Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) and Temporary Protected Status (TPS) Live

Engagement Questions and Answers

Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) and Temporary Protected Status (TPS)

Q1. Do I need to file any documents to receive DED?

A1. Individuals covered by DED are not required to file any applications; however, they must

submit Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, if they want to apply for an

Employment Authorization Document (EAD).

individuals in his constitutional authority to conduct foreign relations. TPS designations can be

made in the Secretary of Homeland Security’s discretion, if he determines that conditions in the

country satisfy the statutory standard. Unlike TPS, DED has no statutory basis. Although

individuals covered by a grant of DED will not be removed from the United States, they are not

considered to have an immigration status.

General TPS Background

Q4. What proof of my TPS status will I receive?

A4. If USCIS approves your initial TPS application, USCIS will send you an approval notice

with an I-94, Arrival/Departure Record, which is evidence of your TPS. If you filed Form I-765,

A5. The processing time for initial Form I-821, Application for Temporary Protected Status, is

approximately 6 months; the processing time for Form I-765, Application for Employment

Authorization, is approximately 3 months; the processing time for Form I-131, Application for

Travel Document, is approximately 6 months. Note that these are approximate times and that

processing time for each case may vary depending on its complexity. For more information on

processing times, visit the Check Case Processing Times page on the USCIS website.

Q6. Are there any exceptions to the firm resettlement bar to TPS?

A6. As defined in 8 CFR 208.15, an applicant is considered to be firmly resettled if, prior to

arrival in the United States, they entered into another country with, or while in that country

OR

• That the conditions of their residence in that country were so substantially and

consciously restricted by the authority in the country that they were not in fact resettled.

Q7. What happens if I have dual nationality and I entered the United States with a visa

granted to my other nationality?

A7. Irrespective of whatever additional foreign citizenships individuals may hold, they are

eligible for TPS if they establish that they are a national of the TPS country and meet all other

eligibility requirements.

As long as the applicant can provide sufficient evidence that they are a Venezuelan national

Being a dual national of Venezuela and another country does not automatically prevent an

applicant from meeting the nationality requirement for TPS. However, having another

citizenship in addition to being Venezuelan could indicate that the applicant may be ineligible for

TPS because of the firm resettlement asylum bar that also applies to TPS. In order for USCIS to

determine whether the bar applies, which must be done on a case-by-case basis, dual citizens of

Venezuela and another country are encouraged to submit as much evidence as possible regarding

when and how they obtained their non-Venezuelan citizenship, the nature of their family and

other ties to the non-Venezuela country, whether they have lived in the other country, when and

how long; whether and when they have visited the other country of citizenship; and any other

of the Firm Resettlement Lesson Plan applies to TPS.

Q9. What absences are considered brief and casual?

A9. When determining continuous physical presence (CPP) and continuous residence (CR),

USCIS must consider your time outside of the United States after March 9, 2021. The law allows

an exception to the CPP and CR requirements for brief, casual and innocent departures from the

United States. When you apply for TPS, you must inform USCIS of all absences from the United

States since the CPP and CR dates. An absence such as a temporary trip abroad required by

emergency or extenuating circumstances outside your control will not break continuous

residence. USCIS will determine whether the exception applies in your case.

A10: TPS is a country-specific program. Based on the Secretary’s designation, USCIS may grant

TPS to eligible nationals of certain countries and to eligible individuals without nationality

(stateless) who last habitually resided in the designated country before residing in the United

States. A TPS applicant who claims to be stateless has the burden to establish that they are not a

national of any country. Individuals may submit an affidavit explaining why they have no lawful

nationality (that is, why they are stateless) with as much supporting documentation as possible.

Examples of documentation include a government order taking away their prior nationality; a

copy of legislation that deprived them of their nationality; evidence that their previous country of

nationality has ceased to exist without a successor country that recognizes them as its national; a

live in the United States. Examples of documentation include evidence of established residence

in the TPS-designated country, such as documentation that they rented or owned a home during

the period they lived there; employment and/or school records; address(es) where they lived;

medical records; phone or utility records from the period they lived there; or at least two

affidavits from persons who knew them when they lived in the TPS-designated country that

describe their relationship to them, how long they have known them, how they know that they

lived in the TPS-designated country before coming to live in the United States, and their address

and contact phone numbers. Individuals may also provide any other documents that demonstrate

that they lived in the TPS-designated country immediately before coming to the United States to

live. If they lived in any other country between the time that they lived in the TPS-designated

correct code to use for an initial TPS registration I-765 application?

A11: The correct code for an initial TPS Employment Authorization Document is A12. We

recommend that TPS registrants (that is, individuals applying for TPS for the first time) answer

A12 to question No. 27 on Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization. USCIS will

not reject a Form I-765, category C19, that is properly filed (with fees or fee waiver request,

signatures, etc.).

Q12: May people in immigration detention apply for TPS?

A12: USCIS may consider TPS applications from individuals who are currently in immigration

the Notice To Appear (NTA) is a mandatory ground for TPS ineligibility, EOIR would have

jurisdiction to adjudicate the TPS application. See 8 C.F.R. 244.7(d).

Q13: When a family is applying for TPS, do you recommend that every family member

apply simultaneously?

A13: TPS is an individual benefit and provides no benefit to derivatives. Family members may

apply for TPS simultaneously or individually provided that each individual meets the eligibility

criteria for TPS independently. USCIS encourages each family member file their own

application with a separate payment.

Q14: Are TPS applicants who are subject to certain waivable inadmissibilities required to

Q15: Are people with Venezuelan residency (like Venezuelan green card holders) able to

apply for TPS Venezuela?

A15: Not unless they are a Venezuelan national or an individual without nationality who last

habitually resided in Venezuela. Eligible nationals of Venezuela (or individuals having no

nationality who last habitually resided in Venezuela) may submit an initial registration

application under the designation of Venezuela for TPS and apply for an Employment

Authorization Document.

Q16: May a person who was born in a third country, who lived all their life in Venezuela

but never obtained Venezuelan citizenship apply for TPS?

United States in general, or just those they visited in the time between leaving Venezuela

and his last entry to the United States?

A17. TPS applicants should list all countries they entered while traveling to the United States,

including countries where they resided as well as those where they transited through. In Part 11,

Additional Information of Form I-821, TPS applicants may provide the dates when they were in

those countries and any immigration status they may have had while in those countries.

Q18: How should I respond to the question about my current immigration status if I have

applied for asylum?

Q19. For Part 6 of the Form I-821 (Children), can you confirm that this section should only

be completed if filing a late application?

A19. Yes. Part 6 Information About Your Children (if any) of Form I-821 should be

completed only if you are filing a late initial application for TPS. There is no late initial filing

during an initial designation for TPS.

Q20. Should I submit my entire passport along with my TPS application (Form I-821)?

A20. TPS applicants who are submitting a copy of their passport to establish nationality and

identity and also to show their entry into the United States should include all of the pertinent

pages that evidence that information, for example, the Visa Page, admission stamp, etc.

the express purpose of seeking TPS, an acceptable way to establish nationality?

A22: Any national identity document from the country of origin bearing a photo and/or

fingerprint is acceptable.

General TPS Questions

Q23. If I am granted TPS, can I still apply for a B2 tourist visa and/or travel to another

country (besides Venezuela)?

A23. Registration for TPS does not prevent individuals from applying for or maintaining a

nonimmigrant status, such as a tourist visa; however, they should submit Form I-131,

Application for Travel Document, and obtain a travel document before travelling outside of the

Q25. If I have an employment authorization based on my pending asylum application

(category C8), could I apply for employment authorization based on TPS (category A12)?

A25. While individuals who already have an EAD are not required to apply for a TPS-based

EAD, category (a)12, they are permitted to request one at the time of filing Form I-821 or at a

later date.

Q26. If a student applies for TPS, does the student lose his or her F-1 student status? What

happens if the TPS period is not extended?

for Temporary Protected Status and Implementation of Employment Authorization for

Venezuelans Covered by Deferred Enforced Departure FRN (see 86 FR 13574), at least 60

days before the expiration of a country's TPS designation or extension, the Secretary, after

consultation with appropriate Government agencies, must review the conditions in the foreign

state designated for TPS to determine whether the conditions for the TPS designation continue to

be met. See INA section 244(b)(3)(A), 8 U.S.C. 1254a(b)(3)(A). If the Secretary determines that

the foreign state continues to meet the conditions for TPS designation, the designation will be

extended for an additional period of 6 months or, in the Secretary's discretion, 12 or 18 months.

See INA section 244(b)(3)(A), (C), 8 U.S.C. 1254a(b)(3)(A), (C). If the Secretary determines

that the foreign state no longer meets the conditions for TPS designation, the Secretary must

terminate the designation. See INA section 244(b)(3)(B), 8 U.S.C. 1254a(b)(3)(B).

A27: Individuals with a pending or approved asylum claim may also apply for TPS and for an

Employment Authorization Document (EAD) based on TPS. Applying for TPS will not affect

your asylum claim. All TPS applicants must pay the required fees or submit a Form I-912,

Request for a Fee Waiver. USCIS also collects the photograph, signature, and/or fingerprints

Q28. Would having TPS ease waiving the J-1 two-year home residency requirement if one

applies for a waiver based on fear of persecution or hardship?

A28.The granting of TPS, in and of itself, does not release a J nonimmigrant from the INA

212(e) two-year foreign residence requirement. The J nonimmigrant would still need to apply for

the waiver, provide evidence supporting their reasons for seeking the waiver, and be granted

a waiver of the two-year requirement if they wish to change to a different nonimmigrant status

(other than certain limited nonimmigrant categories) or seek immigrant status.

Eligibility for TPS is based on whether the applicant is an eligible national of the designated