Secretary of Homeland Security John F. Kelly announced on May 22, 2017 his decision to extend – for an additional six months – the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designation for Haiti. This extension is effective from July 23, 2017 through January 22, 2018.
Secretary Kelly stated that this six-month extension should allow Haitian TPS recipients living in the United States time to attain travel documents and make other necessary arrangements for their ultimate departure from the United States, and should also provide the Haitian government with the time it needs to prepare for the future repatriation of all current TPS recipients.
The Department of Homeland Security press release also stated that prior to the expiration of this limited six-month period, Secretary Kelly will re-evaluate the designation for Haiti and decide anew whether extension, re-designation, or termination is warranted.
The Department of Homeland Security urges Haitian TPS recipients who do not have another immigration status to use the time before Jan. 22, 2018 to prepare for and arrange their departure from the United States – including proactively seeking travel documentation – or to apply for other immigration benefits for which they may be eligible.
In view of the Secretary of Homeland Security’s extension of Temporary Protected Status designation for Haiti from July 23, 2017 through January 22, 2018, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has advised that if your employee is a current beneficiary of Haiti’s designation for TPS, to be able to use his or her Form I-766, Employment Authorization Document (EAD), as evidence of employment eligibility after it expires on July 22, 2017, he or she must timely file an application to renew that EAD between May 24, 2017, and July 24, 2017. Timely filing would automatically extend the validity of the expired EAD for 180 days, until Jan. 18, 2018.
Find further details on this extension of TPS for Haiti at www.uscis.gov/tps.
For more information on Secretary Kelly’s statement on the limited extension of Haiti’s designation for Temporary Protected Status, please see the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s press release.
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