Whether Temporary Protected Status constitutes an admission for purposes of adjustment of status under 8 U.S.C. § 1255(a)

QUESTIONS PRESENTED FOR REVIEW This Court has the opportunity before it to resolve a major split between the Circuit Courts of Appeal on the issue regarding whether Temporary Protected Status (“TPS”) constitutes an admission for purposes of adjustment of status under 8 U.S.C. § 1255(a) and thus overcomes the bar of ineligibility under 8 U.S.C. § 1255(c). In this case, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, in a published decision, agreed with the Eleventh Circuit’s ruling in Serrano v. United States Attorney General, 655 F.3d 1260 (11th Cir. 2011) and held that TPS is not a new entry into the United States, and therefore, 8 U.S.C. § 1255(c)’s bar on eligibility for adjustment of status applies. In so holding, the Fifth Circuit found in opposite to the Sixth Circuit’s holding in Flores v. United States Citizenship and Immigration Servs., 718 F.3d 548 (6th Cir. 2013) and more recently to the Ninth Circuit’s holding in Ramirez v. Brown, 852 F.3d 954 (9th Cir. 2017), both of which found that a grant of TPS is in fact an admission for purposes of adjustment of status. Petitioner seeks review of the Fifth Circuit’s decision in this case. Petitioner respectfully asserts that this case will have a direct impact on the lives of thousands of immigrants in the United States who have been granted TPS and are now attempting to adjust their status to become lawful permanent residents. As such, it also deserves review by the High Court in light of the fact that this case presents questions of national importance, as it relates to the interpretation of the U.S. immigration laws. Accordingly, the questions presented for review are as follows: 1. Whether a grant of TPS to an alien by the US. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) ii QUESTIONS PRESENTED FOR REVIEW —Continued constitutes a lawful admission into the United States for purposes of his or her eligibility for adjustment of status under 8 U.S.C. § 1255(a). 2. Whether grant of TPS constitutes an admission that allows an alien to avoid 8 U.S.C. § 1255(c)’s bar to adjustment of status even though the alien failed to maintain lawful status prior to the grant of TPS.