VENEZUELA DESIGNATED TO TEMPORARY PROTECTION STATUS (TPS)
US DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
Office of Public Affairs
Secretary Mayorkas Appoints Venezuela to Temporary Protected Status for 18 Months
New Designation Allows Eligible Venezuelans to Apply for TPS and Employment Authorization Documents
WASHINGTON — The Secretary of Homeland Security, Alejandro N. Mayorkas, has designated Venezuela to Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for 18 months, until September 2022. This new TPS designation for Venezuela allows Venezuelan nationals (and individuals without nationality whose last habitual residence was Venezuela) currently residing in the United States submit initial applications for TPS, provided they meet the eligibility requirements.
The designation is due to extraordinary and temporary conditions existing in Venezuela that prevent nationals from returning to their country safely, including a complex humanitarian crisis, marked by widespread hunger and malnutrition, a growing influence and presence of armed groups. non-state institutions, repression and an infrastructure in poor condition. TPS can be extended to a country with conditions that fall within one or more of the three statutory bases for designation: ongoing armed conflict, natural disasters, or extraordinary and temporary conditions.
"Living conditions in Venezuela reveal a country in crisis, incapable of protecting its own citizens," said Secretary Mayorkas. "It is in times of extraordinary and temporary circumstances like these that the United States steps forward to support eligible Venezuelan nationals currently present in the United States as their home country seeks to recover from current crises."
Only individuals who can demonstrate continuous residence in the United States as of March 8, 2021, are eligible for TPS under the Venezuela designation. For their own health and safety, people should not believe smugglers or others who claim that the border is now open. Due to the pandemic, travel and admission restrictions at the border remain in effect.
Individuals seeking TPS must file an application with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services within the initial 180-day registration period. They can also request Employment Authorization Documents (EAD) and travel authorization. All individuals who apply for TPS are subjected to security and background checks as part of determining eligibility. More details on the eligibility criteria for submitting an initial TPS application and applying for an EAD can be found at Federal Register notification (FRN).
The FRN also provides information about Deferred Forced Departure (DED) for Venezuelan nationals and how they can apply for DED-related EADs, based on the presidential memorandum of January 19, 2021 that establishes the DED for Venezuelan nationals for 18 months, until July 20, 2022. Individuals applying for and receiving TPS and are also covered by DED do not have to request employment authorization documentation under both programs. USCIS encourages individuals who believe they are eligible for TPS to apply during the initial registration period advertised on the FRN, even if covered by DED, if they do not qualify for a late initial submission to TPS after DED. has expired.