Filipinos call for passage of TPS by Christmas

By Steve Angeles, ABS-CBN North America Bureau

Dec. 20, 2013

LOS ANGELES – Holding their parols and raising the flag, Filipino immigration advocates stood in the rain celebrating the latest developments in Temporary Protected Status (TPS), the procedure that would allow Philippine nationals without legal status and expiring visas to be allowed to work legally and travel.

They are calling on the US government to make TPS official and grant it by Christmas.

“The United States Department of Homeland Security has already been studying this issue and now they can make a decision to grant TPS for Filipinos,” Aqui Soriano Versoza, Pilipino Workers Center executive director said. “We’re urging them to grant it before Christmas to take swift action because the sooner they can grant it the sooner this will also help the relief efforts.”

Last week the Philippine government made a formal request to the US government for TPS. Advocates give credit to the nationwide push brought on by the community taking to the streets and sharing their stories throughout the past few weeks.

“It was really engaging them there was a lot of education that needed to be done and learning about temporary protected status and how important it would be for our communities here and our communities in the Philippines,” Versoza explained.

While the Filipino community waits for the final approval on temporary protected status, advocates say it’s never to early for possible recipients to get a head start on their applications.

Experts believe the application process will be similar to past situations in where TPS was granted.

“They should also start obtaining documentation that will be needed for the process such as birth certificates, marriage certificates and documentation evidencing that they are here in the United States,” attorney Allison Aquino Silva of Filipino American Service Group Inc. explained. “There will be a date that they need to prove that they were physically present in the United States as well as continuously residing on a date once the announcement is made.”

Silva adds that potential applicants will need to find their passports, and as seen in the past, the TPS fee may cost around $400 per applicant.

You can contact Steve Angeles at steve_angeles@abs-cbn.com for more information.