Ukrainians can now temporarily immigrate to the United States in a simplified manner under the new “Uniting for Ukraine” program.

On April 21, 2022, the United States announced a key step toward fulfilling President Biden’s commitment to welcome Ukrainians fleeing Russia’s invasion. Already at the end of April 2022, the acceptance of applications for participation in the “Uniting for Ukraine” program has begun “Uniting for Ukraine” provides a pathway for Ukrainian citizens and their immediate family members who are outside the United States to come to the United States and stay temporarily in a two-year period of parole. Ukrainians participating in Uniting for Ukraine must have a supporter in the United States who agrees to provide them with financial support for the duration of their stay in the United States.

Conditions for participating in the program:

The “Uniting for Ukraine” program provides only four basic conditions for the applicant to participate in it: 

• be a citizen or resident of Ukraine who lived in the country before February 11, 2022 and earlier; 
• complete vaccinations (against polio, measles and COVID-19) and other public health requirements 
• pass biometric and biographic screening and vetting security checks.
• have a sponsor in the USA (individuals, legal entities, non-governmental organizations).

 The first three conditions do not raise any special questions, but let’s consider the point about the sponsor in more detail.

Who is eligible for sponsorship?

First of all, the sponsor in this program is the one who provides USCIS with the Declaration of Financial Support (Form I-134) of the applicant (beneficiary).

Examples of individuals who meet the supporter requirement include:

• U.S. citizens and nationals;
• Lawful permanent residents, lawful temporary residents, and conditional permanent residents;
• Nonimmigrants in lawful status (that is, who maintain the nonimmigrant status and have not violated any of the terms or conditions of the nonimmigrant status);
• Asylees, refugees, and parolees;
• TPS holders; and
• Beneficiaries of deferred action (including DACA) or Deferred Enforced Departure.

Certainly, any of the sponsors listed must have legal status in the United States.

Humanitarian parole for your family members

If you are worried about whether your family members and minor children can participate in the program, then yes, they can do it!

Citizens of Ukraine and their immediate relatives (not citizens of Ukraine outside the United States) can act as beneficiaries (applicants) in the Uniting for Ukraine program if they belong to any of these categories:

• Resided in Ukraine immediately before the Russian invasion (through Feb. 11, 2022) and were displaced as a result of the invasion;
• Are a Ukrainian citizen and possess a valid Ukrainian passport (or are a child included on a parent’s passport);
  • If not a Ukrainian citizen, they must be an immediate family member of a Ukrainian citizen beneficiary of Uniting for Ukraine with a valid passport;

They also need to have a supporter who filed a Form I-134 on their behalf that USCIS has vetted and confirmed as sufficient and pass a biographical and biometric security check.

Please note that to be eligible for this process, children under the age of 18 must be traveling to the United States in the care and custody of their parent or legal guardian.

Application process

Once the sponsorship issue is resolved, the application process can begin. These are just six steps:

Step 1: Sponsor filing a Declaration of Financial Support (Form I-134) with USCIS.

Step 2: Submit Biographic Information by the beneficiary in myUSCIS

Step 3: Complete Vaccination Requirements

Step 4: Approval to Travel to the United States

Step 5: Seeking Parole at the Port of Entry

Step 6: Approved for Parole

With properly executed documents, the process from filing an application to receiving a humanitarian parole can go quite quickly: from four days to two or three weeks, it depends on the workload of government agencies.

Benefits and services for program members

The Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) of the US Department of Health and Human Services has released information on the main federal benefits that Ukrainians who have received or will receive a humanitarian parole into the United States can claim.

Who is eligible to receive services and benefits?

1. Ukrainians who received or will receive a humanitarian parole into the United States (including participants of the Uniting for Ukraine program – U4U) in the period from February 24, 2022 to September 30, 2023
2. Persons who do not have Ukrainian citizenship, but permanently resided in Ukraine until February 11, 2022 and received a humanitarian password from February 24, 2022 to September 30, 2023
3. The spouses or unmarried children under the age of 21 who receive a humanitarian parole into the United States after September 30, 2023

Benefits that may be available to you:

• cash assistance through Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
• health insurance through Medicaid 
• food assistance through Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
• Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
• other benefits available to refugees other than the initial resettlement program.