DHS designates Venezuela for Temporary Protected Status (TPS)

Due to the ongoing crises in Venezuela, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas announced yesterday that Venezuela will be designated for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for 18 months. This means that Venezuelan nationals living in the United States can apply for TPS to protect them from deportation and allow them to apply for work authorization. TPS is a rare status designated to countries that are in the midst of extraordinary and temporary conditions that prevent nationals from returning to their home country safely. Venezuela has met these conditions because of their increasingly authoritarian government, political repression, the rise of non-state armed groups, a failing economy and widespread hunger – converging crises that amount to a severe humanitarian emergency. Venezuela’s TPS designation, however, does not mean that the border is open to new Venezuelan immigrants. Only individuals who can prove that they have been living in the US continuously as of March 8, 2021 are eligible. Venezuelans living in the US may now file a TPS application with the USCIS within the 180-day registration period, and will undergo security and background checks, along with proving that they meet other eligibility criteria.