Another Friday, Another Fire Drill: USCIS Releases Late Day Update On Haiti TPS

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued updated guidance late this afternoon, March 13, 2026, revising Form I-9 instructions for Haitian TPS beneficiaries. This update supersedes the February 14, 2026 notice and follows the federal court order in Miot et al. v. Trump, which stayed DHS's planned termination of TPS for Haiti. The agency now directs employers to use March 27, 2026, as the expiration date for certain TPS related EADs. The update was sent via e-mail, but we expect an Alert to be posted soon on the USCIS website.

This development underscores the same challenges discussed in my earlier post, Ask Not for Whom the Bell Tolls: Haiti TPS Litigation and USCIS I-9 Guidance Signal Broader Employer Risk and Unanswered Questions, including the ongoing pattern of litigation driven extensions, abrupt terminations, and last minute updates across TPS programs. Employers have faced similar rapid fire changes for multiple countries over the last several years, making consistent I-9 compliance increasingly difficult.

What USCIS Now Requires

USCIS confirms that EADs issued under Haiti's TPS designation with older expiration dates remain valid pursuant to the court order (February 3, 2026; August 3, 2025; August 3, 2024; June 30, 2024; February 3, 2023; December 31, 2022; October 4, 2021; January 4, 2021; January 2, 2020; and July 22, 2019). Employers have been directed to take these steps when completing Form I-9:

Section 1: The employee should write “as per court order.”
Section 2: The employer must enter March 27, 2026, as the expiration date and include a notation in the Additional Information Box.
E-Verify: Use March 27, 2026, as the expiration date when creating the E-Verify case.

USCIS states that employers may download and attach the TPS alert or Haiti TPS webpage to the I-9.

Electronic I-9 System Limitations

As noted in the prior blog, employers using electronic I-9 platforms continue to face structural barriers. Most systems are not configured to accept nonstandard language such as “as per court order” or to override automated expiration date logic. These platforms were not built for litigation driven extensions or agency directives issued on irregular timelines, creating significant administrative strain.

We still would like to know exactly what USCIS is instructing employers to enter in the Additional Information Box.

This burden is compounded for employers with large TPS impacted populations. USCIS notes that employers may download the TPS Haiti webpages for attachment or retention, but this is not a practical solution for large populations. Attaching USCIS alerts individually to each electronic I-9 may not be operationally practical, and many systems do not allow supplemental uploads in the required fields. It is also extremely time consuming. When possible, employers can upload the alert into the employee's document section or keep it with a paper I-9. Another option is to maintain a TPS binder with this information for future reference.

Ensuring that you are tracking this population, and any other affected employees from other TPS countries is key, as continuing to employ workers without work authorization is a serious violation.

Lack of Guidance for Existing Employees

USCIS has not given any direction on how employers should handle existing employees whose Forms I-9 were completed under earlier Haiti TPS instructions. There is no clear answer on whether Section 2, or Supplement B in many cases, should be updated retroactively, whether employers should annotate only, or whether employers should wait for further guidance.

Given this gap, employers must adopt a reasonable, consistent approach to avoid premature termination and prevent disparate treatment. Absent guidance, it seems reasonable to update the Form I-9 with the new date. How that is effectuated outside of a paper Form I-9 scenario will depend on the limitations of the electronic system being used. In many cases, a Supplement B may need to be utilized.

Recommended Approach Going Forward and When will this End?

We suggest that employers update the expiration date to March 27, 2026, at a minimum. If you intend to use a different or later date, which may be reasonable, you should work closely with your immigration compliance counsel first. The key priority is ensuring that no employee is terminated early and that all employees are treated fairly and consistently with nondiscrimination obligations.

The TPS Haiti litigation is ongoing. On March 12, the Trump administration asked the U.S. Supreme Court to pause a federal district court ruling that currently blocks the government from ending TPS for Haiti. Solicitor General D. John Sauer urged the Court to take up the case, along with the related Syria case already pending before the Court, immediately, arguing that these matters should be resolved without waiting for the federal appeals court to “weigh in”.

Last week, the D.C. Circuit declined to put Judge Ana Reyes' ruling on hold, prompting the administration to appeal directly to the Supreme Court. The government argued that the Haiti and Syria cases are effectively identical to prior TPS disputes in which the Court granted stays and warned that conflicting lower‑court rulings will continue unless the Court intervenes.

The justices have ordered the challengers to file their response by March 16 at noon Eastern. While the Court has not set a deadline for a decision, we expect to hear something in April.

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