since: Feb. 13, 2001
Continuous Physical Presence in U.S. Since: March 9, 2001
TPS Designation Date: March 9, 2001
Federal Register Notice Citation:

When to File for TPS

To maintain TPS, you must have either filed to re-register during the 60-day re-registration period that ran from Jan. 18, 2018, through Mar. 19, 2018 or Jul. 8, 2016, through Sept. 6, 2016, and been approved, or have an application that remains pending. If you did not re-register during these timeframes, you may submit a late re-registration application, including a letter that explains your reason(s) for filing late with your application. USCIS will determine whether your reasons are “good cause” for being late, as required under the TPS law.

Where to File

Send your TPS package to the appropriate address in the table below: 

If you:     Then, mail your application to:

Are a beneficiary under the TPS designation for El Salvador and you live in the following

states/territories: Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois,

Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire,

New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina,

Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia

U.S. Postal Service (USPS)

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
Attn: TPS El Salvador
P.O. Box 660864
Dallas, TX 75266 

FedEx, UPS, and DHL deliveries:

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
Attn: TPS El Salvador
2501 S. State Highway, 121 Business Suite 400
Lewisville, TX 75067

Are a beneficiary under the TPS designation for El Salvador and you live in the following

states/territories: Alabama, Alaska, American Samoa, Arizona, Arkansas, California,

Colorado, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri,

Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Northern Mariana

Islands, Oklahoma, Oregon, Puerto Rico, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virgin Islands,

Washington, Wisconsin, Wyoming

U.S. Postal Service:

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
Attn: TPS El Salvador
P.O. Box 8635
Chicago, IL 60680-8635

FedEx, UPS, and DHL deliveries:

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
Attn: TPS El Salvador
131 S. Dearborn – 3rd Floor
Chicago, IL 60603-5517

Automatic Employment Authorization Document (EAD) Extension

EAD Extension

We are automatically extending the validity of EADs with the category codes “A-12” or “C-19” and one of the following expiration dates shown below that we issued to beneficiaries under the TPS designation of El Salvador, provided that such individuals continue to maintain TPS eligibility:

EAD Expiration Date Now Valid Until
March 9, 2018 Oct. 4, 2021
Sept. 9, 2019 Oct. 4, 2021
Jan. 2, 2020 Oct. 4, 2021
Jan. 4, 2021 Oct. 4, 2021

If you are a TPS El Salvador beneficiary who applied for a new EAD but have not yet received it, you are also covered by this automatic extension as long as the EAD that you have contains one of the expiration dates noted in the chart above. You may show your EAD and the Federal Register Notice (PDF) to employers to demonstrate that we have extended your EAD and employment authorization through Jan. 4, 2021.

Extensions of Other DHS Documentation

Additionally, we are automatically extending the validity periods of the following Forms I-94, Arrival/Departure Record, and Forms I-797, Notice of Action (Approval Notice) under the designation of El Salvador:

Beginning Date of Validity End Date of Validity Now Valid Until
Sept. 10, 2016 March 9, 2018 Jan. 4, 2021
March 10, 2018 Sept. 9, 2019 Jan. 4, 2021

However, the extension of the validity periods above applies only if you properly filed for TPS re-registration during either the most recent DHS-announced registration period for TPS El Salvador that ran from Jan. 18, 2018, through March 19, 2018, the previous re-registration period from July 8, 2016, through Sept. 6, 2016, or have a re-registration application that remains pending.

The extension does not apply if the TPS of any such individual has been finally withdrawn or denied.

Information for TPS Beneficiaries Regarding Re-registration

Current beneficiaries of TPS El Salvador do not need to pay a fee or file any application, including Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, to maintain their TPS benefits through Jan. 4, 2021, if they properly re-registered for TPS during either the most recent DHS-announced registration period or the previous re-registration period listed above. 

If you failed to re-register properly for TPS during either of these re-registration periods, you should file Form I-821, Application for Temporary Protected Status, and demonstrate “good cause” for failing to re-register on time, as required by law. For more information, see:

  • INA section 244(c)(3)(C) (TPS beneficiary’s failure to register without good cause in form and manner specified by DHS is ground for TPS withdrawal);
  • 8 CFR 244.17(b); and
  • The Form I-821 Instructions.  

If you are filing a late re-registration application, please provide a letter explaining all of your reasons for filing outside of the re-registration period. If you filed after the re-registration period because of the DHS announcement of the termination of TPS for your country, please explain how that announcement affected you, including how the termination decisions affected your failure to re-register. However, if the announcement of the TPS termination did not cause you to file late, you should not include it as a reason. Please remember to be truthful in explaining your reasons.

If you are a TPS El Salvador beneficiary and your EAD was not automatically extended, or if you wish to apply for a new EAD, you may file Form I–765 with the appropriate fee or a fee waiver request. If approved, we will issue an EAD with a Jan. 4, 2021, expiration date. Similarly, we will issue an EAD with a Jan. 4, 2021, expiration date for those with pending EAD applications that we ultimately approve.

Other Immigration Options

You might be eligible for other immigration options listed on the Explore My Options page.

To apply for a lawful permanent status (Green Card), you must be eligible under one of the categories listed on the Green Card Eligibility Categories page. Once you find the category that may fit your situation, click on the link provided to get information on eligibility requirements, how to apply, and whether your family members can also apply with you.

Note on Seeking Asylum: Being granted and maintaining TPS until a reasonable period before the filing of the asylum application is considered an extraordinary circumstance for the purposes of the one year filing deadline. In other words, having TPS “stops the clock” on the requirement to file for asylum within one year of arriving in the United States, if the one-year clock has not already expired. See 8 CFR 208.4(a)(5)(iv).

Avoid Scams

Please be aware that some unauthorized practitioners may try to take advantage of you by claiming they can file TPS forms. These same individuals may ask that you pay them to file such forms. We want to ensure that all potential TPS applicants know how to obtain legitimate, accurate legal advice and assistance. A list of accredited representatives and free or low-cost legal providers is available on the USCIS website on the finding legal advice web page.

We don not want you to become a victim of an immigration scam. If you need legal advice on immigration matters, make sure the person helping you is authorized to give legal advice. Only an attorney or an accredited representative working for a Department of Justice (DOJ) recognized organization can give you legal advice. Visit the Avoid Scams page for information and resources.

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