Venezuela TPS: The Supreme Court Stay Is Running Out, and the Ninth Circuit Has Not Said What Happens Next

For the last group of Venezuelans still holding court-protected documents, TPS ended on a date: October 2, 2026, when those work permits expired. For everyone else it had ended earlier. The litigation that produced that date is not over, and the next few weeks may matter more than the last few months.

Where the case is

In September 2025 Judge Chen in the Northern District of California entered a final judgment holding unlawful the vacatur of Venezuela’s 2025 TPS extension and the termination of the 2023 designation (the judgment also covered Haiti). On October 3, 2025 the Supreme Court stayed the Venezuela portions of that judgment “pending the disposition of the Government’s appeal in the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and disposition of a petition for a writ of certiorari,” adding: “In the event certiorari is granted, the stay shall terminate upon the sending down of the judgment of this Court.”

Certiorari has now been granted. On October 5, 2026 the Court’s order read: “Petition GRANTED. Judgment VACATED and case REMANDED for further consideration in light of Mullin v. Doe, 609 U.S. 324 (2026).” That is not a ruling on the merits; it sends the case back to the Ninth Circuit to apply the Court’s June decision on Haiti and Syria. But by the terms of the 2025 order, it also starts the clock on the stay, which ends when the Court’s judgment is sent down — a step the National TPS Alliance expects in November.

The government saw this coming. On October 5 it asked the Ninth Circuit for a new stay pending appeal. The TPS holders opposed on October 15; the government replied October 21. The motion is pending.

What is at stake

If the Supreme Court’s stay lapses and the Ninth Circuit does not issue a new one, the district court’s judgment takes effect. According to the plaintiffs’ filings, that would restore TPS for an estimated 600,000 Venezuelans. If the Ninth Circuit grants the new stay, the termination stays in force while the appeal is reconsidered under Mullin v. Doe — which, as we wrote in June, gave the Secretary wide latitude.

What to do with this

Nothing about this changes a person’s status today. TPS-based documents that carried an October 2, 2026 date expired on that date, and USCIS says they are no longer valid. What it changes is the value of being ready. A person whose only status was Venezuelan TPS should know what else is in their file, should keep every TPS approval notice and EAD, and should watch the Ninth Circuit docket in November. If TPS is restored, the mechanics of re-registration and work authorization will follow quickly and will reward people whose paperwork is in order.

This article is general legal information about pending litigation, not legal advice, and does not create an attorney-client relationship. The timing described depends on court actions that have not yet occurred. Consult a qualified immigration attorney about your own status. This website is attorney advertising.