Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haiti will soon be extended and redesignated, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced. Also, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced relief for F-1 students from Haiti. Highlights are below:

Haiti TPS extended, redesignated. Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haiti will soon be extended and redesignated for 18 months, beginning August 4, 2024, and ending February 3, 2026. The extension and redesignation will allow approximately 309,000 Haitian nationals (and individuals having no nationality who last habitually resided in Haiti) who have been continuously residing in the United States since June 3, 2024, and who have been continuously physically present in the United States since August 4, 2024, to apply or re-register for TPS, the DHS notice states.

Existing TPS beneficiaries who wish to extend their status through February 3, 2026, must re-register during the 60-day re-registration period that begins on July 1, 2024.

F-1 student relief for Haitians. ICE announced that beginning on August 4, 2024, and ending on February 3, 2026, DHS is suspending certain regulatory requirements for F-1 nonimmigrant students from Haiti who are experiencing severe economic hardship as a direct result of the current crisis in Haiti. DHS said it is providing relief to these students who are in lawful F-1 nonimmigrant status “so the 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 their F-1 nonimmigrant status.”

An F-1 nonimmigrant student must file Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to apply for off-campus employment authorization based on severe economic hardship directly resulting from the current crisis in Haiti, ICE said.

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