officials of the Embassy of Venezuela in United States designated by Juan Guiadó, met with members of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS), to ratify the need to extend the Temporary Protection Status (TPS) for Venezuelans in the United States.
On behalf of the request attended Carlos VecchioVenezuelan ambassador to the United States, Gustavo Marcano, minister counselor, and Brian Fincheltub, director of consular affairs.
During the meeting with the USCIS team, at the offices in Washington DC, the Venezuelan diplomats ratified the need for the TPS, which is about to expire this September, to be renewed by the Joe Biden government for an additional 18 months.
Other TPS applications for Venezuelans
At the same time, they requested that Venezuelans who arrived in North American territory until December 31, 2021 be included in this new protection period. In addition, the speed of approval of TPS requests, which in their majority experience a significant delay.
In his speech, Vecchio argued that the reasons that motivate the validity of TPS for Venezuelans in the United States are still fully valid.
“We have a complex humanitarian emergency generated by the dictatorship of Nicolás Maduro. As much as some sectors related to the regime or interested in establishing business with Maduro try to sell a false reality that ‘Venezuela has been fixed’, the truth is that millions of Venezuelans do not have access to dollars. 94% of Venezuelans live in poverty according to the latest ENCOVI study by the Catholic University, and therefore do not have access to food, an adequate health and educational system, or services such as water and electricity. This maintains a growing migration, which is expected exceed 7 million Venezuelans this year 2022«.
Thanks to the USCIS
The Venezuelan diplomacy thanked Uscis for the measures implemented for the automatic extension of work permits, something that was affecting the Venezuelan community in the United States. They asked to speed up the approval of work permits for TPS and Political Asylum applicants who have not yet received them.
Likewise, they evaluated the meeting as positive and highlighted the willingness of the United States administration to always help and improve processes. “They have been allies, especially on this TPS issue, and we believe that we are going to have a positive response to our proposals.”