TPS to Green Card: What Official Sources Say and Which Documents Are Translated

What TPS gives and what it does not

The USCIS Temporary Protected Status page (last reviewed September 9, 2026) states that TPS is a temporary benefit that does not lead to lawful permanent resident status. It adds that registration for TPS does not prevent filing for adjustment of status based on an immigrant petition, and that all requirements for that benefit must still be met.

The TPS statute, INA 244, contains no provision that turns TPS into permanent residence; a green card comes through another part of the law, most often adjustment of status under INA 245 based on an immigrant petition such as Form I-130.

What the law says about TPS holders and adjustment of status

INA 244(f)(4) reads: for purposes of adjustment of status under section 245 and change of status under section 248, the alien shall be considered as being in, and maintaining, lawful status as a nonimmigrant. The USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 7, Part B, Chapter 2 (current as of October 2, 2026), limits this to the period that TPS is in effect: TPS does not cure any previous failure to maintain lawful status.

The same chapter separates status from admission: a grant of TPS is not, in itself, an admission for purposes of INA 245(a), so a person who entered without inspection and later received TPS does not meet that requirement, while a person inspected and admitted or paroled at the last entry is not prevented by TPS from showing eligibility under INA 245(a).

Sanchez v. Mayorkas (2021): the holding

The Supreme Court decided Sanchez v. Mayorkas, 593 U.S. 409, on June 7, 2021, unanimously. The question was whether a grant of TPS enables a person to obtain LPR status despite an unlawful entry. The Court held that it does not: section 1255 generally requires a lawful admission, Sanchez was not lawfully admitted, and his TPS does not alter that fact. Lawful status and admission, the Court wrote, are distinct concepts.

Travel with TPS travel authorization: Form I-131 and document I-512T

The USCIS TPS page states that a TPS holder who wishes to travel abroad needs travel authorization, requested on Form I-131 (instructions edition 01/20/25, Part 1, Item 4). If approved, USCIS issues Form I-512T as evidence of DHS's prior consent under INA 244(f)(3), and a CBP officer who finds the person eligible admits them into TPS on return. With a TPS application still pending, the document is Form I-512L, an Advance Parole Document. The fee in Form G-1055, edition 10/07/26, is $630 on paper and $580 online.

Since July 1, 2022, when USCIS rescinded Matter of Z-R-Z-C- (Policy Alert PA-2022-16), the Policy Manual states: TPS beneficiaries whom DHS has inspected and admitted into TPS after such authorized travel are inspected and admitted for purposes of adjustment of status under INA 245(a), even if the beneficiary was present without admission or parole when first granted TPS. Admission into TPS, it adds, does not make the person admissible under INA 245(a)(2).

The Policy Manual updates list for January 7, 2025 through October 2, 2026 shows no change to this TPS subsection: nothing in 2025 or 2026 altered the policy.

Immediate relatives of U.S. citizens and the 245(c) bars

The Policy Manual defines immediate relatives of a U.S. citizen as the spouse, unmarried children under 21, and parents of a citizen who is 21 or older, and states that an immigrant visa is always available to them. The Form I-485 instructions allow an immediate relative to file Form I-485 together with Form I-130. INA 245(c)(2) and 245(c)(4) state that their bars apply to an alien other than an immediate relative. Chapter 8 of the same Part lists the result: an immediate relative may be eligible even if the applicant:

• is or has ever been employed in the United States without authorization;
• is not in lawful immigration status on the date of filing;
• has ever failed to maintain a lawful status since entry;
• was last admitted without a visa under the Visa Waiver Program;
• has ever violated the terms of nonimmigrant status.

The manual also states that the inspected and admitted or paroled requirement is waived only for INA 245(i) and VAWA applicants, and that every applicant remains subject to all grounds of inadmissibility.

Form I-485 in 2026: edition, fee and medical exam

On September 18, 2026, USCIS published Form I-485 edition 09/18/26, aligned with the Public Charge final rule, 91 FR 45324. There is no grace period: the 01/20/25 and 09/04/26 editions are rejected if postmarked or submitted on or after that date.

Form G-1055, edition 10/07/26, lists the I-485 fee for an applicant 14 or older as $1,440 on paper and $1,390 online. Fees change; the current amount is on uscis.gov. The I-485 page (last reviewed October 7, 2026) states that a required Form I-693, the medical examination report, must be submitted with Form I-485 or USCIS may reject the application. Policy Alert PA-2025-08 (June 11, 2025) states that Form I-693 is valid only while that application is pending.

Documents for Form I-485: which are in Russian or Ukrainian

The Form I-485 instructions, edition 09/18/26, list the evidence: two passport-style photographs; a government-issued photo ID, even an expired passport; a birth certificate listing at least one parent; evidence of inspection and admission or parole for the most recent arrival (passport stamp or Form I-94); Form I-797 for the petition, or the petition itself; a marriage certificate where the category requires it, with proof that any prior marriage ended; Form I-693; certified police and court records for any charges, arrests or convictions anywhere in the world; and Form I-864 where required.

Forms I-94, I-797, I-693 and I-864 are in English. Documents from Ukraine, Russia or another former Soviet republic are not; each is filed with a certified English translation:

• Birth certificate, in Ukrainian, Russian or both on Soviet-era forms, with all seals and stamps.
• Marriage certificate.
• Divorce certificate or court decision on divorce, and the death certificate of a former spouse.
• Name change certificate, when the current name differs from the birth certificate.
• Police clearance certificate and court records from abroad.
• Passport pages with stamps or handwritten entries; the bilingual biographic page is usually filed as is.

One spelling of the name is used everywhere: the Latin spelling from the foreign passport, on Form I-485 and in every translation.

The translation rule and what the I-485 instructions add

8 CFR 103.2(b)(3) reads: any document containing foreign language submitted to USCIS shall be accompanied by a full English language translation which the translator has certified as complete and accurate, and by the translator's certification that he or she is competent to translate from the foreign language into English. The Form I-485 instructions add that the certification must also include the translator's signature, printed name, the signature date, and the translator's contact information. Neither text mentions notarization.

Ukraine TPS today: what is official as of October 8, 2026

The most recent Federal Register notice on Ukraine, 90 FR 5936 of January 17, 2025, extended the designation through October 19, 2026. The USCIS page for Ukraine (last reviewed September 3, 2026) refers to the end of the designation period on that date, and a USCIS I-9 Central release of September 3, 2026 states that the TPS designation of Ukraine and related benefits are set to terminate on October 19, 2026.

As of October 8, 2026, the Federal Register contains no 2026 document on Ukraine TPS: no extension, no termination and no redesignation. INA 244(b)(3) requires a review at least 60 days before the end of a designation period, published in the Federal Register, and provides for an extension of 6, 12 or 18 months if no determination is made that the country no longer meets the conditions. No official source has announced an extension of the Ukraine designation, automatic or otherwise.