# Other options: Temporary Protected Status, U and T visas, and Special Immigrant Juvenile status

Source: https://www.qaravan.org/resources/immigration/other-paths/

Other legal statuses: who they are for, the main rules and fees.

This is general information, not legal advice: QARAVAN has no lawyers. QARAVAN does not help anyone enter the US and cannot arrange visas, invitations, sponsorship or evacuation. For your own case, talk to a licensed immigration attorney or a representative accredited by the U.S. Department of Justice.

Besides asylum, some people qualify for Temporary Protected Status (TPS), a U visa for crime victims, a T visa for trafficking victims, or Special Immigrant Juvenile status (SIJ) for minors who were abused. USCIS handles all of them.

A lawyer or accredited representative must decide whether any of these fits you.

## Start here

- According to USCIS as of October 20, 2026, TPS covers only nationals of Lebanon, El Salvador, Sudan and Ukraine, and it does not lead to a green card.
- The U visa has a cap of 10,000 a year and a long line; the T visa is for trafficking victims.
- SIJ needs an order from a state juvenile court. Since May 10, 2026, filing an I-360 no longer brings deferred action.

## Four options in one table

Other routes that fit only some people

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## Temporary Protected Status (TPS), step by step

Temporary protection from removal and the right to work for nationals of countries the US considers unsafe to return to.

1. Check your country According to USCIS as of October 20, 2026, TPS is in effect for nationals of Lebanon, El Salvador, Sudan and Ukraine. For El Salvador, Sudan and Ukraine no decision has been announced; until then, protection and work rights continue. Lebanon's TPS was automatically extended from May 28 to November 27, 2026. TPS has ended for many other countries.
2. Check the dates You must prove continuous residence and presence in the US since the dates set for your country and file within the registration period (later only as an exception).
3. Check what could bar you TPS is denied for a felony or two or more misdemeanors, inadmissibility, or the mandatory bars to asylum.
4. File Form I-821 For a work permit, also file form I-765. Form I-912 can waive regular fees but not H.R. 1 fees. Everyone over 14 gives fingerprints.
5. Do not leave without permission To travel you need form I-512T or, while the application is pending, advance parole obtained before you leave. Leaving without it can cost you TPS.
6. How TPS and asylum fit together TPS and asylum applications don't affect each other. If you held TPS until shortly before filing for asylum, that counts as an extraordinary circumstance for the one-year deadline (8 CFR 208.4(a)(5)(iv)). While you hold TPS and your year hasn't ended yet, the count of that year stops.

## U visa and T visa

1. Find out whether the crime qualifies The U visa is for victims of certain crimes, the T visa for victims of severe forms of trafficking. The list of crimes and the conditions are on the USCIS page.
2. Know the U visa cap 10,000 U visas a year go to principal applicants. The fiscal 2026 cap was reached on September 5, 2026; since October 1, 2026 USCIS is again approving petitions filed up to and including August 31, 2017. While a petition waits, a bona fide determination can bring a work permit and deferred action for people in the US who filed an I-918 after June 14, 2021.
3. T visa: where to file From New York, mail form I-914 to the USCIS Elgin Lockbox: USCIS, Attn: I-914, P.O. Box 4221, Carol Stream, IL 60197-4221. The January 20, 2025 edition is accepted until November 27, 2026, then only the September 14, 2026 edition.
4. Learn about the work permit A principal T visa applicant may work; the card comes after approval. If the T application was filed on or after August 28, 2024, ask for a bona fide determination card with form I-765 filed with the application (category (c)(40)).

## Special Immigrant Juvenile (SIJ) status

1. Check the conditions You must be unmarried and have a valid state juvenile court order that reunification with one or both parents is not possible because of abuse, abandonment, neglect or similar reasons under state law. All conditions are on the USCIS page.
2. File Form I-360 The H.R. 1 fee is $250.
3. Know about the rule change The 2022 policy of granting deferred action to I-360 filers was ended for forms filed on or after May 10, 2026.

## Where to get help with a U visa, a T visa or a Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) petition

- NYC Anti-Violence Project (AVP) Any status Free AVP's lawyers help LGBTQ+ immigrants, people living with HIV included, with asylum, and survivors of violence or trafficking with U visas, T visas and VAWA self-petitions (the law protecting survivors of domestic violence). The first consultation is free. Requests go through the hotline, in English and Spanish, or the online Report Violence form at [avp.org/get-help](https://avp.org/get-help); a meeting with a lawyer is usually set within a week. [avp.org](https://avp.org/get-help/legal/)

## Glossary: definitions of special terms and abbreviations

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[All pages: Immigration and asylum](https://www.qaravan.org/resources/immigration/)

**Sources, checked November 2026**

- [avp.org/get-help/legal](https://avp.org/get-help/legal/)
- [avp.org/get-help](https://avp.org/get-help/)