A judge extended Temporary Protected Status for Haitians living in the Miami Valley and around the country.
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Monday is the new deadline to leave the United States for an estimated 15,000 Haitians in Springfield and about 350,000 around the country.
TPS is for people from countries dealing with violence, dangerous living conditions, and natural disasters.
Michael Davis, senior counsel for Haynes Novick Kohn Immigration, said Haitians can delay leaving if they apply for asylum.
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“Once you apply for asylum, you are protected from removal. Your asylum application has to be adjudicated before you can be removed,” Davis said.
He said the U.S. Department of Homeland Security will review asylum applications.
If it rejects an application, then it goes to an immigration court judge for a ruling.
“It could be months, it could be years. There have been in the past significant backlogs of affirmative asylum cases with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services,” Davis said.
He said this can be expensive.
The Big Beautiful Bill Act requires an asylum filing fee.
The initial application costs about $100.
While the government reviews it, there are annual fees to keep the process going.
“So that is something that I think any applicant or petitioner would need to look at closely to understand the cost, especially if it’s not a waivable fee. The asylum application fee is not one that can be waived,” Davis said.
To be able to apply for asylum, Haitians with TPS must have been living in the US more than a year.
“Now asylum does have some parameters to it that could be difficult for this population of folks who are losing TPS. Most importantly, as a general matter, you have to apply for asylum within one year of your last arrival into the United States,” Davis said.
News Center 7 has left messages with Springfield leaders, Congressman Mike Turner’s Office and the Haitian Community Support and Help Center.
We will update if we receive responses.
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