If you are a Ukrainian national living in the United States under Temporary Protected Status, the clock is running on two deadlines at once. One has already passed. The other is coming faster than most people realize. This guide explains where things stand, what changed, and the exact steps you need to take today. A Waukegan, IL work visa lawyer can help Ukrainian nationals explore available immigration and employment-based visa options before important deadlines affect their status.
What Is TPS and Why Does It Matter for Ukrainians?
Temporary Protected Status, commonly called TPS, is a humanitarian immigration protection granted by the U.S. government to nationals of countries experiencing ongoing armed conflict, environmental disasters, or other extraordinary conditions. It gives eligible individuals the legal right to live and work in the United States for a defined period of time.
For Ukrainians, TPS was designated after Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. The most recent extension was published in the Federal Register on January 17, 2025, by the outgoing Biden administration [1]. That extension set the current TPS validity period for Ukraine to run through October 19, 2026.
As of June 2026, USCIS estimates that approximately 101,150 Ukrainians hold TPS in the United States [2]. That is a significant number of people navigating a very uncertain situation.
The First Deadline That Already Passed: April 19, 2026
When USCIS extends TPS for a country, it also issues an automatic extension of existing Employment Authorization Documents, commonly called EADs or work permits, for people who already had valid status. This automatic extension allows people to keep working while their renewal applications are being processed.
For Ukraine TPS holders, those automatically extended EADs expired on April 19, 2026 [3].
That date has already passed. If your work permit was relying on that automatic extension and you have not filed a renewal application, you may currently be without valid work authorization.
If your EAD has a ‘Card Expires’ date of April 19, 2025 or October 19, 2023 and you have not yet filed Form I-765 to renew it, you need to act immediately.
USCIS has been processing Ukraine TPS re-registration applications slowly. According to Global Refuge, processing times have been running approximately 13 months [4]. That means people who filed renewals in early 2025 may still be waiting. If you filed on time, your pending application itself may provide some protection, but you should verify your status with an immigration attorney.
The Second Deadline: October 19, 2026 and the August 20 Window
The entire Ukraine TPS designation expires on October 19, 2026. By law, the Secretary of Homeland Security must make a decision about extending or terminating TPS at least 60 days before the designation expires [5]. That puts the statutory decision window at approximately August 20, 2026.
As of the date of this article, the Trump administration has made no public announcement about what it intends to do. This silence is itself significant. You should not assume the designation will be extended.
There is one technical safety net: if DHS makes no decision by August 20, the designation automatically extends for six months under the statute. But relying on administrative inaction as your immigration strategy is not a plan.
Adding to the uncertainty, the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to issue a ruling in early July 2026 in a case involving TPS for nationals of Haiti and Syria. That ruling could reshape how TPS designations are handled across the board, with direct implications for Ukraine [6].
Uniting for Ukraine Is Still Suspended
The Uniting for Ukraine humanitarian parole program, which brought more than 175,000 Ukrainians to the United States between 2022 and 2025, was suspended on January 27, 2025 [7]. It has not been reopened.
Ukrainians who entered the U.S. through that program and whose parole period is expiring face a separate set of urgent decisions. Re-parole applications (Form I-131) are technically still accepted on a case-by-case basis, but the government added a $1,000 grant fee on top of the approximately $580 filing fee, effective October 2025 [8].
USCIS had paused processing re-parole and related applications for nearly four months in early 2025 before federal court intervention in the case Svitlana Doe v. Noem ordered processing to resume in May 2025 [9]. As of mid-2026, processing is ongoing, but the legal landscape remains contested.
ICE Deportations of Ukrainians Are Happening
This is not hypothetical. Ukraine’s embassy in Washington identified approximately 80 Ukrainian nationals with final orders of removal as of late 2025. A group of about 50 Ukrainians was deported by ICE in November 2025 [10]. Reports confirmed that some of the deported men were draft-age and were handed to Ukrainian border officials upon arrival.
The ongoing ceasefire negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, including the announcement of a short-lived three-day ceasefire in May 2026 [11], raise the risk that the administration could argue Ukraine is sufficiently stable to justify ending protections. Do not take that risk.
What You Need to Do Now
Here is a straightforward action list based on where things stand today.
- Check your current EAD expiration date. If it has lapsed or expires within the next six months, file Form I-765 immediately.
- Confirm that your TPS re-registration was received and is on file with USCIS. If you missed the March 18, 2025 re-registration deadline, late re-registration may still be possible with a showing of good cause.
- If you entered on a Uniting for Ukraine parole and that status is expiring, consult with an immigration attorney about re-parole and parallel relief options.
- Apply for asylum if you have not already. You must apply within one year of your arrival in the U.S. TPS can toll, or pause, that one-year deadline in some circumstances, but this is complex and fact-specific.
- Explore family-based or employment-based petitions if you may be eligible. Do not rely on any single status.
- Avoid international travel unless you have consulted with an attorney. Re-entry scrutiny for Ukrainians has increased significantly.
The most important thing you can do right now is not wait. The October deadline is closer than it looks, and the administration has given no indication of its intentions. If you have questions about TPS, work authorization, humanitarian parole, or other immigration options, contact Dworsky Law Firm to discuss your situation and explore the best path forward before critical deadlines arrive.
Sources
[1] Federal Register, 90 FR 5936 — Extension of the Designation of Ukraine for Temporary Protected Status, January 17, 2025. federalregister.gov/documents/2025/01/17/2025-00771/extension-of-the-designation-of-ukraine-for-temporary-protected-status
[2] USCIS — Temporary Protected Status Designated Country: Ukraine. uscis.gov/humanitarian/temporary-protected-status/TPS-Ukraine
[3] E-Verify — TPS for Ukraine Extended for 18 Months; Certain EADs Automatically Extended Through April 19, 2026. e-verify.gov
[4] Global Refuge — TPS Extension for Ukraine Explainer, February 2025. globalrefuge.org
[5] American Immigration Council — Temporary Protected Status: An Overview. americanimmigrationcouncil.org
[6] Ukraine Immigration Task Force — News and Resources for Ukrainians. ukrainetaskforce.org
[7] NPR — As Protections Expire, Ukrainians Who Escaped War Face an Uncertain Future, March 28, 2025. npr.org/2025/03/28/nx-s1-5318049
[8] USCIS — Re-Parole Process for Certain Ukrainian Citizens and Their Immediate Family Members. uscis.gov/humanitarian/uniting-for-ukraine/re-parole-process
[9] Human Rights First — Judge Orders Trump Administration to Restore Processing of Immigration Benefit Applications for Humanitarian Parole Recipients. humanrightsfirst.org
[10] Welcome.US — Recent Policy News. welcome.us/policy-updates/recent-policy-news
[11] Al Jazeera — Trump Announces Three-Day Ceasefire in Russia-Ukraine War, May 8, 2026. aljazeera.com/news/2026/5/8
