In a significant new development for certain Venezuelan Temporary Protected Status (TPS) holders, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) updated its website without notice on June 10, 2025 regarding the status of individuals who received Temporary Protected Status under Venezuela’s 2023 redesignation.  

The USCIS update confirms that Venezuela’s 2023 TPS redesignation is officially terminated, retroactive to April 7, 2025, and that related benefits associated with this designation including work authorization expired on April 7, 2025. However, USCIS noted that a limited group of individuals who received Venezuela TPS-related documentation (employment authorization documents, Forms I-797, Notices of Action, and Forms I-94 ) on or before February 5, 2025 — with a validity date through October 2, 2026 — will maintain their status and documentation for the time being, pending the resolution of the ongoing litigation in National TPS Alliance, et al., v. Kristi Noem et al., No. 3:25-cv-01766 (N.D. Cal. Mar. 31, 2025)  

This update comes amid a series of ongoing legal developments, including a district court ruling on March 31, 2025 and a subsequent emergency stay granted by the U.S. Supreme Court on May 19, 2025. The case is still pending, and the final outcome remains uncertain. 

Separately, TPS for Venezuela recipients under the 2021 designation is unaffected by the current litigation and remains valid through September 10, 2025 and, according to the USCIS website, the EADs were auto-extended to March 10, 2025. TPS holders under the 2021 designation should ensure their documentation is current and valid and be aware that their TPS work authorization ended on March 10, 2025. 

The way to tell if someone’s EAD is based on TPS is to look at the category code listed on the EAD and their country of birth on the EAD.  For TPS, the category codes are A12 and C19.  If a newly hired employee presents an EAD card with an EAD with category A12 or C19 and the country of birth is listed as Venezuela, employers should be aware that the individual may not have work authorization unless the EAD was issued on or before February 5, 2025 with an expiration date of October 2, 2026; employers may want to accordingly double check with the USCIS website or immigration counsel.  Employers also may want to contact their immigration counsel on next steps for employees that may have TPS. 

The immigration policy and conditions are evolving swiftly, and Foster LLP will continue to monitor changes in immigration benefits and will provide additional updates via our firm’s website at fosterglobal.com.