Visa Lawyer Blog

Articles Posted in Work permits

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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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court-5665886_1280
On Wednesday, May 28, 2025, a federal judge from the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts issued a nationwide court order lifting the Trump administration’s suspension of adjudications for immigration benefit applications submitted by noncitizens who were lawfully paroled into the United States under certain categorical parole programs implemented during the Biden administration.

Those affected by the suspensions were parolees in the following programs:

  • Military Parole in Place (MPIP) for members of the U.S. armed forces to petition their relatives for parole
  • Uniting for Ukraine (U4U), for Ukrainian citizens and their family members to apply for advanced authorization to travel to the United States to request parole for up to two years and apply for employment authorization with USCIS
  • Noncitizens from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela (CHNV) authorizing parole requests of up to two years, and the ability to apply for employment authorization from USCIS
  • Family Reunification Parole (FRP) programs permitting individuals from Colombia, Cuba, Guatemala, Ecuador, Haiti, Honduras, and El Salvador to receive advanced authorization to travel to the United States while their family-based immigrant visas are pending.
  • Central American Minors Program (CAM) for individuals from El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala lawfully present in the United States to request immediate relatives not present in the United States to be granted access to the Refugee Admissions Program.

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manu-ros-wvlwZ00eIRk-unsplash-scaledIn recent days, the Trump administration has launched an aggressive campaign targeting international students studying at colleges and universities throughout the United States.

These attacks escalated Thursday last week when the administration first announced that it would be halting Harvard University’s ability to enroll international students by revoking their Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) certification—a certification that is necessary for U.S. schools to enroll and issue Forms I-20 to F and M international students.

The move sent shockwaves throughout the academic community because it meant Harvard could no longer enroll foreign students, and its more than 7,000 existing international students would be required to transfer or lose their legal status in the United States.

According to the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, such drastic steps were taken due to Harvard’s alleged failure to comply with Student Exchange Visa Program (SEVP) regulations, as well as “encouraging and allowing antisemitic and anti-American violence to rage on its campus and coordinating with Chinese Communist Party officials on training that undermined American national security.”

Less than 24 hours later, Harvard filed a lawsuit in federal court requesting and obtaining a temporary restraining order to block the Trump administration from cutting off its ability to enroll foreign students. The judge found that absent the court order, Harvard would “suffer immediate and irreparable injury.”

Today, that same judge granted Harvard a preliminary injunction extending Harvard’s ability to maintain its SEVP certification intact while the lawsuit moves forward in federal court. This action effectively protects Harvard’s students and allows them to remain in the United States.

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united-states-supreme-court-6330563_1280On May 19th the U.S. Supreme Court handed the Trump administration a legal victory after the justices agreed to lift a lower court order that had previously stopped the President’s efforts to strip Venezuelans of deportation protections granted under Temporary Protected Status (TPS).

What is TPS?

Temporary Protected Status (TPS) is a humanitarian program allowing nationals of certain countries to remain in the United States temporarily, if the government has determined that it is unsafe for them to return to their home country for humanitarian reasons, such as armed conflict or a natural disaster.

It allows nationals of designated countries to live and work in the United States for a temporary period of time, during which they are protected from deportation. Those who qualify are given temporary employment authorization, which is automatically extended if the government extends their TPS validity period.

Biden’s Designation of Venezuela for TPS

The original TPS designation for nationals of Venezuela was issued on March 9, 2021, due to extraordinary conditions preventing their safe return to Venezuela (the 2021 designation). A separate re-designation was issued on October 3, 2023 (the 2023 designation).

Before leaving office, the Biden administration extended Venezuela’s 2023 designation for an additional period of 18 months, which was meant to last from, April 3, 2025, to October 2, 2026.

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ai-generated-9069949_1280On May 12, 2025, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem announced that the State Department will not renew Temporary Protected Status (TPS) benefits for Afghanistan once the current designation expires on May 20, 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 Afghanistan’s designation officially terminates on July 14, 2025.

Employment Authorization

Beneficiaries with valid TPS Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) will continue to be authorized to work during the 60-day transition period.

DHS announced the agency will be automatically extending the validity of certain EADs previously issued under the TPS designation of Afghanistan through July 14, 2025.

As proof of continued employment authorization through July 14, 2025, TPS beneficiaries can present an EAD that has the notation A-12 or C-19 under Category and a “Card Expires” date of November 20, 2023, or May 20, 2025.

How We Got Here

Afghanistan was initially designated for TPS during the Biden administration on May 20, 2022. The designation was made based on the Secretary’s determination of ongoing armed conflict and extraordinary conditions in Afghanistan preventing the return of its nationals.

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student-5473769_1280F-1 International Students at university campuses across the country have been rocked by alarming reports that their visas and SEVIS records have been suddenly terminated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), without any prior notice to the university or the student.

This new wave of SEVIS terminations which began early this month has led to a string of lawsuits filed in federal district court, challenging the legality of the terminations.

School officials became aware of terminated F-1 student records only after conducting checks of the Student & Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) system. The records of those impacted simply state that the visa revocations were due to an immigration status violation.

The following three generic classifications have been provided for the terminations:

  • Termination based on serious adverse foreign policy consequences
  • Student identified in a criminal records check
  • Student identified in criminal check and/or has had their visa revoked

No further details regarding the reason for the terminations have been provided by the government, nor were school officials notified of actions taken.

What is SEVIS?

The Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) is an online system used by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to maintain information on Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP)-certified schools, F-1 and M-1 students who come to the United States to begin a program of student.

Designated school officials use SEVIS to issue Forms I-20 to specific nonimmigrants to obtain F or M status while enrolled at the school and to satisfy their legal responsibilities.

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statue-of-liberty-9275095_1280Today March 21, 2025, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released an advance copy of a notice in the Federal Register ending four Biden-era parole programs for Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela (CHNV).

When

The temporary parole period of aliens in the United States under the CHNV parole programs will terminate on April 24th (30 days from the date of the notice’s publication in the Federal Register)

Parolees without a lawful basis to remain in the United States following this termination of the CHNV parole programs must depart the United States before the program’s termination date.

Who will be impacted

Nationals from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela who flew to the U.S. under Biden’s CHNV humanitarian parole program.

Parolees granted admission under CHNV were given a temporary two-year parole period to remain in the U.S., work authorization, and protection from deportation. The purpose of the program was to reduce illegal immigration at the southern border and provide alternative legal avenues.

Approximately 532,000 nationals entered the United States using this program.

Termination of Employment Authorization Documents

Parole-based employment authorization for CHNV parolees will also automatically terminate on April 24th and will be revoked pursuant to 8 CFR 274a.14(b).

Expedited Removal

Following parole termination, DHS intends to promptly remove aliens who entered the United States under the CHNV parole programs, who do not depart the United States before their parole termination date and who do not have any lawful basis to remain in the United States.

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international-2693195_1280-1The first 30 days of the Trump administration have involved dismantling Biden-era immigration protections including ending Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Venezuelans, and now Haitians.

Before leaving office, the former Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas had extended Temporary Protected Status (TPS) protections for Haiti for an 18-month period (until February 3, 2026).

Acting under the Trump administration, today DHS Secretary Kristi Noem partially vacated the Mayorkas extension reducing it from 18 months to 12 months.

As a result, Haiti’s TPS extension and new designation will end on August 3, 2025, instead of February 3, 2026, unless extended by the Trump administration.

First-time registration for Haitians seeking TPS protections will remain in effect until August 3, 2025, instead of February 3, 2026.

DHS said in a statement that by taking action it was making good on its promise to “rescind [Biden] policies that were magnets for illegal immigration,” highlighting that TPS is meant to provide only “temporary” immigration status to certain nationals from countries facing ongoing armed conflict, environmental disasters, and other extraordinary conditions.

The statement went on to say, “for decades the TPS system has been exploited and abused. For example, Haiti has been designated for TPS since 2010. The data shows each extension of the country’s TPS designation allowed more Haitian nationals, even those who entered the U.S. illegally, to qualify for legal protected status.”

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U.S. Congresswoman Sylvia Garcia of the state of Texas is leading a renewed push to create a pathway to citizenship for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients. Currently, DACA recipients are allowed to renew their DACA benefits but the future of the program remains uncertain.

Following a meeting with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, Garcia urged President Trump to work with lawmakers on passing the American Dream and Promise Act. This piece of legislation was originally introduced in 2021 and was refiled in 2023, but the bill failed to gain approval from lawmakers.

The bill would give 10-year conditional permanent resident status to qualifying individuals who entered the United States as minors. Eligible candidates must pass background checks, prove that they have continuously lived in the U.S. since 2021, and be enrolled in school or have graduated. Among those who would benefit are those who are deportable or inadmissible, have deferred enforced departure, temporary protected status, or are children of “certain classes of nonimmigrants.”

As of September 2024, there were roughly 538,000 DACA beneficiaries in the United States. Another 3.6 million arrived in the U.S. as children but do not have protections. The Trump administration has remained largely silent on how it will approach the DACA program.

As we watch closely for more concrete developments, we encourage DACA recipients to meet with their attorneys to discuss potential legal avenues. These include employment-based non-immigrant visas, 245(i) eligibility for adjustment of status for those who qualify, and other screening.

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