WASHINGTON, Sept. 20, 2023—Last night, the Biden Administration announced it will be extending Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Venezuelans who arrived in the United States before July 31, 2023.  

The administration also announced new efforts to ensure that USCIS processes applications in a timely manner, including for work permits. Most notably, the administration announced that work permits for several categories of immigrants– including asylees and refugees, as well as applicants for asylum and adjustment to permanent residency – will now be valid for five years. This will substantially help to reduce USCIS’ work permit backlog since officers will have to process fewer work permit renewals.   

USCIS has also committed to reduce work-permit processing time for someone paroled into the U.S. under CBP One to 30 days instead of the current 90, as well as work permits for individuals who enter through the parole programs for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans. The administration also announced new efforts to educate and encourage eligible people to apply for work permits, especially in New York City. 

The following statement is from Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, director of policy at the American Immigration Council:

“We applaud the Department of Homeland Security for re-designating Temporary Protected Status for Venezuela. This vital decision will allow as many as 472,000 Venezuelan migrants to apply for work permits and obtain some stability granting Temporary Protected Status to Venezuelans is just the first step in getting migrants back on their feet. Now DHS must work to ensure that TPS applicants have their applications for protection granted without long delays.”  

“The wise decision to increase work authorizations to 5 years, cut processing times for work permit authorizations for individuals with parole from 90 days to 30 days, and expedite processing for other forms of work permits is also welcome news. Lengthening the work permit validity time will eliminate unnecessary renewal applications, saving time for migrants, their attorneys, and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Taken together, these changes will enable people to have more stability in their employment and give confidence to employers who are hiring workers with parole or with Temporary Protected Status.” 

Yesterday, Reichlin-Melnick testified before Congress at the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Homeland Security pushing, for immigration policy reform to build a modern humanitarian protection system that is fair, flexible, robust, and that unlocks the talents that immigrants have long brought to this country.  

The American Immigration Council has a range of research and other resources on TPS, including policy experts available to speak on TPS. The Council also has data on the demographic and economic contributions of immigrants in each U.S. state and nationwide.