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Temporary Protected Status Designated Country: Haiti

ALERT: On Sept. 14, 2020, in Ramos et al. v. Wolf et al., No. 18-16981 (9th Cir., Sept. 14, 2020) (PDF, TK MB) (PDF, 374.01 KB), a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit vacated an injunction prohibiting DHS from terminating Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for El Salvador, Haiti, Nicaragua and Sudan. However, because the appellate court has not issued its directive to the district court to make that ruling effective, the injunction remains in place at this time.

On Dec. 9, 2020, DHS published a Federal Register notice (FRN) announcing that beneficiaries under the TPS designations for El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua and Sudan will retain their TPS while the preliminary injunction in Ramos remains in effect, provided their TPS is not withdrawn because of individual ineligibility. DHS will automatically extend the validity of Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) through Oct. 4, 2021.

If a superseding final, non-appealable court order and implementing Federal Register notice, if one is warranted, permits termination of the TPS designation for Haiti to go into effect, DHS may terminate relevant TPS-related documentation before the end validity date announced in any current or subsequent Federal Register notice. This terminations of TPS-related documentation for affected TPS beneficiaries would go into effect 120 days from the effective date of any such order.

For additional information, please see the Dec. 9, 2020, Federal Register notice, specific TPS country pages on the USCIS website, and the Update on Ramos v. Nielsen webpage.

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ALERT: On April 11, 2019, in Saget v. Trump, No. 18-cv-01599 (E.D.N.Y. April 11, 2019), the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York also enjoined the termination of TPS for Haiti, pending a final decision on the merits of the case. The preliminary injunction enjoining the termination of Haiti’s TPS in Ramos v. Nielsen remains in effect as well. Thus, as required by the orders in Saget and Ramos, the TPS designation for Haiti remains in effect pending further court order. Beneficiaries under the TPS designation for Haiti will maintain their status, but they must continue to meet all the individual requirements for TPS eligibility found in INA section 244(c) and 8 CFR 244, as well as in the instructions for Form I-821, Application for Temporary Protected Status. These requirements are also described on the USCIS TPS webpage and on the Haiti TPS webpage.

TPS Continues Through: As long as preliminary injunctions ordered by Courts in Ramos, et al v. Nielsen, et al., No. 18-cv-01554 (N.D. Cal. Oct. 3, 2018) and Saget, et al. v. Trump, et al., No. 18-cv-01599 (E.D.N.Y. Apr. 11, 2019), remain in effect.
Re-registration Period for People Who Already Have TPS:

 

Jan. 18, 2018 through March 19, 2018

Employment Authorization Document (EAD) Auto-Extended Through: Oct. 4, 2021
Continuous Residence Date in U.S. Since:

Jan. 12, 2011

Continuous Physical Presence in U.S. Since:

July 23, 2011

TPS Designation Date:

Jan. 21, 2010

TPS Re-designation Date:

July 23, 2011

Federal Register Notice Citations:

When to File for TPS

To maintain TPS, you must have filed to re-register during one or more of the 60-day re-registration periods that ran from Jan. 18 through March 19, 2018; May 24 through July 24, 2017; or Aug. 25 through Oct. 26, 2015, and been approved, or have an application that remains pending. If you did not re-register during any of these this timeframes, you may submit a late re-registration application, including a letter that explains your reason(s) for filing late with your application. USCIS will determine whether your reasons are “good cause” for being late, as required under the TPS law.

Where to File

If you... Mail to...
Are a beneficiary under the TPS designation for Haiti and you live in the following states: Florida, New York

U.S. Postal Service: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Attn: TPS Haiti
P.O. Box 4464
Chicago, IL 60680-4464

FedEx, UPS, or DHL:
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services,
Attn: TPS Haiti
131 South Dearborn, 3rd Floor
Chicago, IL 60603-5517

Are a beneficiary under the TPS designation for Haiti and you live in any other state

U.S. Postal Service: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Attn: TPS Haiti
P.O. Box 24047
Phoenix, AZ 85074-4047

FedEx, UPS, or DHL:
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
Attn: TPS Haiti
1820 E. Skyharbor Circle S
Suite 100, Phoenix, AZ 85034

Automatic Employment Authorization Document (EAD) Extension

We are automatically extending the validity of EADs with the category codes “A-12” or “C-19” and one of the expiration dates shown below that we issued to beneficiaries under the TPS designation of Haiti who continue to maintain TPS eligibility:

EAD expiration date Now valid until
July 22, 2017 Oct. 4, 2021
Jan. 22, 2018 Oct. 4, 2021
July 22, 2019 Oct. 4, 2021
Jan. 2, 2020 Oct. 4, 2021
Jan. 4, 2021 Oct. 4, 2021

If you are a TPS Haiti beneficiary who applied for a new EAD but has not yet received it, you are also covered by this automatic extension as long as the EAD that you have contains one of the expiration dates noted in the chart above. When you present your automatically extended EAD to your employer, refer them to this Federal Register notice (PDF) that shows that we have extended your EAD and employment authorization through Oct. 4, 2021. 

Extensions of Other DHS Documentation

Additionally, we are automatically extending the validity periods of the following Forms I-94, Arrival/Departure Record, and Forms I-797, Notice of Action (Approval Notice) under the designation of Haiti:

Beginning date of validity¹:  End date of validity: Now valid until:
July 23, 2016 Jan. 22, 2017 Oct. 4, 2021
Jan. 23, 2017 July 22, 2018 Oct. 4, 2021
Jan. 23, 2018 July 22, 2019 Oct. 4, 2021

¹ Your Forms I-94 and I-797 may show a different beginning date of validity than those listed here if you were a late initial filer (LIF) at the time because the forms would have the date of approval of your LIF application for TPS. As long as they bear an end date of validity listed in this chart, then they are automatically extended by this Notice.

However, the extension of the validity periods above applies only if you properly filed for TPS re-registration during either the most recent DHS-announced registration period for TPS Haiti that ran from Jan. 18 through March 19, 2018; the previous re-registration periods from May 24 through July 24, 2017, or from Aug. 25 through Oct. 26, 2015; or have a re-registration application that remains pending.

The extension does not apply if your TPS has been finally withdrawn or denied.

Information for TPS Beneficiaries Regarding Re-registration

If you fail to re-register properly for TPS, you should file Form I-821, Application for Temporary Protected Status, and demonstrate “good cause” for failing to re-register on time, as required by law. For more information, see:

  • INA section 244(c)(3)(C) (TPS beneficiary’s failure to register without good cause in form and manner specified by DHS is ground for TPS withdrawal);
  • 8 CFR 244.17(b); and
  • The Form I-821 Instructions.

If you are filing a late re-registration application, please provide a letter explaining all of your reasons for filing outside of the re-registration period. If you filed after the re-registration period because of the DHS announcement of the termination of TPS for your country, please explain how that announcement affected you, including how the termination decisions affected your failure to re-register. However, if the announcement of the TPS termination did not cause you to file late, you should not include it as a reason. Please remember to be truthful in explaining your reasons.

If you are a TPS Haiti beneficiary and your EAD was not automatically extended, or if you wish to apply for a new EAD, you may file Form I–765 with the appropriate fee or a fee waiver request. If approved, we will issue an EAD with an Oct. 4, 2021, expiration date. Similarly, we will issue an EAD with a Oct. 4, 2021, expiration date for those with pending EAD applications that we ultimately approve.

Other Immigration Options

You might be eligible for other immigration options listed on the Explore My Options page.

To apply for a lawful permanent status (Green Card), you must be eligible under one of the categories listed on the Green Card Eligibility Categories page. Once you find the category that may fit your situation, click on the link provided to get information on eligibility requirements, how to apply, and whether your family members can also apply with you.

Note on Seeking Asylum: Being granted and maintaining TPS status until a reasonable period before the filing of the asylum application is considered an extraordinary circumstance for the purposes of the one year filing deadline. In other words, having TPS status “stops the clock” on the requirement to file for asylum within one year of arriving in the United States, if the one-year clock has not already expired. See 8 CFR 208.4(a)(5)(iv).

Avoid Scams

Please be aware that some unauthorized practitioners may try to take advantage of you by claiming they can file TPS forms. These same individuals may ask that you pay them to file such forms. We want to ensure that all potential TPS applicants know how to obtain legitimate, accurate legal advice and assistance. A list of accredited representatives and free or low-cost legal providers is available on the USCIS website on the finding legal advice web page.

We don’t want you to become a victim of an immigration scam. If you need legal advice on immigration matters, make sure the person helping you is authorized to give legal advice. Only an attorney or an accredited representative working for a Department of Justice (DOJ) recognized organization can give you legal advice. Visit the Avoid Scams page for information and resources.

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