The Immigration Professor and his staff want to extend our prayers to the people of Haiti who have been so devastated by the recent earthquake. Our hearts go out to you and your families in this difficult time.

We are delighted to announce that the U.S. government has extended its helping hand to immigrants from Haiti as well as those seeking to adopt children from Haiti. On January 15, 2010 Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced Temporary Protected Status (“TPS”) for people from Haiti who have been in the United States as of January 12, 2010. TPS allows Haitians who were in the country legally or illegally to apply for legal status from the immigration service and a work card for 18 months.

In addition to TPS for Haitian nationals, the U.S. government just announced that it will be allowing Haitian orphans to come into the United States as a humanitarian gesture. Currently, the children who are eligible for this are: (1) children legally confirmed as orphans eligible for intercountry adoption by the Government of Haiti and are being adopted by U.S. Citizens; and (2) Children who have been previously identified by an adoption service provider or facilitator as eligible for intercountry adoption and have been matched to U.S. Citizen prospective parents. Unfortunately, there are many more children who have become orphaned by the crisis so we hope the U.S. government will continue its efforts to help these children find homes. In any event, prospective parents may still use the normal procedures for adopting internationally.

To get free information about Haitian TPS and Adopting Haitian orphans, please contact us immediately at 310-384-0200.

In this video, the Immigration Professor Attorney Robert A. Perkins discusses how adopted and orphaned children immigrate to the United States. Key items of discussion consist of Special Immigrant Juvenile Petitions requirements to include adopting a niece and/or nephew. All of our videos on immigration topics are available on our website, http://Immigration-Professor.com and on YouTube at http://YouTube.com/ImmigrationProf.

Please note that this video is general in nature and should not be construed as legal advice or a legal opinion. To get legal advice, contact our offices at 310-384-0200.