On March 31, 2025, a California judge issued a nationwide injunction and reversed the President’s termination of the 2023 temporary protected status (TPS) designation for Venezuela and the Biden Administration’s January 17, 2025 extension of the same. This does not apply to Venezuelan parolees.
Pursuant to the President’s revocation, the status of Venezuelan TPS beneficiaries who were under the 2023 designation was set to expire on April 7, 2025. This order changes that. In this order, the judge postpones (until the final adjudication on the merits of the court case) the actions taken by Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem to vacate the extension of the 2023 designation and to terminate the 2023 designation.
This means the court is granting nationwide relief to all Venezuelans who were under the 2023 designation, including those who filed under Biden’s January 2025 extension of this classification of TPS. While the court did not get into the details of what this means for these beneficiaries, the effect is to reinstate the 2023 designation and the 2025 extension.
Essentially:
- By way of Biden’s 2025 extension, DHS automatically extended through April 2, 2026 the validity of certain employment authorization documents (EADs) previously issued under the TPS designations of Venezuela.
- As proof of continued employment authorization through April 2, 2026, TPS beneficiaries can show their EAD with the notation A12 or C19 under Category and a “Card Expires” date of September 10, 2025, April 2, 2025, March 10, 2024, or September 9, 2022.
- The 18-month extension of Venezuela’s October 3, 2023 TPS designation is reinstated on April 3, 2025 and will remain in effect for 18 months, ending on October 2, 2026. The extension allows existing TPS beneficiaries to retain TPS through October 2, 2026 if they otherwise continue to meet the eligibility requirements for TPS.
- Existing TPS beneficiaries, including those registered under the October 3, 2023 TPS designation or the prior March 9, 2021 TPS designation who wish to extend their status through October 2, 2026, must re-register during the re-registration period.
- The re-registration period runs from January 17, 2025 through September 10, 2025. (Expect a host of individuals to rush to submit re-registrations now).
- U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will issue new EADs with an October 2, 2026 expiration date to eligible beneficiaries granted TPS under either of Venezuela’s designations who timely re-register and apply for EADs.
An issue is that the Biden Administration had instructed DHS to issue TPS approval and TPS EAD approval through 2026 for those applicants who already had applications pending as of January 17, 2025, and some individuals had filed applications based on the 2025 extension. But the Trump Administration had revoked the extension and indicated it would reject all applications and return them:
For TPS beneficiaries who have already filed applications to re-register for TPS pursuant to the Mayorkas Notice and paid any fees associated with their applications, USCIS will cease processing their applications, and issue refunds of any fees paid by those aliens. Additionally, USCIS will invalidate EADs; Forms I-797, Notice of Action (Approval Notice); and Forms I-94, Arrival/Departure Record (collectively known as TPS-related documentation) that have been issued with October 2, 2026 expiration dates under the Mayorkas Notice. USCIS will provide refunds to any fees paid by these aliens as well.
Given that the new Administration had already taken some negative actions (rejecting filings, returning applications and fees), it is not clear how they will implement the order. Most likely, qualified individuals will just file to re-register.
We are monitoring this development, including the Administration response to it, and will keep you updated, but the essence of this order is that:
- Pursuant to DHS’s January 17, 2025 Federal Register notice, EADs of TPS beneficiaries from Venezuela are automatically extended through April 2, 2026. These workers can show their expired EAD with the notation A12 or C19 under Category and a “Card Expires” date of September 10, 2025, April 2, 2025, March 10, 2024, or September 9, 2022.
- Venezuelans can re-register for TPS between January 17, 2025 and September 10, 2025.
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If you have any questions, or would like additional information, please contact one of the attorneys on our Immigration team.