In order to enable Filipinos to assist in rehabilitation efforts following Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan), the United States has now received a formal request from the Philippines to be granted immigration relief via a temporary protected status, the request having been made on Friday December 13th, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs.
Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario made a statement yesterday that placing the Philippines under temporary protected status “will allow eligible Filipinos to stay and work in the US in order for them to assist in the country’s continuing recovery efforts.” Once they are given temporary protected status, this means that undocumented Filipino immigrants are able to legally work in order to financially assist their families – particularly those that have been affected by Super Typhoon Yolanda.
“The request will be evaluated first by US authorities and may take some time,” the Department of Foreign Affairs says. “If approved, eligible Filipinos can start filing their applications which will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.” They say that if the request is granted by the United States, the Philippines will join other countries that were put under a temporary protected status, after natural disasters such as El Salvador, Nicaragua, Honduras and Haiti.
Temporary protected status is given to eligible foreign nationals that already reside in the United States, as well as to people who do not have a nationality but who last lived in that country. A beneficiary of temporary protected status cannot be detained because of their immigration status.