(UNITED STATES) — The Department of Homeland Security posted a Federal Register notice terminating Temporary Protected Status for Yemen, setting an end date for the humanitarian program that has allowed some Yemeni nationals to live and work in the United States.
Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem made the determination after reviewing country conditions and consulting with the appropriate U.S. government agencies, DHS said.
Yemen’s TPS designation will end on May 4, 2026, DHS said, tying the deadline to the publication of the Federal Register notice.
Kristi Noem announced the termination decision on Feb. 13, 2026, after concluding Yemen no longer meets the statutory requirements for a TPS designation, DHS said.
In her statement, Noem said: “TPS was designed to be temporary, and this administration is returning TPS to its original temporary intent. We are prioritizing our national security interests and putting America first.”
Temporary Protected Status provides temporary humanitarian protection tied to conditions in a country, and it can carry related benefits such as work authorization and travel authorization. Ending a TPS designation generally means those protections and TPS-linked benefits stop on the termination date unless a person has another lawful basis to remain.
DHS said the termination affects approximately 1,400 to 3,000 Yemeni nationals living in the United States under TPS.
Yemen first received a TPS designation on September 3, 2015, due to widespread armed conflict, DHS said. The designation was extended six times, most recently through March 3, 2026.
The Federal Register notice sets out a transition period for Yemeni TPS beneficiaries. DHS described the window as 60 days after the notice’s publication.
During that transition period, DHS said, Yemeni TPS beneficiaries can arrange voluntary departure from the United States or seek alternative legal immigration status to remain.
After the termination takes effect, DHS said, individuals without valid legal status may be subject to arrest and deportation. DHS also said failing to depart voluntarily could result in a permanent bar from re-entering the country.
Work authorization and travel authorization tied to Yemen’s TPS designation will end when the termination takes effect, DHS said. That cutoff applies to “all TPS-related benefits,” the department said.
DHS directed people who depart voluntarily to use the CBP Home mobile app to report their departure from the United States when their status terminates. The department said the app records the departure as an orderly exit.
The department also said it is offering voluntary departure assistance through Project Homecoming. DHS described the support as including travel logistics help, a complimentary one-way airline ticket, and a $2,600 exit bonus upon confirmation of departure.
DHS said participation may bring “potential eligibility for future legal immigration pathways,” while emphasizing the process as part of its approach to voluntary departure. The department’s announcement did not describe any guarantee of future immigration benefits.
The Federal Register notice text appears in a document DHS posted for public inspection, including the department’s description of the termination and related timing in the Federal Register. Readers can find the notice at the Federal Register notice.
DHS framed the decision as a return to TPS’s “original temporary intent,” while linking the move to national security priorities. “We are prioritizing our national security interests and putting America first,” Noem said.
