Afghan people in the U.S. get three years of legal protection.
H.R. 9899 — Afghanistan TPS Act of 2026 · Filed by Jason Crow (D-CO) · 9 cosponsors · Introduced Jul 23, 2026 · Referred to committee
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What it does
The bill lets Afghan nationals already in the U.S. apply for Temporary Protected Status. This status lets them work legally and stay without deportation. They must pass background checks and register with the Department of Homeland Security. The government must decide on applications within 90 days. It can take up to 150 more days for security reasons. The government can waive fees for people who qualify.
Who it affects
Afghan nationals already living in the U.S. can apply for legal protection and work permits. The Department of Homeland Security must process their applications.
One thing to notice
Some Afghan nationals may not get protection even if they have been in the U.S. continuously. The bill does not say what happens to people who fail background checks.
From the analysis of the bill text, linked under Primary records below.
Where it stands
9 cosponsors: 4 Democrats, 4 Republicans, 1 Independents.
- Jul 23, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Jul 23, 2026 — Referred to House Committee on the Judiciary · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Words to know
- Temporary Protected Status — Legal permission to live and work in the U.S. for a set time.
- Department of Homeland Security — The government agency that handles immigration and border security.
- background checks — A search of a person's history to make sure they are safe and legal.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (3,142 characters) on Aug 12, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 14,707 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
As of — page rendered 2026-09-23.
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