Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/20pdf/20-315_q713.pdf
Page Number: 1

(Slip Opinion) 

OCTOBER  TERM,  2020 

1 

Syllabus 

NOTE:  Where  it  is  feasible,  a  syllabus  (headnote)  will  be  released,  as  is 
being  done  in  connection  with  this  case,  at  the  time  the  opinion  is  issued. 
The  syllabus  constitutes  no  part  of  the  opinion  of  the  Court  but  has  been 
prepared  by  the  Reporter  of  Decisions  for  the  convenience  of  the  reader. 
See United States v. Detroit Timber & Lumber Co., 200 U. S. 321, 337. 

SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES 

Syllabus 

SANCHEZ ET UX. v. MAYORKAS, SECRETARY OF 
HOMELAND SECURITY, ET AL. 

CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR 
THE THIRD CIRCUIT 

No. 20–315.  Argued April 19, 2021—Decided June 7, 2021 

Petitioner Jose Santos Sanchez is a citizen of El Salvador who challenges
the  denial  of  his  application  to  become  a  lawful  permanent  resident 
(LPR) of the United States.  Sanchez entered the United States unlaw-
fully in 1997.  In 2001, the Government granted him Temporary Pro-
tected Status (TPS).  The TPS program allows foreign nationals of a 
country  designated  by  the  Government  as  having  unusually  bad  or 
dangerous conditions to live and work in the United States while the 
conditions last.  See §1254a.  In 2014, Sanchez applied under §1255 of 
the immigration laws to obtain LPR status.  Section 1255 provides a 
way for a “nonimmigrant”—a foreign national lawfully present in this 
country on a temporary basis—to obtain an “[a]djustment of status” to
LPR.  8 U. S. C. §1255.  The United States Citizenship and Immigra-
tion Services determined Sanchez ineligible for LPR status because he 
entered  the  United  States  unlawfully.   Sanchez  successfully  chal-
lenged  that  decision  before  the  District  Court,  which  reasoned  that 
Sanchez’s TPS required treating him as if he had been lawfully admit-
ted to the country for purposes of his LPR application.  The Third Cir-
cuit reversed, finding Sanchez’s unlawful entry into the country pre-
cluded his eligibility for LPR status under §1255, notwithstanding his
TPS.    

Held: A TPS recipient who entered the United States unlawfully is not 
eligible under §1255 for LPR status merely by dint of his TPS.  Section 
1255 provides that eligibility for LPR status generally requires an “ad-
mission” into the country— defined to mean “the lawful entry of the 
alien into the United States after inspection and authorization by an 
immigration officer.”  §1101(a)(13)(A).  Sanchez did not enter lawfully.