Biden Administration Extends Legal Work Permits for Thousands of Ukrainian Refugees
Date
3/14/2023 5:22:03 AM
(MENAFN) The Biden administration has announced a policy change that will allow thousands of Ukrainian refugees who entered the U.S. along the southern border after Russia's invasion of Ukraine to remain and work legally for at least another year. This decision comes after the government notice was obtained by CBS News.
Following the displacement of millions of refugees by Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, thousands of Ukrainians sought to enter the U.S. through the southern border, mainly in California. U.S. border officials permitted over 20,000 Ukrainians to enter the country in just a few weeks, exempting them from a pandemic restriction known as Title 42 that had blocked hundreds of thousands of migrants from staying in the U.S.
However, in late April, the Biden administration ended this ad hoc process along the southern border and created the Uniting for Ukraine program. This program allowed displaced Ukrainians to fly to the U.S. directly if they had American sponsors, and since then, more than 118,000 Ukrainians have arrived in the U.S. under this policy.
Both populations of Ukrainian refugees entered the country under a humanitarian immigration authority known as parole. While the Ukrainians who came to the U.S. through the Uniting for Ukraine program received two-year grants of parole, those who were processed along the southern border were only granted parole for 12 months. This meant that their temporary permission to live and work in the U.S. was set to expire this spring.
However, on Monday, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that it would consider extending the parole grant of Ukrainians who were processed along the southern border between Feb. 24 and April 25, 2022, by one year. DHS expects to review these cases in four weeks, and those approved will be able to download their updated parole grants online.
In a statement, Homeland Security spokesperson Angelo Fernández Hernández confirmed the policy change, which will allow thousands of Ukrainian refugees to continue living and working in the U.S. legally for at least another year.
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