AIDS Action Committee’s Blog

UPDATE (5:27pm, January 21, 2010):

The following message is from an attorney at AIDS Action Committee:

AIDS Action Committee’s Legal Services Department will begin offering assistance to Haitians looking to receive temporary protected status for immigration. The U.S. Government has officially announced that Haitians in the United States as of January 12, 2010 will be eligible to receive temporary protected status to remain in the U.S. for at least 18 months, and even to work.

We will be holding walk-in clinics to provide information about TPS and to assist in filling out the necessary forms.

The first clinic will be at AAC on Mondays from 10am to 12pm for as long as they are needed. This clinic is open to all Haitians, not just clients of AAC and not just those with HIV. The first clinic will be held this coming Monday, January 25th. We are currently coordinating Creole translation services, but it may not be available for the first clinic. Again, this clinic will be open to all members of the Haitian community.

There will be a second walk-in clinic for clients of Cambridge Cares About AIDS at their office on Fridays from 1-3pm. This clinic will only be for clients of CCAA at this time. The first clinic will be next Friday, January 29th. There will be Creole translation services at this clinic.

We are also looking to hold a third clinic at a location in Dorchester. We will have more information about those arrangements in the future.

Please direct questions about the clinic to our Legal Line at 617-450-1317.

–End of Update–

NOTE (1:38pm, January 19, 2010): We’re posting the following information about temporary protected status for Haitians living in the US to inform qualifying individuals of their current options for staying in or leaving the country. We will post updates, including contact information for additional resources, as they become available.

Meanwhile, we encourage people to continue supporting Haiti relief, particularly through Boston-based Partners in Health, a widely respected organization with one of the strongest records fighting HIV/AIDS in Haiti.

TEMPORARY PROTECTED STATUS—Haitian nationals who were physically present in the United States on January 12, 2010 may be eligible for Temporary Protected Status (TPS). TPS allows eligible people to live and work in the United States for the next 18 months. Those eligible for TPS must be:

• Be a national of Haiti, or a person without nationality who last habitually resided in Haiti;
• Have continuously resided in the U.S. since January 12, 2010;
• Have been continuously physically present in the U.S. since the date of the Federal Register Notice publication (date to be announced);
• Must not have been convicted of any felony or two or more misdemeanors comitted in the United States; and,
• Is not subject to other criminal and security-related bars to asylum.

Other eligibility requirements may apply.

Once the Notice of the TPS program for Haiti is announced in the Federal Register, AAC will arrange for lawyers and legal advocates to assist people in the application process.  Information will be posted here as soon as it becomes available.