Is Honduras TPS Extended? Court Fight, Work Permits, Travel

Honduras Temporary Protected Status is not currently extended. The Department of Homeland Security terminated the designation effective September 8, 2025, and although a federal district court vacated that termination on December 31, 2025, the Ninth Circuit stayed the district court’s order on February 9, 2026, putting the termination back into effect while the appeal proceeds.¹ If you held Honduras TPS, you no longer have TPS-based lawful status or work authorization right now, but the situation is fluid and could change on short notice.

Where the Court Fight Stands

DHS published its termination notice in the Federal Register on July 8, 2025, finding that country conditions no longer supported the designation. The termination took effect 60 days later.²

On December 31, 2025, a federal judge in the Northern District of California vacated the termination in National TPS Alliance et al. v. Noem et al., No. 25-cv-05687-TLT, ordering DHS to reinstate TPS and honor associated work permits for Honduras, Nepal, and Nicaragua. The government appealed, and on February 9, 2026, the Ninth Circuit stayed that order. The stay leaves the termination operative during the appeal.¹

Under the TPS statute, once a designation ends, former beneficiaries revert to whatever immigration status they held before TPS.³ For many Hondurans who entered without inspection before the 1998 cutoff, that means no lawful status at all.

Your Work Permit Right Now

DHS extended existing Honduras TPS Employment Authorization Documents (category codes A-12 or C-19) through September 8, 2025 as a 60-day transition after the termination notice.² After that date, those EADs are not valid for employment under the termination order.

The December 2025 district court order briefly restored EAD validity. Some employers may have accepted those documents in the short window before the February 2026 Ninth Circuit stay. With the stay in place, EADs tied to Honduras TPS should not be treated as valid for new Form I-9 verification. Because court orders in this area move quickly, employers should check USCIS’s I-9 Central for current guidance before completing verification.⁴

Travel Is High Risk

There is no TPS-based travel authorization available while the termination is in force. Former beneficiaries who leave the United States now face a real risk of being unable to return, particularly anyone without another valid immigration status. Even when TPS was active, leaving without an approved Form I-131 travel document (Form I-512T) could cost you your status, and re-admission was never automatic — a CBP officer decided at the port of entry.⁵ Talk to an immigration attorney before making any travel decision. The consequences of getting this wrong are severe and often irreversible.

Be Ready if TPS Is Restored

If the Ninth Circuit reverses the stay, a higher court intervenes, or a new designation issues, USCIS will likely open a re-registration window on short notice. Getting your documents in order now saves critical days later.

Eligibility dates never changed across the program’s history: continuous residence in the United States since December 30, 1998, and continuous physical presence since January 5, 1999.¹ Brief, legitimate trips abroad don’t break physical presence under the statute.³

Pull together evidence of continuous presence: rent receipts, utility bills, school and medical records, bank statements, and pay records showing your name and dates in the United States. Identity documents typically mean a Honduran passport (even expired) or a birth certificate with photo ID. Foreign-language documents need certified English translations.⁶

The applications themselves are Form I-821 for TPS and Form I-765 if you want a work permit.⁷ USCIS adjusted fees effective January 1, 2026, and the biometric services fee for Form I-821 is now $30.⁸ Check the current fee schedule before you file, because USCIS will reject any application submitted with the wrong amount. Form I-912 lets you request a fee waiver based on financial hardship or participation in means-tested benefits like SNAP or Medicaid.⁹

Criminal Bars Still Apply

Anyone convicted of a felony or two or more misdemeanors in the United States is ineligible for TPS.³ A felony here means any crime punishable by more than one year of imprisonment, and a misdemeanor means any crime punishable by one year or less. What matters is the maximum possible sentence under state law, not what the judge actually imposed. Two minor misdemeanors with no jail time are enough to bar you permanently.

If You Miss a Re-Registration Deadline

USCIS has discretion to accept late re-registration when you show good cause. Recognized reasons include serious illness, hospitalization, a death in the family, homelessness, or language barriers that kept you from learning about the deadline. Include a written explanation and supporting evidence. Failing to re-register at all can permanently end your TPS eligibility.

Other Immigration Options to Consider Now

Termination of TPS does not automatically mean deportation, but it does leave you without lawful status unless you hold or can obtain another form of relief. Roughly 21,000 former Honduran TPS holders had already obtained lawful permanent resident status as of early 2025.² TPS itself does not lead to a green card, but registering for it also does not block you from pursuing other benefits.¹⁰

What might work depends on your facts. If a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident family member has filed an immigrant petition for you, adjustment of status may be possible. Employment-based visa categories have their own eligibility rules and long backlogs. Asylum runs on its own track with its own filing deadlines, and a TPS decision does not affect an asylum case or the reverse.¹⁰ The interplay between these options is fact-specific enough that an immigration attorney’s review is worth the cost.

Where to Watch for Changes

The Ninth Circuit appeal is pending, and additional court rulings or legislative action could shift things quickly. The USCIS Honduras TPS page is the most reliable public source and is updated when court orders or Federal Register notices change what applies.¹ If you held Honduras TPS and have not already spoken with an immigration attorney, do so now.

1
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Temporary Protected Status Designated Country: Honduras
2
Federal Register. Termination of the Designation of Honduras for Temporary Protected Status
3
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1254a Temporary Protected Status
4
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. 5.3 Automatic EAD Extensions for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) Beneficiaries
5
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-131, Application for Travel Documents, Parole Documents, and Arrival/Departure Records
6
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Policy Manual Volume 7 Part A Chapter 4 – Documentation
7
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-821, Application for Temporary Protected Status
8
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. G-1055 Fee Schedule
9
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-912, Request for Fee Waiver
10
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Temporary Protected Status