May 22, 2013
MIAMI (AP) -- The U.S. government will be giving Haitians displaced by the 2010 earthquake more time to legally live and work here while their Caribbean homeland rebuilds.
Citizenship and Immigration Services says Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano has extended temporary residency and employment benefits for eligible Haitian immigrants through July 2014.
Haitians with temporary protected status can register for the extension after Napolitano's decision is published in the Federal Register this week.
The immigration benefits had been set to expire in January. Only Haitians who were living in the U.S. before Jan. 12, 2011, were eligible.
Temporary protected status allows immigrants from a handful of countries experiencing armed conflicts or environmental disasters to temporarily live and work legally in the U.S.
