DHS Extending Temporary Protected Status Designation for Venezuela

September 29th, 2023
Posted By
Heather Sivaraman

On September 20, 2023, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced the extension and redesignation of Venezuela for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for 18 months, due to extraordinary and temporary conditions in Venezuela that prevent individuals from safely returning. The TPS extension for Venezuela will become effective on the date to be announced in an upcoming Federal Register notice].

Established by the U.S. Congress in 1990, TPS is a program that gives migrants from home countries that are considered unsafe the ability to live and work in the U.S. for a period of up to 18 months. Those that receive TPS are not considered U.S. citizens, nor are they deemed to be lawful permanent residents, but TPS holders can apply for those designations.

The Secretary of Homeland Security may designate a country for TPS due to three temporary conditions in the country:

  1. There is an ongoing armed conflict (such as a civil war);
  2. There is an environmental disaster (such as a hurricane or earthquake); or
  3. Other extraordinary and temporary conditions.

For an individual to be eligible for TPS, they must:

  1. Be a national of a country that the Secretary of Homeland Security has designated for TPS, or a person without a nationality who last habitually resided in the designated country;
  2. File during the open initial registration or re-registration period;
  3. Have been continuously physically present in the U.S. since the effective date of the most recent designation date of their country; and
  4. Have been continuously residing in the U.S. since the date specified for their country.

Once in effect, the extension of TPS designation will allow approximately 242,700 current TPS beneficiaries to re-register to retain their TPS and 472,000 nationals of Venezuela who may be eligible for registration through the designation date.

For More Information:

You can read the announcement from the Department of Homeland Security here.

To find out more about TPS, you can visit the USCIS website.

This blog post does not serve as legal advice and does not establish any client-attorney privilege. Do not take any action based on the information contained in this post without consulting a qualified immigration attorney. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact our legal team directly.

Categories: Immigration News