The Trump administration has rejected calls from lawmakers to designate Venezuela under Temporary Protected Status.

The TPS designation allows foreign nationals whose home country is undergoing extraordinary and temporary conditions such as natural disasters, political unrest or armed conflict, to remain in the U.S. and apply for employment authorization on a temporary basis. The designation is at the discretion of the Secretary of Homeland Security.

Responding to a March 7 letter by 24 U.S. senators urging the administration to make the TPS designation, the acting director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Ken Cuccinelli, wrote on July 11 that the U.S. government is monitoring the situation in Venezuela and that there may be other immigration relief measures available to Venezuelans.

Two bills, H.R. 549 and S.636, have been introduced in Congress that would make TPS available to eligible Venezuelan nationals in the U.S.

BAL Analysis: At this time, Venezuelan nationals are not eligible for TPS benefits though there is support in Congress for the designation. Employers with Venezuelan employees on international assignments should be aware of the continued difficulty in obtaining documentation from Venezuelan authorities because of the ongoing crisis.

This alert has been provided by the BAL U.S. Practice group. For additional information, please contact berryapplemanleiden@bal.com.

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