Quick Hits

• Venezuela was designated for TPS on March 9, 2021, due to extraordinary and temporary conditions and was newly designated on October 3, 2023.
• U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem is terminating the 2023 TPS designation of Venezuela.
• TPS protections, including work authorization for Venezuelans aligned with the the 2023 TPS designation will terminate sixty days after publication of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) notice on February 5, 2025.

U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem is terminating the 2023 TPS designation of Venezuela. The termination is scheduled to be published in the Federal Register on February 5, 2025, and will take effect sixty days after publication. The termination follows Secretary Noem’s vacatur of former Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas’s order from January 2025, which had consolidated the TPS extension filing processes under both the 2021 and 2023 designations and extended certain employment authorization documents (EADs).

The homeland security secretary may designate a foreign country for TPS due to temporary conditions, such as ongoing armed conflict, an environmental disaster, epidemics, or other extraordinary and temporary conditions that prevent nationals of that country from safely returning. TPS beneficiaries are protected from removal from the United States and can apply for and receive work and travel authorization. TPS is currently authorized for other countries, including Ukraine, Sudan, Nepal, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Haiti, and others, which have not been terminated.

Venezuela was designated for TPS on March 9, 2021 (the 2021 designation). The 2021 designation was extended on September 8, 2022, and again on October 3, 2023, with an expiration date of September 10, 2025. On October 3, 2023, a new designation was implemented (the 2023 designation) with an expiration date of April 2, 2025. Last week, Secretary Noem issued a vacatur of the TPS designation, stating that former Secretary Mayorkas’s approach was inconsistent with the TPS statute.

Periodically, the homeland security secretary must review country conditions and determine whether they continue to meet the requirements for TPS designation. Secretary Noem was required to determine by February 1, 2025, whether to extend or terminate the 2023 designation. In the notice from February 3, 2025, Secretary Noem determined that Venezuela no longer met the conditions for TPS designation and terminated its 2023 designation. The secretary cited improvements in Venezuela’s economy, public health, and public safety that allow for Venezuelan nationals to return to their home country. Secretary Noem further concluded that a continuation of the TPS designation was contrary to the national interest of the United States.

TPS, including employment authorization for Venezuelans aligned with the 2023 designation, will terminate sixty days after the DHS termination notice is published in the Federal Register on February 5, 2025. The termination is expected to impact an estimated 348,202 Venezuelans in the United States.

Next Steps

The homeland security secretary must determine by July 12, 2025, whether to extend or terminate the Venezuela’s 2021 TPS designation. If the secretary does not make a timely determination by the applicable deadlines, the 2021 designation will automatically be extended for an additional period of six months beyond its expiration date (September 10, 2025).

If the secretary makes a determination to terminate the 2021 designation, as with the 2023 designation, Venezuelan beneficiaries aligned with the 2021 designation will have to obtain an alternative immigration status and employment authorization by the relevant TPS termination date to remain in the United States and maintain work authorization.