By: Dawn Lurie, Owen Wolfe, and Alex Madrak
In a significant development for Venezuelan Temporary Protected Status (TPS) holders, a federal district court in California has issued an injunction preventing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from invalidating certain immigration documents—at least for now.
Background
Earlier this year, the Biden administration extended TPS for Venezuela through October 2, 2026. However, that extension was quickly undone by the incoming Trump administration. On February 3, 2025, Secretary Kristi Noem vacated the extension, and on February 5, she formally terminated Venezuela’s TPS designation.
As we wrote about here, a California district court had blocked Secretary Noem’s TPS termination, but the U.S. Supreme Court later stayed the district court’s order on May 19, 2025. This move would have invalidated thousands of Employment Authorization Documents (EADs), Forms I-797 (Notices of Action), and Forms I-94 (Arrival/Departure Records) issued under the now-vacated extension.
But in its May 19, 2025 order, the Supreme Court left the door open for legal challenges to the vacatur of the TPS-related documents listed above, including EADs. Plaintiffs took that opportunity and filed a motion in the Northern California district court to preserve the validity of those documents.
What the Court Decided
On May 30, 2025, Judge Edward M. Chen granted the plaintiffs’ motion in part. The court ruled that DHS and USCIS cannot invalidate EADs, I-797s, and I-94s that were issued to Venezuelan TPS holders under the January 2025 extension—so long as those documents were issued on or before February 5, 2025.
The court found that:
– Secretary Noem likely exceeded her statutory authority by retroactively invalidating documents that had already been issued.
– The vacatur was likely arbitrary and capricious, especially given the reliance interests of TPS holders who had made life decisions based on the validity of their documents.
– The plaintiffs demonstrated a likelihood of irreparable harm, and the public interest weighed in favor of preserving the status quo for this limited group.
Important Caveat
This injunction is narrowly tailored. It only protects individuals who received their TPS-related documents on or before February 5, 2025—the date DHS published the notice of TPS termination. Initially, the government estimated this may affect approximately 5,000 individuals, but the court suggested the number could be larger. Anyone who received documents after that date is not covered by the injunction, and DHS is not barred from invalidating those later-issued documents. Moreover, this ruling will likely be the subject of further appeals.
What This Means
For now, certain Venezuelan TPS holders who received valid documentation before February 5 can continue to rely on those documents for work authorization and legal presence in the U.S. The court’s order preserves their rights while the broader legal challenge continues.
What Should Employers Do?
USCIS has yet to issue guidance operationalizing the SCOTUS order, let alone the recent update by the District Court. As of now, the USCIS TPS Venezuela webpage still reflects an EAD auto-extension through October 2, 2025. Additionally, E-Verify has not yet provided employers with notification regarding the termination of TPS EADs related to the Venezuela designation.
Employers eager to do the right thing and remain compliant, are increasingly concerned about the legal uncertainty and the consequences of both action and inaction. Companies should carefully assess their options in consultation with counsel and continue monitoring for updates from DHS.
Stay tuned for further information as this case progresses through the courts.
For more information, contact your Seyfarth relationship attorney or the authors Dawn Lurie, Owen Wolfe and Alex Madrak directly. The Seyfarth Immigration Compliance & Enforcement specialty group offers advice and counsel relating to Form I-9 or E-Verify compliance, ICE inspections (NOI) and worksite enforcement actions, internal immigration assessments, I-9 audits, DOL immigration-related wage and hour investigations, general H-1B compliance, and DOJ-IER anti-discrimination matters including foreign sponsorship and export control/ITAR issues. The Seyfarth Appellate Group has substantial experience handling appeals in nearly every area of U.S. law. Seyfarth’s appellate attorneys have the unique combination of analytical, writing, and oral advocacy skills to deliver winning briefs and compelling oral arguments. The Seyfarth team has handled hundreds of appeals in both state and federal courts nationwide. In addition to representing parties in appeals, Seyfarth frequently represents non-parties in drafting and submitting amicus curiae briefs in high-profile cases with policy implications or other broad significance.
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