News release originally published by the Department of Homeland Security. Redesignation Enables Additional Eligible Venezuelan Nationals Who Arrived in the U.S. by July 31, 2023, to Seek TPS and Employment Authorization Documents
Venezuelan Nationals Entering After July 31, 2023, Are Ineligible for TPS. Those Entering Illegally Will Face Enforcement Consequences
WASHINGTON – Today, the Department of Homeland Security is offering a preview of a Federal Register notice for an 18-month extension of Venezuela's 2021 Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designation and a separate redesignation of Venezuela for TPS. The notice outlines the process for registering for TPS under Venezuela's redesignation and re-registering for the extension. TPS applicants are entitled to apply for an Employment Authorization Document (EAD) during the TPS designation period.
Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas declared on September 20, 2023, the extension and redesignation of Venezuela for TPS for 18 months due to extraordinary and temporary conditions in Venezuela preventing individuals from safely returning.
Individuals may be eligible if they have continuously resided in the United States on or before July 31, 2023, and been continuously physically present in the United States on or before October 3, 2023. The redesignation of Venezuela for TPS (Venezuela 2023) will permit an estimated 472,000 additional Venezuelan nationals (or individuals having no nationality who last habitually resided in Venezuela) to file an initial TPS application.
Venezuelan nationals arriving in the United States after July 31, 2023, are ineligible for TPS. Those who do not enter through lawful pathways will be subject to enforcement consequences. Since May 12, over 253,000 individuals have been removed or returned to 152 countries, including Mexico. DHS has removed or returned more family members in the last four months than in any previous full fiscal year.
Under the new redesignation of Venezuela (Venezuela 2023), eligible individuals without TPS may submit an initial Form I-821, Application for Temporary Protected Status, during the registration period from October 3, 2023, through April 2, 2025. Applicants can apply for a TPS-related EAD by submitting a completed Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, with their Form I-821 or separately later. Applicants may also submit Form I-765 online.
The extension of TPS for already registered Venezuelans (Venezuela 2021) runs from March 11, 2024, through September 10, 2025, allowing approximately 243,000 current beneficiaries to retain TPS through September 10, 2025, if they re-register and continue to meet TPS eligibility requirements. Re-registration is limited to beneficiaries of TPS under Venezuela 2021. Current beneficiaries under TPS for Venezuela must re-register during the 60-day re-registration period from January 10, 2024, through March 10, 2024, to ensure they maintain their TPS and work authorization. DHS acknowledges that not all re-registrants may receive a new EAD before their current EAD expires and is automatically extending through March 10, 2025, the validity of certain EADs previously issued under Venezuela 2021.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will continue to process pending applications filed under Venezuela 2021. Both initial applicants and re-registering current beneficiaries with a pending Form I-821 or Form I-765 as of October 3, 2023, do not need to file either application again. If USCIS approves an individual’s pending Form I-821 re-registration application, the individual will be granted TPS through September 10, 2025. Similarly, if USCIS approves a pending TPS-related Form I-765, the individual will be issued a new EAD valid through the same date.
The Federal Register notice details the eligibility criteria, timelines, and procedures necessary for current beneficiaries to re-register and renew EADs under Venezuela 2021, and for new applicants to submit an initial application under the redesignation and apply for an EAD under Venezuela 2023.
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