Visa Lawyer Blog

Articles Posted in Work permits

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wander-works-MAgz-27IO68-unsplash-scaledThe Trump administration is asking the Supreme Court to end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for hundreds of thousands of Haitians living in the United States. TPS is a humanitarian program that allows people from countries affected by disasters or conflict to live and work in the U.S. legally, without fear of deportation.

This move comes as part of a broader effort to scale back immigration protections. The Supreme Court has already allowed the administration to reduce TPS protections for Venezuelan migrants, while a similar request involving Syrian immigrants is still pending.

Haiti was first granted TPS in 2010 after a catastrophic earthquake, and the designation has been extended several times since. The administration set a termination date of February 3, 2026, arguing that conditions in Haiti have improved enough to allow the return of TPS holders.

Last December, five Haitian nationals challenged the decision, seeking to block the termination. A federal district court sided with them last month, finding that the decision to end protections may have been influenced in part by racial bias. The Justice Department appealed, but a divided three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., refused to halt the lower court’s ruling.

In an emergency filing with the Supreme Court, Solicitor General D. John Sauer argued that the lower courts had overstepped, interfering in “an area of wide Executive Branch latitude.”

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gdj-borders-2099239_1280The 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.

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famous-place-8911581_1280U.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:

  • Individuals admitted as refugees;
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south-sudan-1758979_1280On 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?

  • South Sudan was first designated for TPS in 2011 due to ongoing armed conflict and extraordinary temporary conditions in the country.
  • The designation was extended multiple times, including a six‑month extension from May 2025 through November 2025, because DHS was unable to make a timely determination by the statutory deadline.
  • In its termination decision, DHS determined that South Sudan “no longer continues to meet the conditions” for TPS under the statute.

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?

  • Until January 5, 2026: The termination becomes effective then.
  • During the transition period, certain employment authorization documents (EADs) issued under the South Sudan TPS designation remain valid through that date.

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hiring-1977803_1280On 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

  • If you file your I-765 renewal on or after October 30, 2025, you will not receive an automatic extension of your EAD for most categories.
  • The rule affects many categories of renewal applicants, including (but not necessarily limited to) those applying under asylum, adjustment of status, H-4 dependent spouses (EAD category C26), etc.
  • Automatic extensions that were already granted (for renewal applications filed before the cut-off) remain valid.
  • Some limited exceptions remain, notably for certain categories such as those tied to TPS (Temporary Protected Status) where automatic extension may still be provided by law or Federal Register notice.

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.

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us-1978465_1280Last 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.

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Source: Flickr Creative Commons Attribution mollyktadams

Recent court documents submitted by the government in the case, State of Texas v. United States of America (1:18-cv-00068), reveal that the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) may soon resume processing initial DACA applications for individuals living outside of Texas.

Since 2021, new DACA requests had been halted due to a court order which was later applied only to the state of Texas.

Under the proposed plan, USCIS would process initial applications for applicants residing outside of Texas. For those living in Texas, the government would only grant deferred action, without employment authorization or recognition of lawful presence. Moving to Texas could jeopardize a DACA recipient’s work authorization.

The government’s plan still requires court approval, and USCIS has not yet shared any timeline or implementation details if it moves forward.

DACA Refresher

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) is a program that allows individuals who were brought to the United States as children to remain in the United States temporarily and apply for work permits. While it does not grant legal status, it offers protection from deportation.

Those eligible for DACA include individuals who entered the country as children before their 16th birthday, were under 31 years old as of June 15, 2012, and have not been convicted of a felony, a significant misdemeanor, or three misdemeanors.

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dollar-2931882_1280On 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?

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gavel-7499921_1280In 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.

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haiti-162313_1280On 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

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