HAITIAN IMMIGRATION LAWYER IN BROOKLYN:

                                                         https://gehilaw.com/

                       https://gehilaw.com/haitian-immigration-lawyer-brooklyn/

Redesignation of Haitian Temporary Protected Status (TPS) through July 2024 and extension to February 3, 2026, was revised by the DHS Secretary Kristi Noem.

Noem revised the 2024 determination also by effecting some changes by capping the duration of the extension to twelve months from eighteen months.

The new beneficiaries are also allowed to apply for the 2024 TPS and extension to August 3, 2025. With the help of a Haitian immigration lawyer in Brooklyn, Haitian refugees can navigate these changes.

Introduction

Temporary Protected Status (TPS) is a short-term immigration status. This suspends the deportation of some Haitians for the time being and allows them to work.

TPS is greatly important to Haitians because Haiti has suffered chronic political unrest, gang attacks, and destructive humanitarian crises.

With a huge favor for the TPS Haiti program, the US government initially renewed the TPS for Haiti by 18 months and redesignated it in June 2024.

This extension, up to February 3, 2026, is to current beneficiaries and offers its window of opportunity to new applicants if eligible.

However, US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem, February 24, on  2025, revised the filing deadlines for temporary protected status (TPS) for Haiti. The deadline was changed from February 3, 2026, to August 3, 2025. It crucial to discuss these changes with a Haitian immigration lawyer in Brooklyn.

In this post, we are going to provide Haitian political and humanitarian crisis history, break the news on the TPS extension, and discuss eligibility and application.

What is going on in Haiti?

The expansion and redesignation of TPS for Haiti are a response to genuine concern regarding persistent Haitian issues. Haiti is beset by considerable political instability due to corruption within the government as well as poor legislation, which expresses itself in unrest and violence.

It was exacerbated after the July 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse, which led to a power vacuum and other security issues. There has also been rising gang violence, kidnappings, and overall danger, so much so that it has become challenging for regular citizens to be able to move around.

United States federal court decisions have also had a bearing on TPS for Haitians. Ramos v. Nielsen and Saget v. Trump were two cases that challenged the US government’s policies on TPS.

It issued a temporary stay of the planned TPS expiration for Haitians at the time. This indicates how much this status is important to the citizens of countries with horrific issues.

Even a judge issued a temporary stay of efforts at TPS revocation in certain countries, including Haiti, indicating protection as a necessity due to circumstances that are unavoidable but life-altering.

Haiti is also grappling with a catastrophic humanitarian crisis precipitated by economic and natural disaster destruction. Millions are in dire need of medicine, water, and food. And many of them are already poor, even initially, and it is not easy to find work, which is even more difficult to rebuild.

All these still do not yet make it secure enough for many Haitians to return home, and the same reasons that necessitate an extension of TPS protections. This is why getting a Haitian immigration lawyer in Brooklyn is a necessity.

How TPS for Haitians began?

The Department of Homeland Security first designated Haiti for Temporary Protected Status on January 21, 2010, following an earthquake. They determined Haitian nationals (and aliens with no nationality and most recent habitual residence in Haiti) to be incapable of being safely removed to Haiti.

This is because of damage and humanitarian considerations. Terra Nova Provincial Schools for Haiti also had its TPS renewed during 2011, 2013, 2015, and 2017. DHS did mention on January 18, 2018, however, that TPS was set to expire because conditions in Haiti have improved.

The DHS also set an expiration date of July 22, 2019, but due to a lawsuit, they decided to continue rolling over the TPS benefits.

A new eighteen-month TPS designation for Haiti was designated by DHS on August 3, 2021. This rendered Haitian nationals (and such nationality-insufficient persons most recently continued to remain in Haiti) eligible for TPS, if in the United States as of May 21, 2021, and otherwise admissible.

DHS re-designated Haiti for TPS in 2023-2024 as of February 3, 2026. But the new designation was founded on national security and differed from Haitian circumstances.

DHS also pointed out that there wasn’t any reason given for picking an eighteen-month extension instead of an extension of six or twelve months.

USCIS, February 24, 2025, published an update to the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haiti in the Federal Register. The update reduces the TPS to twelve months from the original 18 months, i.e., the new TPS ends on August 3, 2025, rather than February 3, 2026.

All valid TPS and work permit applications submitted after the public notice of July 1, 2024, shall also expire on August 3, 2025. All the existing TPS documents that expire on February 3, 2026, shall also be retained in place, but only until February 3, 2025.

Notice is provided in the form of reminding all federal agencies (i.e., Department of Motor Vehicles) and all employers to revise their records to indicate the new expiration date of August 3, 2025, for all applicable TPS records.

When an employer or agency receives a work permit with the A12 or C19 TPS classification and a February 3, 2026, expiration date, it is to document the date of August 3, 2025, as being later. You can learn more about this update by consulting with a Haitian immigration lawyer in Brooklyn.

Who is eligible for the Haiti TPS extension?

If you wish to qualify for TPS under the redesignation and extension, you should meet some requirements:

• You are from Haiti: You should be Haitian or a person with no nationality but who formerly lived there.

 

• Continuous residence: You should have been continuously residing in the US since June 3, 2024. What it means is that you should not have made any trips that will truncate your sojourn.

 

• Regular physical attendance: You must have been here since July 29, 2023. You must have been here without frequent absence. Weekend trips won’t spoil it, but reconsider any vacations you are taking.

 

• Admissibility: You must conform to the general provisions of TPS and should not have any disqualifying grounds. That is, you must not have any felony convictions or any misdemeanors in the United States, and you must not be found inadmissible under immigration law.

If you need a personal assessment of your eligibility, reach out to a Haitian immigration lawyer in Brooklyn for help.

Verifying the procedure for applying for the Haitian TPS extension

If you must apply or re-register for TPS with Haiti, you must submit an entire application package with USCIS. The package should be submitted with Form I-821 (to determine if you are eligible for TPS) and Form I-765 (if you require employment authorization).

Include evidence of your nationality, continuous physical presence in the United States, and physical presence. These can include passports, entry stamps, utility bills, lease agreements, and work or school documents.

You may be asked to report for a biometrics appointment at a USCIS Application Support Center (ASC) to verify your identity.

It is crucial to know that TPS processing times vary according to the number of requests received and case specificity. It is therefore recommended to submit applications early in the registration period to prevent delays.