Temporary Protected Status (TPS) is a temporary benefit that allows people who are already in the United States and who come from certain countries with extraordinary and dangerous conditions to legally live and work on a temporary basis.

The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) designates which nationalities can benefit from the program temporarily, and it is granted for six to eighteen months, and can even be extended. The Secretary of DHS may designate a country for TPS due to the following temporary conditions:

• Ongoing armed conflict (such as a civil war)

• A natural disaster (such as an earthquake or hurricane) or an epidemic

• Other extraordinary and temporary conditions.