Options for Ukrainians with Expiring Humanitarian Parole

This article was written jointly with the teams at LINU, Svitlo, and Ukraine Immigration Task Force.

Key Points

– Ukrainians who received humanitarian parole when crossing the border with Mexico will see their parole expire in March-April 2023. – Senior USCIS (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services) officials are well aware of the situation and are discussing a solution that would help Ukrainians who received humanitarian parole retain lawful status. USCIS wants to avoid Ukrainians losing status. We hope they will propose a solution by March 2023. – All currently available options (filing Form I-131 with USCIS, contacting CBP offices) were not originally designed for this kind of situation and may not lead to a timely extension of humanitarian parole. – A senior official, our USCIS contact, confirmed that Ukrainians with humanitarian parole are not required to apply for a parole extension 90 days before their current parole expires. – Accordingly, it may make sense to wait for USCIS guidance on parole extension before making any decision. – Attorneys across the country are staying in touch with USCIS and CBP (Customs and Border Protection) and tracking successful cases of extended legalization.

Ukrainians who crossed the border with Mexico face expiring humanitarian parole in early 2023

Most Ukrainians who crossed the U.S.-Mexico border in March and April 2022 received humanitarian parole for a period of one year. Those who arrived on or before April 11, 2022 were also eligible to apply for TPS. As a result, Ukrainians who entered on one-year parole and have not yet obtained TPS will lose their status once their parole expires.

Existing options for extending humanitarian parole don’t apply

Historically, humanitarian parole has not been used this broadly. Immigration attorneys don’t know whether the parole-extension guidance on the USCIS website applies to the current situation.

What we’ve done

Back in early December 2022, attorneys and volunteers from the Ukraine Immigration Task Force, LINU, Svitlo, and Nova Ukraine raised this issue with senior officials at immigration agencies (including USCIS) and key resettlement organizations. While there’s no solution yet, we want to keep you informed of the situation.

Consequences of parole expiring

Remaining in the U.S. after your authorized period of stay has expired can have negative consequences.

Legal status

Once parole expires, Ukrainians no longer have lawful status to remain in the United States unless they have applied for and obtained another status. This means unlawful presence begins accruing for every day they remain in the U.S. Unlawful presence can be grounds for removal or deportation. While there is currently no significant risk of Ukrainians being deported to Ukraine, this could change in the future. Accruing unlawful presence, as well as working without authorization, can have negative consequences for obtaining lawful immigration status in the U.S. in the future. This could create problems for Ukrainians who want to apply for permanent residence through family-based or employment-based immigration. It could also affect a person’s ability to return to the U.S. on a visitor, business, or student visa. In addition, it could interfere with re-entering the country under the Uniting for Ukraine (U4U) program. Ukrainians who are unlawfully present for more than 180 consecutive days and then leave the country may be barred from returning to the United States for three years. Ukrainians who accrue more than one year of unlawful presence may be barred from returning for ten years after they leave the U.S.

Loss of work authorization and federal benefits

Once parole expires, eligibility for the federal benefits that came with that parole is lost as well. For Ukrainians, this means they will no longer have work authorization, cash benefits such as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Supplemental Security Income (SSI), or Refugee Cash Assistance (RCA), health coverage through Medicaid, or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. They may also lose eligibility for certain state benefits, such as a driver’s license or state and local assistance programs, depending on the laws of that state or municipality.

The latest information from USCIS

We met with senior USCIS officials responsible for the humanitarian parole program for Ukrainians. We were told that USCIS is well aware of the situation and its possible consequences for Ukrainians. USCIS, CBP, and DHS are considering a solution that would allow Ukrainians who received humanitarian parole to retain lawful status. USCIS wants to avoid Ukrainians with humanitarian parole losing status or benefits. Although USCIS has not shared an exact date or what the new process will look like, we hope an appropriate procedure will be worked out and put in place before April 2023. Please keep in mind that an extension of status or a new status cannot be granted automatically. You will still need to file an application, and applications will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

Requesting an extension of humanitarian parole or extended stay: existing procedures

USCIS and CBP both have mechanisms for extending humanitarian parole and extending an authorized period of stay, but at this time there is still no officially established procedure or clear guidance from federal agencies on how Ukrainians should apply for a parole extension or an extension of stay in the country.

Extending humanitarian parole via USCIS Form I-131

Pros: the filing process is straightforward; this process has previously been used by USCIS to extend parole for people in other situations, albeit on a much smaller scale. Cons: current processing time is 12-18 months. Although there is a procedure to expedite requests under exceptional circumstances, we have not yet heard of anyone who has successfully expedited this process. The filing fee is $575 per person, unless you qualify for a fee waiver. If USCIS proposes a new procedure in the near future, a completed Form I-131 could become moot.

If you decide to file

– You must complete and mail Form I-131 with “Re-Parole” written on the envelope, along with a copy of your passport, your I-94, a letter explaining why you need a parole extension, and a check or a fee-waiver request. Mail the envelope to the following address: USCIS Attn: HP P.O. Box 660865 Dallas, TX 75266-0865 – Instructions on how to apply for a parole extension can be found at this link (Re-Parole section). – While the parole-extension procedure described on the USCIS website mentions Form I-134, which a sponsor is supposed to file, USCIS has stated that parole-extension decisions are discretionary, and USCIS does not intend to further burden Ukrainians already in the U.S. It is expected that USCIS may approve parole-extension applications even for people without sponsors, depending on the situation. – The filing fee is $575, although low-income applicants may request a fee waiver by submitting Form I-912 along with the parole-extension request and confirming low income and/or receipt of public benefits. – USCIS confirmed that applicants filing for a parole extension are not required to file it 90 days before their current parole expires. – Processing times are currently in the range of 12-18 months. USCIS has a procedure to expedite applications for humanitarian reasons, but there is no guarantee that an expedite request will be granted.

Extending your stay through CBP

CBP also has the authority to extend humanitarian parole granted at the border by extending the authorized period of stay on Form I-94. However, many Ukrainians with humanitarian parole who have recently tried to contact CBP to extend it have, in the vast majority of cases, received a general response from CBP directing them to USCIS on this matter.

If you decide to file:

– Find your nearest office on the CBP website: https://www.cbp.gov/contact/ports/deferred-inspection-sites. You can write or call them and explain your request. – You can also make an appointment with a CBP regional office officer at the location where you crossed the U.S. border (at an airport or by land) to request an extension of humanitarian parole or a correction to your Form I-94.

Other options for Ukrainians with expiring humanitarian parole

Other potential protections may be available to Ukrainians with expiring parole:

Temporary Protected Status (TPS)

Ukrainians who arrived in the U.S. on or before April 11, 2022 are eligible to apply for Temporary Protected Status (TPS). If you’re eligible but haven’t applied, we strongly encourage you to do so as soon as possible. Ukrainians who meet the TPS requirements and are not at immediate risk of losing legal status should register by October 19, 2023. Those whose parole is expiring soon should file Form I-821 for TPS as soon as possible. You can find filing instructions here: https://refugees.novaukraine.org/tps/ You can also contact attorneys from Lawyers for Good Government or the Ukraine Immigration Task Force for free help filing a TPS application. Ukrainians who arrived after April 11, 2022 should know that the next decision date on extending TPS eligibility for Ukrainians is August 20, 2023. Given current circumstances, many expect that TPS eligibility will not only be extended for Ukrainian nationals, but that Ukraine will be newly designated as a country whose nationals are eligible to apply for TPS. In that case, Ukrainians who were physically present in the U.S. on the designation date and who meet the necessary requirements would also be able to apply for TPS. This would also apply to Ukrainians who are in the U.S. with an expired period of stay.

Uniting for Ukraine (U4U)

Many Ukrainians who arrived via Mexico or on a tourist visa have applied for and been approved to participate in the Uniting for Ukraine program. This path carries some risk, since the program requires that Ukrainians applying be outside the U.S. at the time of application. So, for a U4U application to be considered, Ukrainians wishing to apply must leave the United States before applying. Participants must also meet other criteria, which can be found here. Keep in mind that U4U has stricter requirements than those that applied at the Mexican border. For example, you must have an adult family member who is a Ukrainian citizen, and the family must have been residing in Ukraine immediately before the war. Instructions for completing the application can be found here.

Asylum

Ukrainians who wish to apply for asylum must do so before the end of their first year in the U.S. https://www.uscis.gov/i-589. Asylum applications tend to be complex, so anyone considering this option for legalization should consult an experienced U.S. asylum attorney. Please keep in mind that U.S. immigration courts and USCIS currently have a record number of asylum applications pending — nearly 1.6 million — and the average wait time for a case hearing is more than 4 years (nearly 6 years in some courts). More details here.

Family-based or employment-based immigration

People with humanitarian parole who meet all the requirements may apply to change their status through another path, such as family-based or employment-based immigration. Obtaining immigration status through these paths can take significant time and involve significant expense, but it may be an option for those who want to remain in the United States permanently. More details here:

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Leaving the United States

Ukrainians whose humanitarian parole is expiring soon may choose to voluntarily leave the United States before their authorized period of stay ends. This will prevent unlawful presence from accruing and help ensure they remain eligible for other immigration paths in the future.