February 5, 2025 just became a vitally crucial date for approximately 350,000 Venezuelans living and working in the United States under an October 2023 Venezuela designation of Temporary Protected Status (“TPS”). Venezuelans who received an extension of their TPS or Employment Authorization Document on or before February 5, 2025 will remain in TPS for now. All other Venezuelans whose TPS-related Employment Authorization Documents (“EAD”) expired on April 2, 2025, no longer have temporary protected status or work authorization based on their temporary protected status. Here are the details.
The October 2023 designation of Temporary Protected Status had been set to expire on April 2, 2025. Shortly before leaving office, the Biden Administration extended the TPS designation for Venezuela to October 2, 2026, giving qualified individuals the chance to re-register and apply for work authorization. Not long after the change in Administration, the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) reversed course and revoked the extension. The DHS then terminated the October 2023 TPS designation for Venezuela effective April 7, 2025, and declared that work authorization would expire on April 2, 2025.
As you might expect, there was a lawsuit. The U.S. District Judge handling the case stayed the Trump Administration notices, breathing life into the ability of individuals holding TPS under the October 2023 designation to remain in the U.S. and work. The Supreme Court weighed in on May 19, 2025, and said that the District Court’s stay was improper. Employers were unsure what to do about employees from Venezuela who have an Employment Authorization Document under Category A12 or C19 that expired on April 2, 2025. We now have some guidance.
The same U.S. District Judge who had issued the original stay recently ruled on the rights of Venezuelans under the October 2023 TPS designation while that litigation plays out. Remember, these are the individuals with the A12 or C19 Category EAD that expired on April 2, 2025. Under the court order:
- Individuals in TPS from Venezuela whose EADs were set to expire on April 2, 2025, will remain in status and authorized to work IF, on or before February 5, 2025, they received an EAD with an October 2, 2026 expiration OR approval of re-registration of TPS to October 2, 2026 OR an I-94 record valid to October 2, 2026.
- If AFTER February 5, 2025, the individual from Venezuela received an EAD or other TPS document with a validity date of October 2, 2026, their status is expired – they no longer have TPS and can no longer rely on a TPS-related EAD to work. These individuals will need to present other documentation of their authorization to work in the United States.
The Department of Homeland Security has updated its TPS webpage for Venezuela with this information. We also link a copy of the District Court order, because, as of the time of writing, the webpage incorrectly refers to February 5, 2026 instead of February 5, 2025.
There is another group of Venezuelans in TPS who have EADs that expires of September 10, 2025. There is no word on their fate yet but it is safe to assume that DHS will also terminate their temporary protected status.
