- USCIS says October 2, 2026 has passed for specified Venezuelan TPS documents.
- The date applies only to qualifying EADs issued on or before February 5, 2025, bearing that expiration.
- USCIS has not clarified post-November 6 protections; workers and employers should check for updates and verify records individually.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services advises Venezuelan Temporary Protected Status holders to check the dates on their work documents and follow the agency’s country-specific guidance. For people whose paperwork carries an October 2, 2026 expiration date, that date has now passed.
USCIS says beneficiaries who received an Employment Authorization Document on or before February 5, 2025, with that card expiration date had work authorization through October 2, 2026. The date has passed. The agency’s Venezuela TPS page also directs readers to watch for updates tied to litigation.
The page was updated October 19, 2026. It says the 2023 Venezuela designation’s termination took immediate effect after the Supreme Court acted.
The October 2 date was not a blanket extension for every Venezuelan TPS holder. USCIS tied it to particular documents and issuance dates.
The card dates apply only to a defined group
The USCIS guidance concerns EADs issued by the specified cutoff and bearing the October 2 expiration. A notice from the Department of Homeland Security also addresses related documents issued under the Mayorkas Notice, including Forms I-797, Notice of Action, and Forms I-94, Arrival/Departure Record. The notice says USCIS will invalidate those documents when they carry the specified expiration date.
The agency’s page describes the 2023 designation termination as effective after the Supreme Court’s October 3, 2025 action. That is the status USCIS presents in its October 19 update; the page separately tells users to check for litigation-related changes.
A different date applies to people covered only by Venezuela’s 2021 designation. USCIS says that designation’s termination took effect November 7, 2025, at 11:59 p.m.
The distinction is important when reviewing a worker’s records. The October 2 document provision does not establish work authorization for someone whose paperwork falls outside its conditions.
Some earlier renewal filings may have a separate extension
A separate rule concerns certain people who filed EAD renewal applications under the January 17 extension notice before February 6. That possibility is not the same as the date-specific USCIS guidance for the October 2 documents.
USCIS’s employer handbook explains that automatic EAD extensions for TPS beneficiaries depend on the applicable Federal Register notice.
Workers and employers should verify documents separately
USCIS tells beneficiaries to consult its Venezuela page and its TPS EAD-extension guidance. Employers can also use the agency’s Form I-9 handbook section on TPS extensions.
- Workers should compare the card’s issuance and expiration dates with the conditions USCIS lists, then check the Venezuela page for litigation updates.
- Employers should review the employee’s Form I-9 records and confirm any extension against the relevant notice and document category.
- When an automatic extension applies, employers must reverify work authorization by the end of that extension, and no later than the authorization’s expiration date.
- Other work authorization may be available, but the person’s eligibility and supporting documents depend on the individual case.
USCIS has not resolved the post-November 6 status question
On October 5, 2026, the Supreme Court granted the government’s petition for certiorari, vacated the Ninth Circuit’s judgment in a putative class lawsuit over TPS terminations for Venezuela and Haiti, and remanded the case for further consideration in light of Mullin v. Doe. On October 29, 2026, the Ninth Circuit denied the government’s request to stay a district court order, a move that could restore Temporary Protected Status protections for hundreds of thousands of Venezuela TPS holders. The Supreme Court stay was set to expire November 6, absent further intervention. USCIS has not said whether protections returned after that date or issued the additional Venezuela guidance referenced in its notice. Workers should check the agency’s Venezuela page again, while employers can monitor USCIS’s latest Form I-9 guidance and verify each employee’s documents individually.
