2023-00253: Implementation of Changes to the Parole Process for Venezuelans

Summary

This notice announces that the Secretary of Homeland Security (Secretary) has authorized updates to the Parole Process for Venezuelans that was initiated in October 2022. The Venezuela process provides a safe and orderly pathway for certain individuals to seek authorization to travel to the United States to be considered for parole at an interior port of entry, contingent on the Government of Mexico (GOM) making an independent decision to accept the return or removal of Venezuelan nationals who bypass this new process and enter the United States without authorization. Pursuant to this notice, the Secretary has removed the limit of 24,000 total travel authorizations and replaced it with a monthly limit of 30,000 travel authorizations spread across this process and the separate and independent Parole Process for Cubans, Parole Process for Haitians, and Parole Process for Nicaraguans (as described in separate notices published concurrently in today's edition of the Federal Register). The Secretary also has updated the eligibility criteria for the Venezuela process by including an exception that will enable Venezuelans who cross without authorization into the United States at the Southwest Border (SWB) and are subsequently permitted a one-time option to voluntarily depart or voluntarily withdraw their application for admission to maintain eligibility to participate in this parole process. DHS believes that these changes are needed to ensure that the Venezuela process continues to deliver the already-realized benefits of reducing the number of Venezuelan nationals crossing our border without authorization and the surge in migration throughout the hemisphere and channels migrants into a safe and orderly process that enables them to enter the United States without making the dangerous journey to the SWB.

The agency’s own summary, as published.