USCIS Extends and Re-designates Temporary Protected Status for Haiti

Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano announced the re-designation of Haiti for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and extended the country’s current TPS designation for 18 months—through Jan. 22, 2013.

Haitian nationals who do not have TPS or a pending TPS application may begin filing immediately, and must file no later than Nov. 15, 2011. Individuals who already have Haiti TPS must wait to file for re-registration until a Federal Register notice describing the re-registration procedure is published.

Following consultations with other federal agencies, Secretary Napolitano has determined that current conditions in Haiti support extending the designation period for current TPS beneficiaries and re-designating Haiti for TPS in order to re-establish the continuous residence date as Jan. 12, 2011. Under the 2010 designation, TPS applicants needed to show that they had continuously resided in the United States since Jan. 12, 2010. Under the re-designation, eligible individuals who arrived up to one year after the earthquake in Haiti may now apply for TPS. Many of these individuals were authorized to enter the United States immediately after the earthquake on temporary visas, humanitarian parole and other measures.

Individuals who attempt to enter the United States illegally now will not be granted TPS and will be repatriated consistent with U.S. policy.

The Haiti TPS application procedures described in the Federal Register notice cover the following three groups:

• Individuals filing for the first time: The re-designation of Haiti allows additional Haitians (and persons without nationality who last habitually resided in Haiti) who have continuously resided in the United States since Jan. 12, 2011, to obtain TPS, provided they meet all other Haiti TPS eligibility criteria. Individuals who do not currently have TPS may apply from May 19, 2011, through Nov. 15, 2011. Additional registration instructions are available at www.uscis.gov/tps on the Haiti TPS Web page.
• Individuals with pending TPS applications: Individuals who applied for TPS under the initial designation announcement in January 2010 and whose applications are still pending as of May 19, 2011, will not need to file a new Form I-821, Application for Temporary Protected Status. Their pending applications will be considered initial filings under this re-designation. Individuals with a pending TPS application who need to extend or request an Employment Authorization Document (EAD) must file a new Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, starting May 23, 2011.
• Individuals re-registering for TPS: Individuals who have already been granted TPS for Haiti must re-register starting May 23, 2011, and ending Aug. 22, 2011, once the Federal Register notice with re-registration instructions is published. TPS beneficiaries are encouraged to file for re-registration as soon as this time period opens on May 23, 2011, to expedite processing.

All individuals registering for the first time or re-registering for TPS must file a Form I-821 and a Form I-765, with any required fees or a fee waiver request. Failure to submit the required application and biometric fees or a properly documented fee waiver request will result in the rejection of the TPS application package.

Further details on the extension and re-designation of TPS for Haiti, including information regarding the application requirements and procedures, are available at www.uscis.gov/tps and in the Federal Register notices published today for initial filers, and on May 23, 2011, for re-registrants.

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