We currently see the following immigration / travel options for Ukrainian nationals.
1. Temporary protected status
On March 3, 2022, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security designated Ukraine for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for 18 months. This means that Ukrainians, who were physically present in the United States on March 1, 2022, may stay in the country for 18 months and may apply for a temporary work permit. Ukrainians who travel to the United States after March 1, 2022, will not be eligible for TPS. Instructions for applying for TPS and an employment authorization document are not currently in place but will be issued soon.
2. Deportations to Ukraine are currently suspended
3. U.S. Tourist Visa
The U.S. Consulates in Poland have expedited issuance of tourist visas for Ukrainians. At the same time, applicants must demonstrate that they do not have an immigrant intent, i.e. they do not want to stay in the U.S. indefinitely and apply for immigration benefits.
4. Expediting Current Applications
If a person already applied for any type of visa to the United States, she may request the USCIS or the respective consulate to expedite the processing of the application.
5. Humanitarian Parole
Humanitarian parole is an emergency measure allowing a person, who is not otherwise eligible to enter the United States, stay there temporary while waiting for the status (visa, permanent residency, etc.) to be granted. Humanitarian parole cannot be used to avoid standard visa procedures (so, one cannot apply for humanitarian parole, if she is not currently waiting for a visa).
Humanitarian parole is generally granted for no more than 1 year; a parolee may apply for employment authorization.
A humanitarian parole applicant must have a financial sponsor or self-sponsor her stay in the United States.
Humanitarian parole requests are heavily backlogged (wait time may be up to 9-12 months).
6. Refugee Status
The U.S. law provides for several categories of refugees:
Priority P-1: general flow refugees,
Priority P-2: groups of special concern designated by the U.S. government (for instance, there is now a designation for Afghanistan). No special designation for Ukraine has been made yet,
Others.
To receive a refugee status under P-1 priority, a person must register with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and request resettlement in the United States (it is sometimes possible to get a resettlement referral from U.S. embassies or certain non-governmental organizations). UNHCR does not guarantee resettlement based on the wishes of the applicant but may take personal circumstances (like relatives or job opportunities in the U.S.) into account.
After the case is referred for resettlement in the United States, the applicant will go through several interviews with representatives of different U.S. government agencies.
Refugee processing times are currently very long, several-year wait is to be expected.
7. Asylum
Will be discussed in the following blogpost.
Disclaimer: The information provided in this article does not and is not intended to constitute legal advice. Furthermore, this article is not guaranteed to be complete or remain up-to-date with the passage of time, nor intended to create – and receipt of it does not constitute – a lawyer-client relationship. Anyone viewing this information should not act upon it without consulting a licensed attorney.
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