Nepali TPS Holders Await Crucial Court Decision Today as August 5, 2025, Deadline Nears

With less than a week until the August 5, 2025, termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Nepali immigrants in the United States, thousands of Nepali families anxiously await a federal court decision that could determine their future in the country. A hearing held on Tuesday, July 29, 2025, before Judge Trina L. Thompson in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California has left TPS holders from Nepal, Honduras, and Nicaragua in limbo as they face a rapidly approaching deadline to either leave the U.S. or adjust their immigration status.

Judge Thompson, appointed by President Joe Biden, emphasized the significance of the case during the hearing, acknowledging the vast amount of information she had reviewed, stating she had worked through the night to study the materials. She noted that TPS holders from these countries are law-abiding individuals who came to the U.S. seeking refuge due to crises in their home countries, such as the 2015 earthquake in Nepal.

“I believe all parties would agree that none have committed a crime. None have committed a crime, so that we understand what TPS holders are. These are individuals who traveled in the wake of disaster to the open arms of the United States. The United States welcomed these individuals because of disaster or because of some turmoil within their own country,” Thompson said. She highlighted their contributions through work, taxes, and community involvement, despite TPS not providing a direct path to permanent residency or citizenship.

“Some individuals have been here for almost their entire lifetime. They have worked, they have contributed to the community, they have paid taxes, and they have paid to stay with no tangible pathway to citizenship,” the Judge further said.

The hearing addressed a lawsuit filed on July 7, 2025, by the National TPS Alliance and seven individual plaintiffs, including two Nepali TPS holders, challenging the Trump administration’s decision to terminate TPS for Nepal, Honduras, and Nicaragua. The lawsuit alleges violations of the Administrative Procedure Act, unconstitutional actions driven by racial animus, and the failure to provide an adequate transition period for TPS holders to adjust their status or depart.

Among the Nepali plaintiffs are SK, a 33-year-old San Francisco resident married to a U.S. citizen and working in theater, and Sandhya Lama, a 43-year-old single mother of three U.S. citizen children in Virginia, one of whom requires special medical treatment.

Judge Thompson expressed concerns about potential pretext, racial bias, or arbitrary decision-making in the TPS terminations, stating, “The court also must take a look at what we call collateral issues and consequences and whether decisions were made because they were pretextual, because they were seeking to obtain a pre-ordained result, whether there was racial animus, and whether it was arbitrary and capricious.”

She sought clarification on the scope of any potential relief, questioning whether it would apply only to the named plaintiffs or all TPS holders from the affected countries. Thompson also raised critical questions about the consequences of TPS termination: “Where will these people go? How long will they be detained? Are they going to a third-party country?”

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced the termination of Nepal’s TPS on June 5, 2025, with the program initially set to expire on June 24, 2025, followed by a 60-day transition period ending August 5, 2025. This decision, attributed to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, was based on the assessment that conditions in Nepal, stemming from the 2015 earthquake, no longer justify TPS.

However, the court hearing on July 29, 2025, in the case of National TPS Alliance et al. v. Noem et al., has introduced a possibility of relief, with Judge Thompson indicating a decision by 5:00 PM PDT on July 31, 2025. The Court has taken the matter under submission until then. The Court reserves August 14, 2025, for an Initial Case Management Conference and maintains October 9, 2025, as a further case management conference. The Court further reserves November 18, 2025, at 2:00 PM, for a Preliminary Injunction Hearing.

However, with Nepal’s TPS ending on August 5, 2025, plaintiffs’ attorneys urged Judge Thompson to act swiftly, as the termination date precedes these scheduled hearings.

For many Nepali TPS holders, the uncertainty is overwhelming. One TPS holder, who has lived in the U.S. for 11 years, shared their predicament: “While on TPS, my employment-based green card process is underway. My I-130 has been approved, but the visa is not yet current for filing. If I remain in the U.S. after TPS ends, I risk abandoning my approved I-130. Alternatively, I’d have to leave for Nepal immediately and wait for an immigrant visa, but I have young U.S.-born children. There’s little time to adjust my status, and I’m unsure what to do.”

This individual’s situation reflects the challenges faced by approximately 60,000 TPS holders from Nepal, Honduras, and Nicaragua, many of whom have built lives in the U.S. over years or decades.

In June, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced the termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Nepal, affecting approximately 7,500 Nepali immigrants in the United States.  The designation will end at 11:59 p.m. on August 5, 2025, giving beneficiaries a mere 60-day window to either leave the U.S. or secure alternative legal status. 

TPS is a humanitarian program that allows nationals of designated countries to live and work legally in the U.S. when returning to their home country is unsafe due to conditions like armed conflict, natural disasters, or other extraordinary circumstances. Nepal was granted TPS on June 24, 2015, by then-DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson, following a catastrophic earthquake on April 25, 2015, which caused significant loss of life and infrastructure damage. The disaster left Nepal temporarily unable to safely manage the return of its citizens, justifying TPS for approximately 15,000 Nepalis in the U.S. at the time.

Over the years, the number of Nepali TPS beneficiaries has decreased significantly. By March 2023, the figure stood at 8,525, dropping to 8,100 by September 2023. By March 2024, it further declined to 7,875, and the most recent report from December 2024 indicates 7,505 approved TPS holders. This reduction reflects many Nepalis transitioning to other immigration statuses, such as work visas or permanent residency, or leaving the program voluntarily.

Under TPS regulations, if the DHS Secretary does not announce a decision to extend or terminate a country’s TPS designation at least 60 days before its expiration, the designation automatically extends for six months. Nepal’s TPS would likely extend automatically to December 24, 2025, as no final decision had been made. However, DHS has now opted to terminate the program with only a 60-day wind-down period, a significant departure from the standard six-month extension.

The termination of Nepal’s TPS is not the first attempt to end the program. In 2017 and 2018, the Trump administration sought to terminate TPS for Nepal, El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Sudan. These efforts faced legal challenges, notably in the Ramos v. Nielsen case, where TPS beneficiaries, including Nepali plaintiffs Keshav Bhattarai and Sajjan Pandey, secured a preliminary injunction in 2018. This injunction preserved TPS for affected countries for nearly five years. The advocacy group Adhikaar played a pivotal role in supporting the case.

In 2023, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the injunction, paving the way for potential terminations. However, the Biden administration later reversed the Trump-era termination decisions, extending Nepal’s TPS until June 24, 2025, and fulfilling the plaintiffs’ demands. On December 28, 2023, a federal district court dismissed the Ramos case, deeming it moot after the Biden administration’s extensions.