Union Calendar No. 128 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 549 
[Report No. 116–168] 
To designate Venezuela under section 244 of the Immigration and Nationality 
Act to permit nationals of Venezuela to be eligible for temporary pro-
tected status under such section, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 15, 2019 
Mr. SOTO (for himself and Mr. DIAZ-BALART) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 
JULY 23, 2019 
Additional sponsors: Mrs. MURPHY, Ms. SHALALA, Ms. WASSERMAN 
SCHULTZ, Ms. MUCARSEL-POWELL, Mr. HASTINGS, Miss GONZA´LEZ- 
COLO´N of Puerto Rico, Mr. SIRES, Mr. CRIST, Mr. ENGEL, Mr. 
BRENDAN F. BOYLE of Pennsylvania, Mr. LEVIN of Michigan, Ms. CAS-
TOR of Florida, Mr. DEUTCH, Ms. HAALAND, Mr. MOULTON, Ms. SCAN-
LON, Mr. TRONE, Mr. EVANS, Ms. NORTON, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, Ms. WILD, 
Mr. SMITH of Washington, Ms. BONAMICI, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Ms. DEAN, 
Mr. GARCI´A of Illinois, Mr. CURTIS, Mr. PHILLIPS, Mr. CICILLINE, Ms. 
MCCOLLUM, Mr. SMITH of New Jersey, and Mr. SUOZZI 
JULY 23, 2019 
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 
House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on January 15, 2019] 
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Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Venezuela TPS Act of 
2019’’. 
SEC. 2. DESIGNATION FOR PURPOSES OF GRANTING TEM-
PORARY PROTECTED STATUS. 
(a) DESIGNATION.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of section 244 of 
the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 
1254a), Venezuela shall be treated as if it had been 
designated under subsection (b)(1)(C) of that section, 
subject to the provisions of this section. 
(2) PERIOD OF DESIGNATION.—The initial pe-
riod of the designation referred to in paragraph (1) 
shall be for the 18-month period beginning on the date 
of the enactment of this Act. 
(b) ALIENS ELIGIBLE.—As a result of the designation 
made under subsection (a), an alien who is a national of 
Venezuela is deemed to satisfy the requirements under para-
graph (1) of section 244(c) of the Immigration and Nation-
ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1254a(c)), subject to paragraph (3) of 
such section, if the alien— 
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(1) has been continuously physically present in 
the United States since the date of the enactment of 
this Act; 
(2) is admissible as an immigrant, except as oth-
erwise provided in paragraph (2)(A) of such section, 
and is not ineligible for temporary protected status 
under paragraph (2)(B) of such section; and 
(3) registers for temporary protected status in a 
manner established by the Secretary of Homeland Se-
curity. 
(c) CONSENT TO TRAVEL ABROAD.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Homeland 
Security shall give prior consent to travel abroad, in 
accordance with section 244(f)(3) of the Immigration 
and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1254a(f)(3)), to an 
alien who is granted temporary protected status pur-
suant to the designation made under subsection (a) if 
the alien establishes to the satisfaction of the Sec-
retary of Homeland Security that emergency and ex-
tenuating circumstances beyond the control of the 
alien require the alien to depart for a brief, tem-
porary trip abroad. 
(2) TREATMENT UPON RETURN.—An alien re-
turning to the United States in accordance with an 
authorization described in paragraph (1) shall be 
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treated as any other returning alien provided tem-
porary protected status under section 244 of the Im-
migration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1254a). 
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Union Calendar No. 128 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 549 
[Report No. 116–168] 
A BILL 
To designate Venezuela under section 244 of the 
Immigration and Nationality Act to permit na-
tionals of Venezuela to be eligible for temporary 
protected status under such section, and for 
other purposes. 
JULY 23, 2019 
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Com-
mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, 
and ordered to be printed 
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