![handle is hein.crs/goveirp0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional_______
~ Research Service
Are Temporary Protected Status Recipients
Eligible to Adjust Status?
Updated September 1, 2022
Certain non-U.S. nationals (aliens, as the term is used in the Immigration and Nationality Act [INA]) who
lack a permanent foothold in the United States may pursue adjustment of status and become lawful
permanent residents (LPRs). To qualify, an alien must satisfy certain requirements, which generally
include having been inspected and admitted or paroled into the United States by immigration
authorities. Before the Supreme Court's 2021 decision in Sanchez v. Mayorkas, lower courts had
disagreed over whether aliens who unlawfully entered the United States but later received Temporary
Protected Status (TPS) are inspected and admitted into the United States. In Sanchez, the Supreme
Court held that the grant of TPS does not constitute an admission for purposes of adjustment of status.
However, under Department of Homeland Security (DHS) guidance, TPS recipients who are authorized to
travel abroad are considered to be inspected and admitted upon their return to the United States,
potentially enabling them to seek adjustment. That said, a TPS recipient's admission into the United
States alone does not provide a pathway to adjustment. An alien who had accrued unlawful presence in
the United States before receiving TPS must satisfy other requirements, such as being the beneficiary of
an immigrant visa petition filed by a U.S. citizen spouse. This Legal Sidebar provides a brief overview of
the adjustment of status framework and TPS, before examining the federal jurisprudence regarding TPS
recipients' eligibility for adjustment, DHS's related guidance, and legislative proposals.
Legal Background: Adjustment of Status and Temporary Protected Status
Adjustment of Status
Section 245(a) of the INA authorizes the Secretary of Homeland Security to adjust the status of the
beneficiary of an approved immigrant visa petition (e.g., an immediate relative petition filed by a U.S.
citizen spouse) to that of an LPR. The adjustment of status process was created by Congress to ensure that
eligible aliens who were physically present in the United States could become LPRs without having to
travel and apply for immigrant visas abroad. Within DHS, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
(USCIS) adjudicates visa petitions and adjustment of status applications. However, if an alien is placed in
formal removal proceedings (e.g., because the alien is unlawfully present in the United States), an
Congressional Research Service
https://crsreports.congress.gov
LSB10554
CRS Legal Sidebar
Prepared for Members and
Committees of Congress](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.crs/goveirp0001&div=1&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
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