MEXICO CITY, March 4 (Xinhua) -- El Salvador's President Elias Antonio Saca said on Sunday that his U.S. counterpart George W. Bush was willing to extend temporary protected status to 240,000 Salvadorans with temporary work permits, news reaching here said.

    Saca told local radio that it was the result of his meeting with Bush on Tuesday in Washington.

    An immigration law granting Salvadorans the temporary protected status is set to be presented to the U.S. Congress, said Saca, who is optimistic the law will be passed before August.

    A temporary protected status will help a Salvadoran in the United States get a work permit renewed.

    Saca said the Salvadoran government had already asked the U.S. government to extend the status to Salvadorans even if the law is not passed.

    The temporary protected status has been extended several times to Salvadorans in the United States. The current status expires in September.