On January 3, 2026, U.S. forces captured Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro and his wife and brought both of them to the United States to face charges related to narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, and weapons offenses. This is understandably an uncertain time for the country and for Venezuelans living abroad.
Unfortunately, in the wake of Maduro’s capture, disinformation has begun circulating on social media platforms regarding how Venezuelan’s applications might be affected, including statements from some that all Venezuelan’s asylum applications are already cancelled.
We fully expect that, in the coming weeks, immigration prosecutors for the U.S. government will begin arguing that Venezuelans’ asylum applications that are pending in court should be denied because Maduro is no longer in power. However, there has been no official change in U.S. policy indicating that all asylum applications for Venezuelans will automatically be denied, or that the applications have already been cancelled. If you have pending application for asylum or other immigration benefit, you should continue working on your case. Most importantly, do not leave the country unless you are prepared to abandon your asylum application and potentially be unable to return.