Temporary protected status (TPS) for Venezuelans already in the United States has been extended until March 10, 2024.

Venezuelan TPS was first announced by Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas in March 2021 due to the country’s severe political and economic crisis. That status was set to expire on September 9, 2022, but the grant has been extended for another 18 months. This extension, however, applies only to individuals who have continuously resided in the United States since March 8, 2021. In other words, the grant of an extension only and not a redesignation means that Venezuelans who came to the United States after March 8, 2021, still do not qualify for TPS.

DHS will publish instructions in the Federal Register for those who are eligible about how to re-register and apply for an Employment Authorization Document. Applications should not be submitted before those instructions are published.

It is reported that some 250,000 Venezuelans have entered the United States since the original March 8, 2021, designation date. Advocacy groups are happy about the renewal but dismayed that the Biden administration has not opened up TPS to these Venezuelans who are fleeing the Maduro regime. Some members of Congress have also expressed their concern about the lack of a redesignation.