New Designation Allows Eligible Venezuelans to Apply for TPS and Employment Authorization Documents
Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas is assigning Venezuela for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for year and a half, until September 2022.
This new Designation of TPS for Venezuela empowers Venezuelan nationals (and people without identity who last resided in Venezuela) residing in the United States to document starting applications for TPS, inasmuch as they meet qualification prerequisites.
This Designation is because of phenomenal and brief conditions in Venezuela that keep nationals from returning securely. TPS can be stretched out to a country with conditions that fall into, at least one, of the three legal bases for designation: ongoing armed conflict, environmental disasters, or extraordinary and temporary conditions.
“The living conditions in Venezuela reveal a country in turmoil, unable to protect 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 already present here, while their home country seeks to right itself out of the current crises.”
Only individuals who can demonstrate continuous residence in the United States as of March 8, 2021 are eligible for TPS under Venezuela’s designation.
For their own health and safety, individuals should not believe smugglers or others claiming the border is now open. Travel and admission restrictions at the border remain in place due to the pandemic.
Individuals who want to sign up for TPS must file an application with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services within the 180-day registration period. They may also apply for Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) and for travel authorization. As part of determining eligibility , all individuals applying for TPS undergo security and background checks. More details about the eligibility criteria to submit an initial TPS application and apply for an EAD can be found in the Federal Register Notice (FRN).
Individuals who apply for and receive TPS and who are also covered by DED do not need to apply for Employment Authorization Documentations under both programs. For individuals who believe they are eligible for TPS, USCIS encourages them to apply during the initial registration period announced in the FRN.
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