The US Department of Homeland Security has decided to extend the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Venezuelans. The agency's Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas informed that the 18-month extension for Venezuela takes effect on September 10 and runs through March 10, 2024.
One of Mayorkas' first actions as secretary of the Department of Homeland Security was to designate Venezuela as a TPS beneficiary country in 2021. After careful consideration. "In consultation with the secretary of state, I am extending that designation today."
Not all Venezuelans are eligible
The Department of Homeland Security estimates that a total of 343,000 individuals are eligible for TPS under the existing designation. "Only beneficiaries under the existing Venezuelan designation, and who were already residing in the United States as of March 8, 2021, are eligible to re-register for TPS under this extension," it clarifies.
Venezuelans who arrived in the United States after March 8, 2021 are not considered eligible. The cost to process the application will continue to be $545. Those who have not applied must do so before the end of the registration period.
The TPS was granted to Venezuelan citizens due to the generalized crisis suffered by the Caribbean nation, under the regime of Nicolás Maduro. However, the benefit is temporary and is not a precedent to obtain legal permanent residency or US citizenship.
Telemundo published today that White House officials expressed concern that extending and expanding TPS would encourage an exodus to the southern border, and it is believed that for this reason the Biden Administration limited this benefit.
Senator Bob Menendez of the Democratic Party told EFE that since the granting of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Venezuelans, the Venezuelan government "has only continued its campaign of brutality, failing to contain the expansion of illegal armed groups in Venezuela" and that the extension of the immigration benefit "would not only send an unequivocal signal of support to the victims of the Maduro regime's repression, but to the world that we will match our words with actions".
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