--- description: The U.S. will issue temporary protected status to people residing in the country from the three nations hit hardest by the Ebola outbreak title: U.S. to Grant Temporary Protection Status for People From Ebola-Hit Nations image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt713352ed86232c54/698769efe53aba6d3c4d609d/ebola-liberia-usa.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Health](/section/health/) ## Health Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [ebola](/tag/ebola/) ## ebola Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # U.S. to Grant Temporary Protection Status for People From Ebola-Hit Nations in West Africa  by [Noah Rayman](/author/noah-rayman/)  ## Noah Rayman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 20, 2014 3:28 PM CUT  A mother and child stand atop their mattresses in a classroom now used as Ebola isolation ward on Aug. 15, 2014, in Monrovia, Liberia A mother and child stand atop their mattresses in a classroom now used as Ebola isolation ward on Aug. 15, 2014, in Monrovia, LiberiaJohn Moore—Getty Images  by [Noah Rayman](/author/noah-rayman/)  ## Noah Rayman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 20, 2014 3:28 PM CUT The United States will issue a temporary protected status to people residing in the country from the three nations hit hardest by the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, homeland security officials said in a report Thursday. Reuters [reports](http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/11/20/us-usa-ebola-immigrant-protection-idUSKCN0J41JS20141120?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews&utm%5Fsource=twitter "undefined") that people from Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone who were in the U.S. as of Thursday would be eligible for deportation protection for at least 18 months and could also apply for work permits. The 8,000 people estimated to be eligible will be unable to visit home and return in a bid to prevent more Ebola cases arriving in the U.S. Any extension of the protection will be reassessed after 18 months based on how severe the Ebola outbreak remains in West Africa, the report adds. More than 5,000 people have died from the virus in the worst outbreak in recorded history, the World Health Organization reports. [Read more at Reuters](http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/11/20/us-usa-ebola-immigrant-protection-idUSKCN0J41JS20141120?fe "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3597318/ebola-health-west-africa-temporary-protection/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3597318/ebola-health-west-africa-temporary-protection/"},"headline":"U.S. to Grant Temporary Protection Status for People From Ebola-Hit Nations in West Africa","datePublished":"2014-11-20T15:28:40.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T11:35:23.154Z","description":"People from Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone who were in the U.S. as of Thursday","url":"https://time.com/3597318/ebola-health-west-africa-temporary-protection/","keywords":["ebola","Immigration","Sierra Leone","Guinea","Liberia","West Africa"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt713352ed86232c54/698769efe53aba6d3c4d609d/ebola-liberia-usa.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Noah Rayman","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/noah-rayman/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt713352ed86232c54/698769efe53aba6d3c4d609d/ebola-liberia-usa.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Liberia Battles Spreading Ebola Epidemic","caption":"Liberia Battles Spreading Ebola Epidemic","creditText":"John Moore—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/ebola/","name":"ebola"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3597318/ebola-health-west-africa-temporary-protection/","name":"U.S. to Grant Temporary Protection Status for People From Ebola-Hit Nations in West Africa"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Ebola in Liberia: A Grim Look Inside One Clinic","description":"TIME's Aryn Baker goes inside a clinic treating ebola patients in Liberia to show the reality of the fight against this deadly disease.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/XbAIcPT1/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2014-10-02T17:07:25.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/XbAIcPT1.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3597318/ebola-health-west-africa-temporary-protection/","duration":"PT12S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3597318/ebola-health-west-africa-temporary-protection/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```