Lebanese nationals already protected under Temporary Protected Status may keep that protection and related work authorization through Nov. 27, 2026, while DHS reviews whether conditions in Lebanon still justify the designation.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
The Department of Homeland Security has automatically extended Temporary Protected Status for eligible Lebanese nationals in the United States for another six months after officials did not issue a final decision before the statutory deadline, according to a May 28 statement from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
The extension allows current beneficiaries under Lebanon’s Temporary Protected Status designation to retain their status through Nov. 27, 2026, provided they continue to meet eligibility requirements. Employment Authorization Documents already issued under the Lebanon TPS designation will also remain valid through that date, USCIS said.
Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, allows nationals of designated countries to remain and work in the United States when their home countries are affected by armed conflict, natural disasters, epidemics or other temporary and extraordinary conditions. The protection can be terminated when the DHS secretary determines that conditions in the designated country no longer warrant the status.
Lebanon’s TPS designation had been scheduled to expire May 27. Under federal rules described by USCIS, if the DHS secretary does not make a decision on a country’s TPS eligibility at least 60 days before expiration, the designation is automatically extended for six months.
USCIS said former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and current DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin did not make a final determination by the March 28, 2026, deadline because conditions in Lebanon required additional review.
Former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and current DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin “were unable to make an informed determination on Lebanon’s TPS designation by the March 28, 2026, statutory deadline due to the dynamic and quickly unfolding events in Lebanon that required a new review of country conditions and impacted the ability to provide information for Secretarial consideration,” USCIS said.
The agency said the DHS secretary intends to review conditions in Lebanon no later than 60 days before Nov. 27 to decide whether to extend or terminate the designation.
“During this period, beneficiaries are encouraged to prepare for their return to Lebanon, including requesting updated travel documents from the government of Lebanon, in the event Lebanon’s TPS designation is not extended again and if they have no other lawful basis for remaining in the United States,” the document states.
The decision comes as Lebanon remains under the State Department’s highest-level travel warning. A May 6 advisory listed Lebanon as “Level 4—Do not travel,” citing risks tied to crime, terrorism, unrest, kidnapping, landmines and armed conflict.
“Do not travel to Lebanon for any reason due to the risk of crime, terrorism, unrest, kidnapping, landmines, and armed conflict,” the State Department said.
The department also warned that groups including Hamas, Hezbollah and ISIS continue to plan possible attacks in Lebanon. Potential targets include tourist sites, shopping malls, markets, transportation hubs and local government facilities, according to the advisory. The State Department said the Lebanese government cannot guarantee the safety of Americans if violence or armed conflict breaks out suddenly.
Lebanon is also affected by the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hezbollah. Heavy Israeli strikes hit towns and villages in southern Lebanon overnight May 27 and into May 28 after Israel declared a new area a combat zone.
The Israeli military told residents to leave towns south of the Zahrani River, roughly 25 miles north of the Israeli border. Combined with the border zone occupied by Israeli troops, evacuation orders over the past three months have covered about 770 square miles of Lebanon, or roughly one-fifth of the country.
On May 28, an Israeli strike hit a building in Beirut’s southern suburbs despite a ceasefire that has not stopped fighting between Israeli troops and Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.
The number of Lebanese nationals in the United States with TPS protection is relatively small compared with some other designated countries. According to an August 2025 post on Congress.gov, 140 people from Lebanon had TPS as of March 31, 2025.
The Trump administration has sought to end TPS designations for several countries as part of its broader immigration agenda, but those efforts have faced legal challenges.
In February, DHS announced that Yemen’s TPS designation would end May 4. A lawsuit challenged the move, alleging that the termination came despite the DHS secretary’s determination that Yemen continued to face “extraordinary and temporary conditions.”
A district court ruled against the administration on May 1, finding that DHS had acted unlawfully by disregarding “the procedural requirements established by Congress.” The decision postponed the effective date of the Yemen TPS termination.
A DHS spokesperson told The Epoch Times by email at the time that TPS was intended to be temporary and that the Trump administration was returning the program to its original purpose.
In late April, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in a case involving the administration’s effort to end TPS protections for Syrian and Haitian nationals. The court has not yet issued a ruling.
USCIS said in a May 28 update that 12 countries currently have TPS designations: Burma, also known as Myanmar; El Salvador; Ethiopia; Haiti; Lebanon; Somalia; South Sudan; Sudan; Syria; Ukraine; Venezuela; and Yemen.
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