Impor­tant Infor­ma­tion About Hait­ian TPS

Pre­pared by attor­ney Clarel Cyr­i­aque, co-founder and first pres­i­dent of the Hait­ian Lawyers Asso­ci­a­tion in Miami, Florida.

Most Haitians who were in the U.S. on Jan­u­ary 12, 2010, can apply for TPS, includ­ing those who have another immi­gra­tion sta­tus (i.e. tourist or stu­dent visa) and those who were here before Jan­u­ary 12, 2010 but who were out of the coun­try on that day.  Even per­sons with final orders of depor­ta­tion can apply.

Some per­sons can­not and should not apply for TPS, includ­ing those who have been con­victed of any felony or two or more mis­de­meanors, those who are found to have been per­se­cu­tors or ter­ror­ists, and those found guilty of cer­tain other crim­i­nal or secu­rity vio­la­tions.

You must file for TPS with­ing 180 days, by July 19, 2010. Late fil­ings are rarely accepted.

File your appli­ca­tion by cer­ti­fied or express mail and keep a leg­i­ble copy for your­self. This will pro­tect you if the appli­ca­tion is lost.

Imme­di­ately advise Immi­gra­tion when you change your address. You have 10 days to give Immi­gra­tion your new address using Form AR-11(which can now be filed elec­tron­i­cally at www.uscis.gov or by call­ing 1–800-375‑5283.  You should also advise the immi­gra­tion office where your TPS appli­ca­tion is pending.

You can prove Hait­ian nationality/citizenship in dif­fer­ent ways. Pri­mary evi­dence includes a Hait­ian pass­port (even if expired), birth cer­tifi­cate show­ing birth in Haiti, or Hait­ian photo ID doc­u­ment (even if expired).  Sec­ondary evi­dence can include a bap­tismal cer­tifi­cate, sworn affi­davit from close rel­a­tives or friends, or per­haps other items which show Hait­ian nation­al­ity or citizenship.

You must prove res­i­dence and con­tin­u­ous pres­ence in the U.S. since Jan­u­ary 12. You can use income tax returns, let­ters from present or past employ­ers, rent receipts, pay­roll stubs, bank state­ments, school or med­ical records, and any other doc­u­ments show­ing con­tin­u­ous pres­ence or res­i­dence. Do not dis­card such items.

Your appli­ca­tion will be denied if you miss a fin­ger­print appoint­ment with­out fil­ing a resched­ule request. You must send the orig­i­nal appoint­ment notice with the resched­ule request.  You will only get a work per­mit after com­plet­ing fin­ger­print and back­ground checks.  Resched­ul­ing may delay your case.

Only ask for a fee waiver if you need it. Although Immi­gra­tion says it will gen­er­ously con­sider fee waivers, the form requires you to file lots of doc­u­ments, includ­ing a sworn state­ment explain­ing why you need a waiver.  Your case can be rejected or delayed if you file an improper waiver. A fee waiver form, Form I-912, may soon be avail­able.

Do not leave the United States with­out get­ting advance parole per­mis­sion from Immi­gra­tion. TPS alone does not give you the right to travel out­side the United States.

Do not leave the United States or seek advance parole with­out seek­ing expert legal advice, that is, with­out con­sult­ing an expe­ri­enced attor­ney or accred­ited rep­re­sen­ta­tive, or you may be unable to return to the United States. You may be denied re-entry or adjust­ment for cer­tain crimes, moral or secu­rity issues, or if you spent too much time unlaw­fully present in the US before leav­ing.  Many of you will have unlaw­ful pres­ence prob­lems, and only an expe­ri­enced prac­ti­tioner can check if you will not be barred from return­ing to the U.S. and/or adjust­ing your sta­tus to per­ma­nent res­i­dence.

Only take legal advice from a licensed lawyer or accred­ited rep­re­sen­ta­tive or orga­ni­za­tion. Every case is dif­fer­ent.  While any­one can help you fill out your appli­ca­tion, only a lawyer or accred­ited rep­re­sen­ta­tive can give legal advice.  Con­sult one if you need legal advice.  Immi­gra­tion also has a brochure explain­ing how to avoid being a vic­tim of unau­tho­rized law practice.

Seek com­pe­tent legal help if nec­es­sary to make sure your appli­ca­tion is cor­rectly and com­pletely filled out. The TPS form is long and com­pli­cated and requires you to pro­vide addi­tional doc­u­ments and/or expla­na­tions for cer­tain things (i.e. any arrest or con­vic­tion, final order for fraud under Sec­tion 274C, mem­ber­ship in the police or mil­i­tary, work in a prison, entry as a stow­away, and more). You may even need to seek a waiver for a ground of inad­mis­si­bil­ity. Your appli­ca­tion may be denied if you do not com­pletely and accu­rately fill out all forms and pro­vide required doc­u­ments with proper trans­la­tions.  You can­not use high­lighters and must only use pens with blue or black ink.

TPS does not give you res­i­dence. TPS is tem­po­rary.  It will expire in 18 months unless renewed.

TPS does not can­cel hear­ings, immi­gra­tion appoint­ments, or other immi­gra­tion oblig­a­tions. Unless and until a judge or immi­gra­tion offi­cial says oth­er­wise, your immi­gra­tion oblig­a­tions remain after you get TPS.  Do not ignore a pre-existing immi­gra­tion appoint­ment or deadline.

Make sure the infor­ma­tion on your appli­ca­tion, includ­ing your address, is cor­rect. Even if you do not read Eng­lish, it is your respon­si­bil­ity to pro­vide a good address.  Know what you are sign­ing.

You must file a work per­mit appli­ca­tion even if you don’t want a work per­mit. But you don’t have to pay the appli­ca­tion fee if you are NOT seek­ing a work permit.