Afghan refugees get three-year work permits in the U.S.
S. 5308 — Afghanistan TPS Act of 2026 · Filed by Christopher Coons (D-DE) · 3 cosponsors · Introduced Aug 6, 2026 · Referred to committee
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What it does
The bill lets Afghan nationals in the United States get Temporary Protected Status. This status lets them work and stay in the country. They must pass security checks and register with the government. The Department of Homeland Security has 90 days to decide on each application.
Who it affects
Afghan nationals living in the U.S. are affected. They can get work permits and protection from deportation if they meet the requirements.
One thing to notice
The bill says people must have been in the U.S. since the bill becomes law. Afghans who left and came back after that would not qualify.
From the analysis of the bill text, linked under Primary records below.
Where it stands
3 cosponsors: 2 Republicans, 1 Democrats.
- Aug 6, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in Senate”
- Aug 6, 2026 — Referred to Senate Committee on the Judiciary · Congress.gov: “Read twice and referred to the 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 — A legal status that lets people from certain countries work and stay in the U.S. for a set time.
- deportation — Being sent back to your home country by the government.
- work permits — Official permission to have a job in the United States.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (3,134 characters) on Aug 13, 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.
“Afghan refugees get three-year work permits in the U.S.” QuorumCivic. https://share.quorumcivic.app/bill/119/s5308/simple Report an error