United States: DHS Announces End of Temporary Protected Status for 2021 Venezuela Designation
September 5, 2025
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At a glance
- Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem will not extend the 2021 Venezuela Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designation, which is scheduled to expire on September 10, 2025, but beneficiaries will be granted a transition period through November 7, 2025.
- Beneficiaries with certain previously issued EADs will continue to be work authorized during the transition period.
A closer look
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is not extending the 2021 Venezuela Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designation, but will provide a 60-day transition period, according to an advance copy of a Federal Register notice scheduled for publication on September 8. The 2021 Venezuela TPS designation expires on September 10, 2025; beneficiaries will be granted a transition period through November 7, 2025, which is 60 days after publication of the Federal Register termination notice. Beneficiaries will remain work-authorized throughout the transition period.
According to the Federal Register notice, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem has determined that the conditions for the 2021 TPS designation no longer exist for Venezuela.
Background
On January 17, 2025, then-DHS Secretary Mayorkas extended Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Venezuela for 18 months, from April 3, 2025 to October 2, 2026. Secretary Mayorkas’s extension applied to two prior designations of TPS for Venezuela – one issued in 2021 and a second issued in 2023.
On January 28, new DHS Secretary Noem announced that she was vacating Secretary Mayorkas’s extension. The vacatur meant that TPS for Venezuela would revert to its prior expiration dates of April 2, 2025 (for the 2023 designation) and September 10, 2025 (for the 2021 designation), while Secretary Noem decided whether to extend protections in her own right. Shortly thereafter, the Secretary made the decision not to further extend the 2023 designation and specified April 7, 2025 as the date that 2023 Venezuela TPS benefits would expire. The Secretary’s vacatur and termination decisions have been the subject of litigation, but the 2023 designation remains expired as of April 7, with further appeal likely.
As to the 2021 designation, on September 3, 2025, the Secretary announced that she would terminate the designation. Publication of the instant Federal Register notice marks implementation of that termination.
Employment authorization during 60-day transition period
DHS recognizes that TPS beneficiaries under the 2021 Venezuela designation continue to be employment-authorized during the 60-day transition period. Accordingly, through the Federal Register notice, DHS automatically extends the validity of certain EADs previously issued under the designation, through November 7, 2025.
As proof of continued employment authorization for the 60-day transition period, TPS beneficiaries can present an EAD that has the notation A-12 or C-19 under Category and a “Card Expires” date of September 9, 2022, March 10, 2024, or September 10, 2025.
Employers will need to reverify the employment eligibility of any employees who presented 2021 Venezuela TPS EADs as proof of work authorization, and update their records to indicate the new November 7, 2025 expiration date.
This alert is for informational purposes only. If you have any questions, please contact the immigration professional with whom you work at Fragomen.
