I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 161 
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 4, 2021 
Mr. SOTO (for himself, Mr. DIAZ-BALART, and Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ) 
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the 
Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on the Budget, for a period 
to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consider-
ation of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 
concerned 
A BILL 
To designate Venezuela under section 244 of the Immigra-
tion and Nationality Act to permit nationals of Venezuela 
to be eligible for temporary protected status under such 
section, and for other purposes. 
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 2021’’. 
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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 sec-
tion, 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 designa-
tion made under subsection (a), an alien who is a national 
of Venezuela is deemed to satisfy the requirements under 
paragraph (1) of section 244(c) of the Immigration and 
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1254a(c)), subject to paragraph 
(3) of such section, if the alien— 
(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 
otherwise provided in paragraph (2)(A) of such sec-
tion, and is not ineligible for temporary protected 
status under paragraph (2)(B) of such section; and 
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(3) registers for temporary protected status in 
a manner established by the Secretary of Homeland 
Security. 
(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 Immigra-
tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1254a(f)(3)), to 
an alien who is granted temporary protected status 
pursuant to the designation made under subsection 
(a) if the alien establishes to the satisfaction of the 
Secretary of Homeland Security that emergency and 
extenuating 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 
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). 
(d) FEE.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—In addition to any other fee 
authorized by law, the Secretary of Homeland Secu-
rity is authorized to charge and collect a fee of $360 
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for each application for temporary protected status 
under section 244 of the Immigration and Nation-
ality Act by a person who is only eligible for such 
status by reason of subsection (a). 
(2) WAIVER.—The Secretary of Homeland Se-
curity shall permit aliens to apply for a waiver of 
any fees associated with filing an application re-
ferred to in paragraph (1). 
SEC. 3. DETERMINATION OF BUDGETARY EFFECTS. 
The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of 
complying with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, 
shall be determined by reference to the latest statement 
titled ‘‘Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation’’ for this 
Act, submitted for printing in the Congressional Record 
by the Chairman of the House Budget Committee, pro-
vided that such statement has been submitted prior to the 
vote on passage. 
Æ 
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