Immigration lawyers and advocacy groups say the protection has automatically been extended for six months under federal law because the Department of Homeland Security did not publish a decision at least 60 days before the deadline. That would extend the designation through April 19, 2027. But as of Saturday, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services still listed Oct. 19 as the expiration date, and the administration had not publicly clarified what comes next.

“There’s a lot of confusion,” said Mary Kalyna, a Ukrainian American activist in Philadelphia. Iryna Mazur, Ukraine’s honorary consul in Philadelphia and an immigration attorney, said people in the community are extremely stressed.

About 101,000 Ukrainians nationwide have TPS, which allows eligible people to live and work in the United States while conditions in their home country make return unsafe. Advocates say thousands of people in the Philadelphia area could be affected, including some whose applications are still pending. Others who fled Ukraine entered through separate humanitarian programs and have different immigration statuses.

The Ukraine Immigration Task Force says current TPS beneficiaries do not need to take additional action because the extension occurs automatically under law. The American Immigration Council likewise says TPS decisions must be published in the Federal Register at least 60 days before a designation expires; without that notice, a designation is extended for at least six months. The federal government has directed people to watch the USCIS website for updates.

Asked about Ukraine’s TPS designation, the Department of Homeland Security pointed to USCIS’s case-by-case processing of discretionary re-parole requests, including applications from Ukrainians. Parole is a separate, temporary permission to enter or remain in the United States, and is not the same as TPS.

Mazur has urged the administration to both extend TPS and redesignate Ukraine, which could make people who arrived more recently eligible. She has also spoken with elected officials about preserving protections for Ukrainians and giving local employers certainty about retaining workers they have trained.

The Philadelphia region has one of the country’s largest Ukrainian communities. Before Russia’s 2022 invasion, the city and surrounding suburban counties had about 15,000 Ukrainian immigrants and 52,000 residents of Ukrainian ancestry. Since the invasion, the area has become a hub for resettlement and support.

KleinLife, a social services agency with a location in Northeast Philadelphia, says it has assisted about 2,000 Ukrainians displaced by the war, offering English classes, job help, transportation, mental health services and programs for children. The organization’s president and CEO, Andre Krug, said the uncertainty threatens families as well as businesses that rely on Ukrainian workers.

“These are our neighbors, employees, parents and children,” Krug said. He said people who followed the rules and built lives in the region are now unsure whether they can keep working and supporting their families.

The consequences could extend beyond employment. The U.S. State Department advises Americans not to travel to Ukraine, citing ongoing military operations, limited medical care and other dangers. Aid groups warn that ending protection could leave people with few safe options, particularly those whose homes have been destroyed or whose cities remain under attack.

TPS was created by Congress in 1990 to provide temporary protection to people from countries facing armed conflict, disasters, epidemics or other extraordinary conditions. It does not provide a path to permanent residency or citizenship. The Trump administration has ended or announced plans to end protections for more than 1 million people since early 2025, according to the American Immigration Council.

TPS for Sudan is also listed to expire Monday. El Salvador, Lebanon, Ukraine and Sudan are currently the only countries whose nationals retain the status, according to the figures cited by the American Immigration Council.