‘Now I can apply for a work permit’: Juan Vargas

Juan Vargas, 39, lost his leg seven years ago and makes a living working in a restaurant.

He arrived from Venezuela a year ago, and step by step he has been integrating into life in New York City. He lived for several months in a shelter, but with the new rules he had to go out and fend for himself.

He proudly welcomed us into his Harlem apartment, and filled with hope, he showed us the letters that the immigration service had sent him.

“What I have is the letter that I received here from immigration, telling me that the application arrived correctly and that I was waiting for the process. This more or less lasts around 30 days. And well, we are waiting,” says Vargas.

Like him, thousands of his compatriots will be able to benefit from temporary protected status or TPS, thanks to an extension granted only to Venezuelans who arrived in New York City before July 31, 2023.

Lawyer Luis Gómez Alfaro fills out these requests daily.

“Venezuelans are the only group that benefits. The other TPS programs are historic, they have been in Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Honduras for more than 20 years, but they are not accepting new applications, says lawyer Gómez Alfaro,” says the lawyer.

TPS is a temporary protected status that gives beneficiaries 18 months of peace of mind with a work permit, a social security number, and stopping deportations of beneficiaries on its own.

Venezuelan Daniela Saraí arrived just a month ago in NY with her two daughters and her husband, they will not be able to apply for TPS. This is what the lawyers hired by the city told her, in the shelter of the ROW hotel in Manhattan.

“But when they are reviewing me in the system, all those things told me that I don’t qualify, because I didn’t enter on that date, that’s why I don’t qualify. But hey, we’re going to wait and see, to see what other door opens by trusting in God, let’s see,” says Saraí.

However, they will be able to request asylum in the United States.

“Asylum is humanitarian protection in the United States for those who are victims of persecution in their country of origin. For this reason, many Venezuelans will be able to qualify for this asylum program in the United States, however, every year there are beneficiaries from Ecuador, Colombia, Mexico or Guatemala who receive asylum,” he says.

Many of them are “Stand By“

Ecuadorian Diego Tapia arrived in NY 9 months ago, fleeing crime and leaving his family behind…

Diego Tapia, Ecuadorian immigrant

We are applying for asylum, but they tell us that, for Ecuadorian people, it is more, it is a little harder, because they say that the country is good, but in reality the country is very bad.

“The problem with asylum is that you have to demonstrate with physical evidence, usually documents and testimonies, that there really is a possible persecution,” says Luis Gómez Alfaro, an immigration lawyer.

And although Diego Tapia is hopeful that his asylum request will be accepted, he cannot apply for TPS.

“Of course, the truth is that, if it is unfair, it should be the same for everyone, because we all come from here with a purpose which is to try to help our families,” says this Ecuadorian immigrant.

“Protection against deportation begins from the moment the TPS is approved, even if the work permit has not arrived,” continues Luis Gómez Alfaro, immigration lawyer.

Juan Vargas can benefit from both benefits.

“Now I can apply for a work permit for asylum. And that’s what I applied for right now when they opened that TPS opportunity,” he explains.

In the case of nursing homes, those cases can take up to a decade. There are asylum cases that have been open for more than ten years and although the government tries to resolve them within 12 months, the reality is that most asylums take migrants on a path of years, adds Luis Gómez Alfaro.

TPS is not a guarantee of permanent residence in the United States.

“The TPS is not a tool that will lead them to permanent residence. However, it does have the possibility for them to request a travel permit known as advance parole, so that leaving and returning with legal entry to this country in a future could be petitioners by a husband, wife, child, citizen of the United States,” concludes the lawyer.

A hope that all newly arrived immigrants do not lose.

“We came here to achieve a goal, to behave well, to walk firmly, we must respect, we are in a foreign country,” Saraí ends by saying.