Highlights
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has officially terminated the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designation for Yemen, ending protections that shielded Yemeni nationals from deportation and allowed them to work legally in the United States.
The change, announced on February 13, 2026, takes effect 60 days after the notice is published in the Federal Register.
Yemen was first designated for TPS in September 2015 due to severe armed conflict that made return unsafe. Since then, Yemeni nationals in the U.S., roughly 1,300–1,400 people were able to live and work here under this humanitarian status.
In announcing the termination, DHS said its review found that Yemen no longer meets the law’s requirements for TPS and that ending the designation was in the national interest. Affected individuals who have no other lawful status will have the 60-day wind-down period to either depart the U.S. voluntarily or pursue alternative immigration pathways.
The decision marks another step in the administration’s broader effort to roll back TPS protections that have been in place for decades for people from countries experiencing war, natural disaster, or other extraordinary conditions.
DHS Ends Family Reunification Parole Programs
On December 12, 2025, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that it is terminating all categorical Family Reunification Parole (FRP) programs for citizens of Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, and Honduras, including their immediate family members.
These programs allowed certain relatives of U.S. citizens and permanent residents to enter the United States on parole while awaiting completion of the immigrant visa process.
DHS described the move as an effort to end what they described as the “abuse of humanitarian parole,” arguing that these programs allowed individuals to bypass traditional immigration procedures without sufficient vetting. Under the new policy, parole will be granted on a case-by-case basis.
The termination takes effect December 15, 2025, and parole for individuals already admitted under FRP will generally expire on January 14, 2026, unless they have a pending Form I-485 Application to Adjust Status that is postmarked or electronically filed on or before December 15 and it is still pending on January 14, 2026.
If an individual has a pending Form I-485, their parole will remain valid until either their period of parole expires or USCIS makes a final decision on their pending Form I-485, whichever is sooner. If the Form I-485 is denied, the period of parole will be terminated, and they will be required to depart the United States or seek relief through alternative legal pathways.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently updated its Policy Manual to reduce the maximum validity period of Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) for certain categories of aliens.
The maximum validity period for initial and renewal EADs will be changed from 5 years back to 18 months for the following individuals:
On November 5th the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that the country‑specific designation of South Sudan will be terminated for the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) program. The TPS designation for South Sudan will end on January 5, 2026.
What’s the background?
Who is affected?
Nationals of South Sudan (and certain stateless individuals who last habitually resided in South Sudan) who currently hold TPS under that country’s designation. After January 5, 2026, they will no longer have TPS status.
What’s the timeline and transition?
On October 29, 2025, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced an interim final rule that will end the automatic extension of employment authorization documents (EADs) for most renewal applicants effective October 30, 2025.
In this post, we’ll unpack what’s changing, who it affects, the rationale behind the change, and what individuals and employers should do to prepare.
What was the previous policy?
Historically, noncitizens who held valid EADs (Form I-766) and timely filed a renewal application (Form I-765) before their current EAD expired often automatically received continued employment authorization while the renewal was pending. This “automatic extension” policy served as a buffer to prevent employment gaps.
These policies helped many workers avoid a lapse in authorization while waiting for processing of their renewal application.
What is changing now?
Starting October 30, 2025, the automatic extension of work authorization for most renewal applicants will end.
What to know
In short, you will not be authorized to keep working simply because you filed a renewal — you must wait for the new EAD to be approved by USCIS.
Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down a troubling decision that could strip legal status from hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans currently living in the United States under Temporary Protected Status (TPS).
On Friday, the Court granted the Trump administration’s request to halt a lower court ruling that found the administration’s cancellation of TPS protections for Venezuelans unlawful. The unsigned order from the Court effectively allows the government to proceed, for now, with its plans to revoke temporary protections that had shielded Venezuelan nationals from deportation and granted them employment authorization.
TPS was created in 1990 as a humanitarian safeguard for individuals whose home countries are experiencing extraordinary crises such as armed conflict, environmental disasters, or other temporary but severe disruptions. Venezuela was designated for TPS in 2021 under President Biden, in response to the country’s severe economic collapse, widespread human rights abuses, and political instability.
Since then, approximately 300,000 Venezuelans have relied on that protection to live and work legally in the U.S., building lives, paying taxes, and raising families.
Trump Administration Moves to Strip Venezuela’s TPS Designation
But the political tides have shifted. When the Trump administration returned to office, it appointed Kristi Noem as Secretary of Homeland Security. Earlier this year, Noem moved to revoke Venezuela’s TPS designation, arguing that conditions in the country had improved and that continuing the program was no longer in the national interest. That decision sparked immediate legal challenges. A coalition of Venezuelan TPS recipients and advocacy groups sued, claiming the administration’s actions were arbitrary, rushed, and in violation of federal law.
On Tuesday, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will issue a Federal Register notice enforcing new fees for certain immigration benefit requests postmarked on or after July 22, 2025. Benefit requests submitted to the agency without the proper fees will be rejected.
These new fees are part of the H.R. 1 Reconciliation Bill. A portion of these new fees will be deposited into a U.S. Treasury account that primarily funds the operations of USCIS.
Please be aware that the Federal Register Notice does not include all the new fees mandated by the new bill. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will issue a future announcement regarding the implementation of fees that have not been addressed in Tuesday’s notice.
What are the new fees?
In a stunning turn of events, on Tuesday a federal judge in New York blocked the Trump administration from ending Temporary Protected Status (TPS) benefits for Haitians ahead of schedule, ruling that DHS violated the law in attempting to strip deportations and work permits from over half a million Haitians.
The ruling comes in response to the Department of Homeland Security’s abrupt announcement that it would be terminating Haiti’s TPS designation effective September 2, 2025.
In a decision issued Tuesday, District Court Judge Brian M. Cogan found that accelerating the program’s expiration by at least five months was unlawful and that the government failed to follow required procedures mandated by Congress, such as conducting a review of current conditions in Haiti before ending its TPS designation—a requirement that was not followed in this case.
On Friday June 27, 2025, the Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem announced that the government will not renew Temporary Protected Status (TPS) benefits for Haiti once the current designation expires on August 3, 2025.
Beneficiaries will be granted a 60-day transition period to make preparations to either depart the United States or seek alternative lawful immigration status in the United States, before Haiti’s designation officially terminates on September 2, 2025.
Employment Authorization
Visa Lawyer Blog