2023-09-21 03:07:00
The US will expand and extend work permits for Venezuelan beneficiaries of TPS for 18 months. (EFE)
The United States government announced this Wednesday that it will extend and expand the temporary protected status (TPS) for Venezuelans who are in the country before July 31, 2023.
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The measure will benefit some 242,700 Venezuelans who already have TPS and will allow another 472,000 to apply for this benefit that grants them a residence and work permit for 18 months, according to a statement from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
By expanding TPS for Venezuela, Washington will allow Venezuelans who have been arriving irregularly to the United States in record numbers over the past two years to temporarily regularize their situation.
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The Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas assured that he made the decision “due to the growing instability and lack of security in Venezuela,” where Nicolás Maduro’s regime is accused of violating human rights, imprisoning opponents and manipulating elections.
The program was established by Congress for foreign nationals who cannot safely return to their country due to natural disasters, armed conflict or other extraordinary conditions.
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TPS “provides people who are already in the United States with protection against expulsion” but is not a way to obtain citizenship or asylum, Mayorkas clarified, quoted in the text.
In addition, he warned that Venezuelans who arrived in the country after July 31, 2023 are not eligible for TPS and “will be expelled if it is determined that they do not have a legal basis to stay.”
The Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas assured that he made the decision “due to the growing instability and lack of security in Venezuela.” (REUTERS)
This change in the program comes at a time when politicians from Biden’s party, such as New York Mayor Eric Adams, have been pressuring the Administration to grant temporary work permits to the thousands of refugees and undocumented migrants. who are waiting for their cases to be resolved.
US senators accuse the Venezuelan dictatorship of human rights abuses, of having imprisoned “some 245 political prisoners” and of disqualifying several opponents so that they cannot run in the elections.
The Biden Administration also announced measures to expedite certain work permits for undocumented migrants. Starting next October 1, applications for employment authorization documents submitted by undocumented migrants on parole – and who have also made the appointment through the CBP One application – will be processed within a period of 30 days instead of the 90 contemplated so far, reported from the Department of Homeland Security.
The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will dedicate additional personnel to reduce times that will also be limited to 30 days for the management of these work documents carried out by parolees with Cuban nationality, Haitian, Venezuelan or Nicaraguan.
“The objective is to ensure that individuals can receive a work permit in a timely manner and can support themselves and their families while they continue with their processes in the United States,” they stated from the Department of Homeland Security.
The measure will benefit some 242,700 migrants who already have temporary protection status and will allow another 472,000 to request this aid. (REUTERS)
In addition, USCIS will increase the maximum validity period of employment authorization documents to 5 years for people admitted as refugees, asylees, those who are applying for asylum or with an open removal cancellation process.
“The purpose of this is to reduce the frequency of needing to renew your work permits and also, of course, reduce the workload for USCIS,” DHS officials added.
To date, according to US Citizenship and Immigration Services, more than 1.4 million email and SMS notifications in English, Spanish, Haitian Creole, Ukrainian and Russian have been sent to undocumented migrants who qualify for apply for this employment authorization.
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