A recent federal court order has paused the planned termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haiti. As a result, work authorization and legal protections for eligible Haitian nationals remain in effect beyond the previous deadline. Approximately 200,000 Haitian nationals are working in the United States with work authorization under TPS, according to data from FWD.us.
What is happening?
Originally, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) scheduled Haiti’s TPS designation to end on February 3, 2026. However, on February 2, 2026, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia issued a stay in the case Miot et al. v. Trump et al. The termination is currently suspended. This means Haitian TPS beneficiaries can continue to live and work in the U.S. while the legal challenge proceeds in court.
Who is affected?
This update applies to employees who hold Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) issued under the Haiti TPS designation (Category A12 or C19) with the following original expiration dates:
- February 3, 2026
- August 3, 2025
- August 3, 2024
- June 30, 2024
- February 3, 2023
- December 31, 2022
- October 4, 2021
- January 4, 2021
- January 2, 2020
- July 22, 2019
- January 22, 2018
- July 22, 2017
How to Update Your Records (Form I-9 & E-Verify)
Per USCIS guidance, employers and employees should follow these specific instructions to reflect the court-ordered extension:
- Section 1 (Employee) :In the “Expiration Date” field, input: “as per court order”.
- Section 2 (Employer): In the “Expiration Date” field, input: “03-15-2026”.
- Additional Information: Add a note in the box mentioning the court order stay for Haiti TPS.
- E-Verify: Use the expiration date “03-15-2026” when completing the case.
- Employers are encouraged to download and attach the official USCIS TPS Haiti Alert page to the Form I-9 for compliance documentation.
When does this take effect?
- This extension is effective immediately.
- The stay remains in place until further notice from the court.
- Because this situation is tied to ongoing litigation, the “03-15-2026” date serves as a placeholder for administrative tracking; however, the actual duration of the stay could be adjusted by future court rulings.
