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How to Change From Temporary Protected Status to a Marriage Green Card

Navigating from TPS to a spousal visa

Sample permanent resident card

If you have Temporary Protected Status (TPS), a marriage-based green card could help you remain permanently in the United States and gain a path to full U.S. citizenship.

TPS lets people from 10 designated countries live and work in the United States following conflict or natural disasters in their home countries. If you’re married to a U.S. citizen or green card holder, it’s worth considering changing status to a marriage green card.

Not sure if you qualify for a marriage-based green card? You can check your eligibility through Boundless without providing any personal or financial information. When you’re ready to apply, Boundless can guide you through every milestone of the marriage-based green card process, starting with your Form I-130 all the way to the finish line. Learn more, or find out if you’re eligible today.


Not sure if you qualify for a marriage-based green card? Start by checking you eligibility.


Changes to the TPS Program

While TPS holders often live and work in the United States for decades, they can only lawfully remain as long as their home countries continue to be designated as TPS-eligible. Check the USCIS website for updates about your home country’s current TPS designation.

Remember, if your country’s TPS designation is terminated, you’ll have to leave the United States. Filing a marriage green card application could allow you to keep living and working in the United States, while also offering a path to eventual U.S. citizenship.

For the flat rate of $649 Boundless helps you complete your entire marriage-based green card or spousal visa application — including all required forms and supporting documents, independent attorney review, and support — from the moment your application is filed until you receive your green card. Learn more or check your eligibility without providing any personal or financial information.


The Paths to a Marriage Green Card

There are two different pathways for transitioning from TPS to a marriage green card. The path you must follow depends on whether you are married to a U.S. citizen or to a green card holder.

Let’s discuss each path in more detail:

Path 1: If you’re married to a U.S. citizen

You must follow the same procedure for most other spouses living in the United States and married to a U.S. citizen, using the Adjustment of Status (AOS) process to file your application from within the United States.

You and your spouse will first need to file the following forms:

  • The family sponsorship form — or Form I-130 (officially called the “Petition for Alien Relative”) — to be completed and signed by your spouse who is a U.S. citizen
  • The green card application — Using Form I-485 (officially called the “Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status”) — to be completed and signed by you, the F-1 student

As long as you married your spouse (who is a U.S. citizen) “in good faith” — meaning you did not marry just to obtain a green card, which you’ll need to prove to the U.S. government — your green card should arrive within  to  months from the time USCIS receives your application package.

Boundless stays with you until the green card finish line, helping you keep on top of interview preparation, follow-on forms, and every other important milestone along your immigration journey. Learn more, or check your eligibility for free.

Path 2: If you’re married to a green card holder

IMPORTANT UPDATE (March 24, 2023):

The April 2023 Visa Bulletin saw a notable shift in the F-2A family-based category (Spouses and Unmarried Children (Under Age 21) of U.S. Green Card Holders). The “Final Action Dates” for these applications are no longer “current” due to application backlogs. “Final Action Dates” refer to applications whose priority dates have reached the front of the line and can now be reviewed. However, these cases will NOT be adjudicated until the priority date is current. This development is likely to lead to longer wait times for green cards under the F-2A category. Boundless will be paying close attention — check out our monthly Visa Bulletin report for future updates.


As the first step in this process, your spouse who is a green card holder must file the family sponsorship form, or Form I-130 (officially called the “Petition for Alien Relative”). Once the Form I-130 is approved, you must wait to receive a visa number. (Only once your visa number becomes available will you be able to apply for a marriage-based green card. Visa numbers are immediately available to spouses of U.S. citizens but not to spouses of green card holders.)

The next step depends on whether or not your visa number becomes available while you’re still eligible for TPS.

If a visa number becomes available while your country’s TPS designation remains active, you will be able to stay in the United States and follow the same green card application (AOS) process for most other spouses living in the United States and married to a green card holder using Form I-485 (officially called the “Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status”).

Once your marriage-based green card application is approved, your physical green card will arrive, typically – months after USCIS originally received your Form I-130.

If a visa number will become available after your country’s TPS designation is terminated, you will need to leave the United States and follow the same green card application process for most other spouses living abroad and married to a green card holder using the online green card application, or Form DS-260 (officially called the “Immigrant Visa Electronic Application”).

Once your marriage-based green card application is approved, you will typically receive your physical green card – months after USCIS originally received your Form I-130.

You must follow this procedure unless you can secure a different type of temporary visa (such as a B-2 visitor visa) to stay legally in the United States, in which case you may follow the process for spouses living in the United States and married to a green card holder.

If your spouse who is a green card holder becomes a U.S. citizen while you are waiting for a visa number, you can switch to the process described in Path 1 above.

Boundless stays with you until the green card finish line – and we can help your spouse with their naturalization application, too. Learn more, or check your eligibility for free.


What If You Entered Without Inspection?

People who enter the United States without being inspected by a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer at a port of entry can’t usually apply for a marriage green card through AOS.

For TPS holders, though, the situation is a bit different: several U.S. courts have ruled that receiving TPS status counts as being lawfully inspected and admitted to the United States, even if you originally crossed the border without inspection. This means that a person who did not enter the United States lawfully, but who was later granted TPS, can now apply for a marriage based green card via AOS without having to leave the country.

Important:

These decisions only apply in the Ninth Circuit (which covers the western United States) and the Sixth Circuit (which covers Tennessee, Ohio, Michigan and Kentucky). If you were admitted without inspection, you might wish to move to one of these jurisdictions. Otherwise, there is a risk your application will be denied.

Do you have confidential questions about how your situation might affect your green card application? With Boundless, you get an independent immigration attorney who can help you understand your options. Find out more about what you get with Boundless, or check your eligibility now.


TPS to Green Card: Special Considerations

  • If you are currently in the United States without lawful status, but your home country is designated as TPS-eligible, you may be able to apply for TPS. You’ll need to have been physically present in the United States for a number of years, but depending on your situation obtaining TPS might give you an easier route to a marriage green card. Check the USCIS web page for your home country for full details.
  • If your country’s TPS designation is terminated, be careful not to “overstay” — that is, to remain in the United States longer than allowed. Overstaying is an immigration violation that could lead to you being barred from re-entering the United States for several years, depending on how long you remained in the United States without valid status.
  • If you were inspected by CBP when you first entered the United States, Boundless can assist you with your marriage green card application. If you entered without inspection and live outside the Sixth or Ninth Circuits’ jurisdiction, or if you have a criminal history or have been placed in deportation proceedings, then you might wish to seek an attorney to handle your case.