Typhoon Haiyan struck the Philippines on November 8, 2013, causing more than 6,000 deaths. In an effort to assist those affected by Typhoon Haiyan, the USCIS offered the following relief measures to Filipino nationals:
- Change or extension of nonimmigrant status for an individual currently in the United States, even when the request is filed after the authorized period of admission has expired;
- Extension of certain grants of parole made by USCIS;
- Extension of certain grants of advance parole, and expedited processing of advance parole requests;
- Expedited adjudication and approval, where possible, of requests for off-campus employment authorization for F-1 students experiencing severe economic hardship;
- Expedited processing of immigrant petitions for immediate relatives of U.S. citizens;
- Expedited adjudication of employment authorization applications, where appropriate; and
- Assistance to LPRs stranded overseas without immigration or travel documents, such as Permanent Resident Cards (Green Cards). USCIS and the Department of State will coordinate on these matters when the LPR is stranded in a place that has no local USCIS office.
On January 14, 2014, the USCIS released a statement reminding those affected by Typhoon Haiyan that the above relief measures are still being offered to Filipino nationals.