The Obama Administration Has Extended TPS For Haitians

The Obama administration has extended temporary protected status for Haitians in the U.S. and this extension takes effect on July 23, 2011 and applies for an additional 18 months, through January 22, 2013. The extension not only applies to approximately 50,000 Haitian nationals living in the U.S. through TPS, but the policy has also been changed to allow eligible Haitians who have continuously resided in the United States since January 12, 2011, to receive the protections of the policy.

This is good news for our clients because as we all know, the effects of the earthquake was not limited to the day or days following the earthquake. Now was really not the time to risk the lives of so many Haitians through deportation. Kudos to the Obama Administration!

BELOW is the announcement from The Department of Homeland Security:

Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano today 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.

Secretary Napolitano first announced that she was designating Haiti for TPS on Jan. 15, 2010, after major earthquakes devastated the country. 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 new 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.

Later this week, USCIS will post a Federal Register notice and provide additional guidance on:

• How to register or re-register for TPS;
• What individuals with pending TPS applications should do; and
• When to begin filing TPS applications.