The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) authorizes the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to designate a foreign state for Temporary Protected Status (TPS), which is a temporary immigration benefit, and may grant TPS to eligible nationals of that foreign state. During the TPS period, beneficiaries are eligible to remain in the United States, may not be removed, and are authorized to work and obtain an Employment Authorization Document (EAD) so long as they continue to meet the requirements of TPS.
Haiti was first designated for TPS on January 21, 2010, following a devastating earthquake that struck the country. Since then, Haiti’s TPS designation has been extended five times. Most recently, on June 4, 2024, then-U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas announced that Haiti’s TPS designation would be extended for 18 months (through February 26, 2026), citing continuing extraordinary and temporary conditions that prevented the safe return of Haitian nationals. In 2024, over 500,000 Haitians in the U.S. were estimated to be eligible for TPS.
On February 24, 2025, U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem announced that DHS was reconsidering and partially vacating the June 4, 2024, DHS decision to extend Haiti’s TPS designation. Under this change, DHS is reducing Haiti’s TPS designation period from 18 months to 12 months, and so rather than expiring on February 26, 2026, Haiti’s TPS designation will now expire on August 3, 2025. Ice Miller’s Immigration team will continue to monitor developments on this front.
In order to comply with this change, employers must act fast. First, on February 24, 2025, the E-Verify program announced that I-9 forms for employees who provided their employers with an EAD listing a Category Code A12 or C19 (the codes for Haitian TPS), and an expiration date of February 3, 2026, must be corrected to reflect an amended expiration date of August 3, 2025. When making the correction, employers are instructed to enter the amended expiration date of August 3, 2025, in the “Additional Information” field in Section 2 of the I-9 form. Employers should then initial and date the correction.
Employers are further directed not to create new E-Verify cases for current employees with EADs based upon the Haitian TPS expiring on February 3, 2026. All employees with EADs listing the A12 or C19 Category Code with a February 3, 2026, end date must be re-verified (on Form I-9, Supplement B) using alternative, acceptable I-9 documentation by August 4, 2025. A list of acceptable documents is available on USCIS’ website.
For now, the 2024 designation remains in full force and effect through August 3, 2025, but DHS must determine by June 5, 2025, whether to terminate or extend that designation beyond August 3, 2025. Employers should be prepared with alternative immigration strategies for Foreign National (FN) employees who may be impacted by this change. Please reach out to Ice Miller to discuss available options.
Specifically, the H-1B Visa—the “workhorse” of nonimmigrant visa classifications—may be a viable option, but the H-1B FY2026 lottery is fast-approaching. Please reach out to Ice Miller no later than March 17, 2025, to assess whether affected FN employees qualify for the H-1B visa. The H-1B registration period is open at noon EST on March 7, 2025, through noon EST on March 24, 2025, whereby registrants can complete and submit registrations for the H-1B lottery.
Lastly, consider the following FN employees for the H-1B lottery: (1) FN employees who were not selected in previous lotteries; (2) FN employees who are currently working abroad; (3) FN employees in F-1 student status currently using OPT, STEM OPT, or CPT work authorization; (4) FN employees in TN, E-3, or a dependent to a principal visa holder (H-4, L-2, E-3D, E-2s, etc.) working on an EAD; (5) FN employees who you may consider for green card sponsorship in the future; and finally, (6) FN employees with temporary work authorization such as DACA who may be eligible for H-1B sponsorship.
