By: Dawn M. Lurie, Alexander J. Madrak, and Selene Malench*
This blog post was first published as an alert.
A wave of last-minute litigation aimed at stopping Temporary Protected Status (TPS) terminations is driving rapid, high-impact updates on the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) TPS webpages. As of this writing, USCIS has refreshed multiple TPS country pages, most recently for Haiti, with prominent “Alerts” that share a common theme:
- TPS status and related Employment Authorization Document (EAD) work authorization is extended, but
- USCIS does not provide a new end date (including no specific termination date for EAD validity) while the court orders and associated litigation remain in flux, and
- USCIS notes that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) “vehemently disagrees” and is working with the Department of Justice on next steps.
TPS litigation is broader than the Haiti decision issued by Judge Reyes on February 2, which we wrote about here. Separate court actions have also been proceeding for other TPS populations, including Burma (Myanmar), Ethiopia, Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua, South Sudan, and Syria.
Employers Left Hanging
USCIS’s Alerts are a practical response to court orders that pause or block TPS terminations scheduled to take effect on fixed dates set out in DHS announcements and Federal Register notices. In several cases, courts have intervened close to, or even after, the published termination dates, requiring USCIS to communicate one key point quickly: TPS protections and work authorization continue for now, even though the precise “TPS Designated Through” date is not listed in the webpage Alerts. Given DHS’ disagreement with the underlying court rulings, it is not surprising that USCIS has not provided additional information on extensions at this stage.
This also affects areas beyond employment, such as driver’s license renewals. Driver’s licenses often track to the length of an individual’s authorized stay in the United States. Because of the uncertainty around end dates, many DMVs are declining to issue or renew driver’s licenses for these impacted TPS populations.
TPS Country Snapshots
TPS Burma (Myanmar): Termination Paused by Court Order
DHS published a termination decision for TPS Burma (Myanmar) with an effective date of January 26, 2026. On January 23, 2026, a federal judge in the U.S. Northern District of Illinois issued an order blocking the Burma termination.
TPS Ethiopia: Litigation Pauses the Planned Termination
DHS published a termination decision for Ethiopia TPS with an effective date of February 13, 2026. On January 30, 2026, a federal judge temporarily blocked implementation of the Ethiopia termination to allow the legal challenge to proceed and to require DHS to provide records on how the decision was made.
TPS Haiti: Termination Paused by Court Order
DHS published a termination for TPS Haiti with an effective date of February 3, 2026. On February 2, 2026, as we previously covered, a judge from the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia issued an order blocking the Haiti termination.
TPS Honduras: Termination Paused by Court Order
DHS published a termination for TPS Honduras with an effective date of September 8, 2025. On December 31, 2025, a judge from the Northern District of California issued an order blocking the Honduras termination.
TPS Nepal: Termination Paused by Court Order
DHS published a termination decision for TPS Nepal with an effective date of August 5, 2025. On December 31, 2025, a judge from the Northern District of California issued an order blocking the Nepal termination.
TPS Nicaragua: Termination Paused by Court Order
DHS published a termination decision for TPS Nicaragua an effective date of September 8, 2025. On December 31, 2025, a judge from the Northern District of California issued an order blocking the Nicaragua termination.
TPS South Sudan: Termination Paused by Court Order
DHS published a termination decision for TPS South Sudan with an effective date of Jan. 6, 2026. On December 30, 2025, a federal judge in the District of Massachusetts issued an order blocking the South Sudan termination.
TPS Syria: Termination Paused by Court Order
DHS published a termination notice for TPS Syria with an effective date of November 21, 2025. On November 19, 2025, a judge from the Southern District of new York issued an order blocking the Syria termination.
What Employers Should Do:
- Work with your immigration compliance counsel to determine what date (if any) to record in Section 2 or Supplement B for the expiration date and keep it consistent so that these employees can be identified, especially if DHS wins on appeal or if USCIS issues guidance, also consider any notes or documents to attach;
- Monitor Updates: Stay informed on USCIS guidance for Form I-9 completion and any DOJ/IER advisories regarding hiring practices;
- Consider operational plans for compliance adjustments if TPS status changes again;
- Internal Communication: Ensure HR and compliance teams understand the current protections and pending guidance to avoid errors in onboarding or reverification; and,
- Ensure that any electronic Form I-9 system you may be using does not block hiring or reverification of employees with TPS EADs extended by litigation.
Please contact Dawn M. Lurie for more information. The Seyfarth Immigration Compliance & Investigations specialty group is recognized as national leaders in the field. Seyfarth’s team is trusted by top Fortune 100 companies as well as small businesses across the country for strategic, practical advice. The group offers comprehensive guidance on Form I-9 and E-Verify compliance, ICE inspections, and worksite enforcement actions, internal immigration assessments, I-9 audits, DOL immigration-related wage and hour investigations, general H-1B compliance, and DOJ/IER anti-discrimination matters, including foreign sponsorship and export control/ITAR issues.
*Selene Malench is a Case Assistant on Seyfarth’s Immigration Compliance & Enforcement team. Many thanks for her contribution to this legal update.