USCIS will continue to process pending applications filed under previous TPS designations for Haiti. Individuals with a pending Form I-821, Application for Temporary Protected Status, or a related Form I-765 as of July 1, 2024, do not need to file either application again. If USCIS approves a pending Form I-821 or Form I-765 filed under the previous designation of TPS for Haiti, USCIS will grant the individual TPS through Feb. 3, 2026, and issue an EAD valid through the same date.

The Federal Register Notice explains eligibility criteria, timelines, and procedures necessary for current beneficiaries to re-register and renew EADs, and for new applicants to submit an initial application under the redesignation and apply for an EAD.

This extension and redesignation does not apply for anyone who was not already in the United States on June 3, 2024, and consequences continue to be enforced on those attempting to cross unlawfully or without authorization into the United States. Since the Securing the Border Presidential Proclamation and Interim Final Rule was issued in early June, over 24,000 noncitizens have been removed or returned to more than 20 countries. All irregular migration journeys, especially maritime routes, are extremely dangerous, unforgiving, and often result in loss of life. DHS will continue to enforce U.S. laws and policy throughout the Florida Straits and the Caribbean region, as well as at the southwest border. U.S. policy is to return noncitizens who do not establish a legal basis to remain in the United States.

Secretary Mayorkas Announces Extension and Redesignation of Haiti for Temporary Protected Status
Release Date
06/28/2024
Alert Type info
News release originally published by the Department of Homeland Security.

WASHINGTON—Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas today announced the extension and redesignation of Haiti for Temporary Protected Status for 18 months, from Aug. 4, 2024, to Feb. 3, 2026, due to extraordinary and temporary conditions in Haiti. The corresponding Federal Register Notice provides information about registering for TPS as a new or current beneficiary under Haiti’s extension and redesignation.

After consultation with interagency partners, Secretary Mayorkas determined on June 3, 2024, that an 18-month extension and redesignation of Haiti for TPS is warranted because conditions that support Haiti’s designation are ongoing and that doing so was not contrary to the national interest of the United States. Several regions in Haiti continue to face violence or insecurity, and many have limited access to safety, health care, food, and water. Haiti is particularly prone to flooding and mudslides, and often experiences significant damage due to storms, flooding, and earthquakes. These overlapping humanitarian challenges have resulted in ongoing urgent humanitarian needs.

“We are providing this humanitarian relief to Haitians already present in the United States given the conditions that existed in their home country as of June 3, 2024,” said Secretary Mayorkas. “In doing so, we are realizing the core objective of the TPS law and our obligation to fulfill it.”

The redesignation of Haiti for TPS allows an estimated 309,000 additional Haitian nationals (or individuals having no nationality who last habitually resided in Haiti) to file initial applications for TPS, if they are otherwise eligible and if they established residence in the United States on or before June 3, 2024, and have continued to reside in the United States since then (“continuous residence”). Eligible individuals who do not have TPS may submit an initial Form I-821, Application for Temporary Protected Status, during the initial registration period that runs from July 1, 2024, through Feb. 3, 2026. Applicants also may apply for TPS-related Employment Authorization Documents and for travel authorization. Applicants can request an EAD by submitting a completed Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, with their Form I-821, or separately later.

Haitians who were not residing in the United States on or before June 3, 2024, are not eligible for such protection, and will face removal to Haiti if they do not establish a legal basis to stay.

The extension of TPS for Haiti allows current beneficiaries to retain TPS through Feb. 3, 2026, if they continue to meet TPS eligibility requirements. Current beneficiaries under TPS for Haiti must re-register in a timely manner during the 60-day re-registration period from July 1, 2024, through Aug. 30, 2024, to ensure they keep their TPS and employment authorization. Re-registration is limited to individuals who previously registered for and were granted TPS under Haiti’s initial designation.

DHS recognizes that not all re-registrants who apply for a new EAD may receive it before their current EAD expires and is automatically extending through Aug. 3, 2025, the validity of certain EADs previously issued under Haiti’s TPS designation. Details will be available on USCIS.gov.

If you have one of these EADs, to get an EAD that is valid after Aug. 3, 2025, you must re-register for TPS and file Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, following the instructions in the Federal Register notice extending and redesignating Haiti for TPS through Feb. 3, 2026. If U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services approves your newly filed Form I-765, USCIS will issue you an EAD valid through Feb. 3, 2026.

USCIS Extends Employment Authorization Documents under Temporary Protected Status Designations of El Salvador, Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua, and Sudan
Release Date
06/20/2024
We are extending the validity of certain Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) issued to Temporary Protected Status (TPS) beneficiaries under the designations of El Salvador, Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua and Sudan through March 9, 2025. We will send a Form I-797, Notice of Action, notifying you if you are affected by this extension.

If you are a current TPS beneficiary under one of these designations, and you have not yet re-registered for TPS under the most recent extension for that designation, you must submit Form I-821, Application for Temporary Protected Status, during the current re-registration period to keep your TPS benefits. DHS previously extended the re-registration periods for individuals to submit TPS applications:

El Salvador now runs through March 9, 2025;
Honduras now runs through July 5, 2025;
Nepal now runs through June 24, 2025;
Nicaragua now runs through July 5, 2025; and
Sudan now runs through April 19, 2025.
Please note that while the re-registration periods end on different dates, EADs are all extended through the same date: March 9, 2025. Find instructions to re-register for TPS and renew your EAD in the most recent Federal Register notice that extends TPS for your country (or extends and redesignates your country for TPS).

USCIS Shifts Workload for Form I-730 Following-to-Join Refugee PetitionsRelease Date
05/29/2024
Effective May 6, 2024, all Forms I-730, Refugee/Asylee Relative Petition, filed for following to join refugees (FTJ-R) are being processed at the USCIS International Operations Division rather than the Asylum Vetting Center. Any pending Form I-730 FTJ-R petitions filed by refugee petitioners will be automatically transferred from the Asylum Vetting Center to USCIS International Operations. We shifted this workload to better serve Form I-730 petitioners and beneficiaries by establishing a dedicated team with primary responsibility for initial domestic processing of FTJ-R petitions. This will help us process this critical family reunification program more efficiently.

If you have a pending Form I-730 FTJ-R petition, we will mail a transfer notice to you. Please refer to your transfer notice for more information. Please make sure the mailing address associated with your pending Form I-730 petition is current. If you need to update your address, see the Special Instructions section of the Form I-730 webpage for information about updating your address for your Form I-730.

This workload shift does not change the filing location for Form I-730. All petitioners must continue to file Form I-730 petitions at the USCIS Texas Service Center.

USCIS International Operations is not open to the public and does not accept requests or inquiries made in person. For more information about filing a Form I-730 petition, the processing s

USCIS Updates Guidance for Family-Based Immigrant VisasRelease Date
05/22/2024
Effective May 22, 2024, we are updating guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual on family-based immigrant visa petitions (including Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative and, in limited situations, family-based Form I-360, Petition for Amerasian, Widow(er), or Special Immigrant), including explaining how we handle correcting approval notice errors, requests for consular processing or adjustment of status on the beneficiary’s behalf, and routing procedures for approved petitions.

If you are a petitioner submitting Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative, you must inform USCIS of the beneficiary’s current address and whether the beneficiary wants consular processing with the Department of State National Visa Center (NVC) or adjustment of status in the United States, if eligible. Providing this information causes us to keep the approved petition for adjustment of status processing or send it to the NVC for consular processing, as appropriate. If you do not provide accurate information on the petition, it can delay the immigrant visa or adjustment of status process. For example, if we keep a petition because you provided inaccurate information, you must generally file Form I-824, Application for Action on an Approved Application or Petition, with the appropriate fee, to transfer the petition to the NVC.

Before issuing this update, we generally kept approved petitions that did not clearly indicate whether the beneficiary wanted adjustment of status or consular processing. This update clarifies procedures for family-based immigration petitions, to promote more efficient processing where the beneficiary’s preference for consular processing or adjustment of status is unclear or has changed or a correction is needed.

This updated guidance provides that if you do not clearly indicate whether your beneficiary wants consular processing or adjustment of status, we will use discretion to decide whether to send the approved petition to the NVC for consular processing or keep the petition for adjustment of status processing, based on evidence of the beneficiary’s most recent location, including the beneficiary’s address on the petition.

This updated guidance also explains how you can contact us to correct an error or update a pending or approved Form I-130. This includes updating the beneficiary’s location and indicating whether they want consular processing or adjustment of status.

Finally, this updated guidance provides general guidance on how we decide whether to approve or deny a family-based immigrant petition, including relevant notices.

USCIS Announces Employment Authorization Procedures for Palestinians Covered by Deferred Enforced Departure
Eligible Palestinians can now apply for EAD valid through Aug. 13, 2025

WASHINGTON – U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services today posted a Federal Register notice establishing procedures for Palestinians covered by Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) to apply for Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) that will be valid through Aug. 13, 2025.

President Biden issued a memorandum on DED for Palestinians on Feb. 14, 2024, deferring through Aug. 13, 2025, the removal of certain Palestinians present in the United States at the time of the announcement. Individuals who enter the United States after Feb. 14, 2024, are not eligible for DED. The memorandum directs the Department of Homeland Security to take appropriate measures to authorize employment for Palestinians eligible for DED and to consider suspending certain regulatory requirements for Palestinian F-1 nonimmigrant students.

The Federal Register notice describes eligible Palestinians and acceptable documentation such as a Palestinian Authority passport or identification card. Please see the Federal Register notice for additional information about DED for Palestinians and instructions on how to apply for a DED-based EAD. USCIS adjudicates each EAD application fairly, humanely, and efficiently on a case-by-case basis to determine if they meet all standards and eligibility criteria. Over the past year, USCIS has reduced EAD processing times overall and streamlined adjudication processing. More information about fees for DED-based EADs is available on the USCIS website.

Accompanying this announcement is a Special Student Relief notice for Palestinian F-1 nonimmigrant students so that eligible students may request employment authorization, work an increased number of hours while school is in session, and reduce their course load while continuing to maintain F-1 status through the DED period. 

There is no application for DED. Palestinians are covered under DED based on the terms described in the president’s directive. Eligible Palestinians can apply for an EAD by filing Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization.

Individuals who wish to travel outside of the United States based on DED must file Form I-131, Application for Travel Document.

For more information on USCIS and its programs, please visit uscis.gov or follow us on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook and LinkedIn.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will continue to process pending applications filed under previous TPS designation for Ethiopia. Individuals with a pending Form I-821, Application for Temporary Protected Status, or a related Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, as of April 15, 2024 do not need to file either application again. If USCIS approves a pending Form I-821 or Form I-765 filed under the previous designation of TPS for Ethiopia, USCIS will grant the individual TPS through December 12, 2025, and issue an EAD valid through the same date.

Under the redesignation of Ethiopia, eligible individuals who do not have TPS may submit an initial Form I-821, Application for Temporary Protected Status, during the initial registration period that runs from April 15, 2024 through December 12, 2025. Applicants also may apply for TPS-related EADs and for travel authorization. Applicants can request an EAD by submitting a completed Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, with their Form I-821, or separately later.

The Federal Register notice explains eligibility criteria, timelines, and procedures necessary for current beneficiaries to re-register and renew EADs, and for new applicants to submit an initial application under the redesignation and apply for an EAD.

Secretary Mayorkas Announces Extension and Redesignation of Ethiopia for Temporary Protected Status
Release Date
04/12/2024
Redesignation Allows Additional Eligible Ethiopian Nationals to Apply for TPS and Employment Authorization Documents

WASHINGTON – Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas today announced the extension and redesignation of Ethiopia for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for 18 months, from June 13, 2024, to December 12, 2025, due to ongoing armed conflict and extraordinary and temporary conditions in Ethiopia that prevent individuals from safely returning. The corresponding Federal Register notice provides information about registering as a new first-time applicant or current beneficiary for TPS under Ethiopia’s extension and redesignation.

After consultation with interagency partners, Secretary Mayorkas determined that an 18-month extension and redesignation of TPS is warranted because conditions that support Ethiopia’s designation are ongoing. Ethiopia continues to face armed conflict and violence in multiple regions of the country. Human rights abuses are prevalent, and civilians are facing indiscriminate attacks. Droughts, floods, and disease outbreaks have put millions of lives at risk. These overlapping humanitarian crises have resulted in ongoing urgent humanitarian needs.

Accompanying this announcement is a Special Student Relief notice for F-1 nonimmigrant students whose country of citizenship is Ethiopia so that eligible students may request employment authorization, work an increased number of hours while school is in session, and reduce their course load while continuing to maintain F-1 status through the TPS designation period.

“Temporary Protected Status provides individuals already present in the United States with protection from removal when conditions in their home country prevent their safe return,” said Secretary Mayorkas. “That is the situation facing Ethiopians who arrived here on or before April 11 of this year. We are granting them protection through this temporary form of humanitarian relief that the law provides.”

The extension of TPS for Ethiopia allows approximately 2,300 current beneficiaries to retain TPS through December 12, 2025, if they re-register and continue to meet TPS eligibility requirements.

The redesignation of Ethiopia for TPS allows an estimated 12,800 additional Ethiopian nationals (or individuals having no nationality who last habitually resided in Ethiopia) to file initial applications to obtain TPS, if they are otherwise eligible and they established residence in the United States on or before April 11, 2024, and have continued to reside in the United States since then (“continuous residence”). Ethiopian nationals (and those without nationality who last habitually resided in Ethiopia) who arrive in the United States after April 11, 2024 are not eligible for TPS.

Re-registration is limited to individuals who previously registered for and were granted TPS under Ethiopia’s initial designation. Current beneficiaries under TPS for Ethiopia must re-register in a timely manner during the 60-day re-registration period from April 15, 2024, through June 14, 2024, to ensure they keep their TPS and employment authorization.

DHS recognizes that not all re-registrants may receive a new Employment Authorization Document (EAD) before their current EAD expires and is automatically extending through June 12, 2025, the validity of EADs previously issued under Ethiopia’s initial TPS designation.

As part of this temporary final rule, USCIS is soliciting feedback from the public that would inform potential future regulatory action. For more information, visit our Automatic Employment Authorization Document Extension page.

For more information about USCIS, please visit uscis.gov or follow us on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

USCIS Increases Automatic Extension of Certain Employment Authorization Documents to Improve Access to Work Permits
Release Date:
04/04/2024
WASHINGTON— Building on extensive modernization efforts that have streamlined and improved access to work permits for eligible noncitizens, USCIS today announced a temporary final rule (TFR) to increase the automatic extension period for certain employment authorization documents (EADs) from up to 180 days to up to 540 days. This announcement follows improvements that have reduced processing times for EADs significantly over the past year.

The temporary measure announced today will prevent already work-authorized noncitizens from having their employment authorization and documentation lapse while waiting for USCIS to adjudicate their pending EAD renewal applications and better ensure continuity of operations for U.S. employers. This is the latest step by the Biden-Harris Administration to get work-authorized individuals into the workforce, supporting the economies where they live.

“Over the last year, the USCIS workforce reduced processing times for most EAD categories, supporting an overall goal to improve work access to eligible individuals. However, we also received a record number of employment authorization applications, impacting our renewal mechanisms,” said USCIS Director Ur M. Jaddou. “Temporarily lengthening the existing automatic extension up to 540 days will avoid lapses in employment authorizations. At the same time, this rule provides DHS with an additional window to consider long-term solutions by soliciting public comments, and identifying new strategies to ensure those noncitizens eligible for employment authorization can maintain that benefit.”

This TFR aligns with an ongoing effort at USCIS to support employment authorized individuals’ access to work. USCIS has reduced EAD processing times overall and streamlined adjudication processing, including:

Reducing by half EAD processing times of individuals with pending green card applications from FY2021 to date,
Processing a record number of EAD applications in the past year, outpacing prior years,
Engaging with communities to educate work-eligible individuals who were not accessing the process and provide on-the-ground intake support of applications,
Reducing processing time for EADs for asylum applicants and certain parolees to less than or equal to 30-day median,
Extending EAD validity period for certain categories from 2 years to 5 years,
Streamlining the process for refugee EADs, and
Expanding online filing for EADs to asylum applications and parolees.
This temporary measure will apply to eligible applicants who timely and properly filed an EAD renewal application on or after Oct. 27, 2023, if the application is still pending on the date of publication in the Federal Register. The temporary final rule will also apply to eligible EAD renewal applicants who timely and properly file their Form I-765 application during a 540-day period that begins with the rule’s publication in the Federal Register.

Absent this measure, nearly 800,000 EAD renewal applicants – including those eligible for employment authorization as asylees or asylum applicants, Temporary Protected Status (TPS) applicants or recipients, and green card applicants – would be in danger of experiencing a lapse in their employment authorization, and approximately 60,000 to 80,000 employers would be negatively impacted as a result of such a lapse. EADs are generally valid for the length of the authorized parole period. This TFR does not extend the length of parole.

Since May 12, 2023 to March 13, 2024, DHS has removed or returned over 617,000 individuals, the vast majority of whom crossed the Southwest Border, including more than 97,000 individual family members. The majority of all individuals encountered at the southwest border over the past three years have been removed, returned, or expelled. Total removals and returns since mid-May exceed removals and returns in every full fiscal year since 2011.