Over 145,000 additional are approved to arrive…..
But the program could be ending….
Now, as the one-year anniversary of Russia invading Ukraine approaches, many Ukrainians who came to the US are getting closer to the expiration of their parole, prompting concern about what comes next.
“It’s a big issue right now,” said Yezerova, who works for Church World Service, a resettlement organization, and helps Ukrainians in the US and back at home. “It’s very complicated to live here when you don’t know how many years you can live here. Can you go study? Can you buy something like a car?”
Ukrainians who arrived on parole may be able to adjust their legal status while in the US or extend their parole, according to a Homeland Security official.
Since the Uniting for Ukraine program was launched, US Citizenship and Immigration Services has received approximately 213,000 requests from individuals agreeing to support Ukrainians or their immediate family members, according to the Department of Homeland Security. And more than 113,000 individuals have arrived as part of the program, while around 146,000 Ukrainians have been authorized to book their own travel.
“DHS remains committed to supporting Ukrainians in the United States, and we continue to explore opportunities to provide avenues for humanitarian relief and protection for Ukrainians fleeing Russia’s unprovoked war,” a Homeland Security spokesperson said in a statement.
Since last March, around 154,000 Ukrainians have been processed into the US outside of the Uniting for Ukraine program. DHS also extended a form of humanitarian relief for Ukraine, known as Temporary Protected Status, that provides protections to people already in the US. That designation, if not renewed, expires this October…..
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Congress also allowed applicants of the Uniting for Ukraine program to be eligible for certain benefits, such as medical assistance and case management, but not all the benefits that refugees who come through the US resettlement program get. Parole expiration would also mean the expiration of those benefits
Note…
I somehow think that the Ukraine immigrant program WILL be extended….
I can’t image the headlines if it isn’t…..