United States | TPS termination decision for Honduras, Nepal and Nicaragua in effect pending appeal

Following a procedural ruling by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on Feb. 9, 2026, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services updated its Temporary Protected Status (TPS) Designated Country webpages for Honduras, Nepal and Nicaragua, noting the termination of TPS and prior extensions of Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) for each country are in effect.

Key takeaways:

District court vacated TPS termination: On Dec. 31, 2025, the Northern District of California vacated the Secretary of Homeland Security’s termination of TPS designations for Honduras, Nepal and Nicaragua, determining that the decisions violated the Administrative Procedure Act. In response, USCIS updated its website to indicate that EADs had been extended per the court order.

Federal government granted a stay pending appeal: On Feb. 9, 2026, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals granted the government’s movement for a stay (postponement) of the district court’s vacatur order, allowing the termination of TPS status for Honduras, Nepal and Nicaragua to stay in effect while the appeal continues. The order states:

“We conclude that the government is likely to succeed on the merits of its appeal either by showing that the district court lacked jurisdiction or by prevailing on plaintiffs’ arbitrary-and-capricious APA challenge.”

No final decision: The order issued by the Ninth Circuit is a procedural ruling. The court has not made a final decision on the matter.

Additional information: Employers should continue to check the USCIS TPS page for further government guidance. BAL will continue to monitor related developments on this matter and provide updates.

This alert has been provided by the BAL U.S. Practice Group. 

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