Effective March 29, 2012, Temporary Protected Status (TPS) in the United States is available for Syrian citizens and those who are stateless but habitually reside in Syria. TPS is granted by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to nationals of foreign states that are experiencing ongoing armed conflict and other chaos that prevents them from returning home safely. Syrians who have been is in the U.S. today and continue to reside here may file for this grant of lawful status through September 30, 2012, and receive this status and protection for 18 months. To apply, a Syrian needs to file a form I-821, Application for Temporary Protected Status with the filing fee, along with evidence of Syrian nationality. As this status provides employment authorization, the application should include an I-765, Application for Employment Authorization. If granted, the TPS will be valid for 18 months. TPS for Syrians may be extended as other grants of TPS have in the past. Attached is the link to the USCIS website giving the filing particulars. <USCIS.GOV>
Unfortunately, TPS is for Syrians already in the U.S. and provides no benefit to Syrians outside of the U.S. The announcement in the Federal Register goes into detail that one doesn't normally see in our media about how: "... the Syrian Arab Republic Government (SARG) launched a brutal crackdown, violently repressing and killing thousands of its own civilians. The SARG continues to use excessive force against civilians, arbitrary executions, killing..." ergo the grant of TPS to Syrians in the U.S.
