After the devastating typhoon that hit the Philippines on November 8th of last year, the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) pressed U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to consider granting Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to impacted Filipinos. In a letter responding to that request, Director Alejandro Mayorkas states that USCIS will “continue to monitor the situation in the Philippines,” but makes no suggestion that TPS will be granted to nationals of the Philippines. The Director encourages those impacted by the typhoon to utilize other forms of relief, such as those outlined on the USCIS website. These options include expedited processing of some petitions and extensions of certain grants of parole.
