How Americans can sponsor Ukrainian refugees

The Biden administration established a programme that allows Americans to sponsor Ukrainian refugees and have them temporarily stay in the United States under a system known as humanitarian parole.

The programme, called Uniting for Ukraine, is a piece of a larger initiative to temporarily resettle as many as 100,000 Ukrainian refugees, but migrants themselves cannot directly apply.

Instead, a sponsor in the United States must apply on their behalf, and then migrants may complete the process after their sponsor is approved.

Here’s how the programme works:

American Sponsors

Most people who reside legally in the United States — including green card holders and other immigrants — may apply to sponsor Ukrainian migrants, as long as they can prove they can financially support them. That could include providing room and board or direct payments to the refugees for necessary expenses.

Sponsors must designate specific refugees to assist. Welcome.US, a humanitarian group for refugee resettlement, has created a mailing list for people interested in becoming a sponsor.

Here’s a step-by-step process of how sponsors can apply:

— Go to the web portal for the programme at dhs.gov/ukraine.

— File an I-134 form. This document helps prove the sponsor can financially support the Ukrainians while they are in the US. Sponsors must document their own income and assets, as well as the income and assets of the migrants and families being sponsored.

— The sponsor will then go through a government vetting process “to protect against exploitation and abuse” of the migrants, according to the instructions on the web portal. Officials reviewing the application may also ask the sponsor for additional supporting evidence or an interview before approval.

— If approved, the sponsor will be notified in writing.

Ukrainian Migrants

Ukrainian citizens and their children and spouses or common-law partners can qualify for humanitarian parole under the programme. They need not be in Ukraine now, but must have fled after February 11.

After their sponsor is approved, Ukrainians and families who were listed in the application will receive notification of the next steps in the process.

Those include:

— Confirming personal information — such as names, dates of birth, phone numbers and addresses — as well as family relationships using a myUSCIS account.

— Providing evidence of vaccination for measles, polio and the coronavirus.

— Passing security checks.

— Undergoing a medical screening for tuberculosis within 14 days of arriving in the United States.

After completing the necessary steps, migrants will be notified of final approval and authorisation to travel to the United States through myUSCIS. Migrants must then enter the United States within 90 days, and are responsible for arranging their travel once approved.