When Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, over 10 million people – nearly one-quarter of Ukraine’s population – were displaced within the first few months. In response, the Biden Administration launched the Uniting for Ukraine (U4U) program in April 2022 to provide a pathway for Ukrainians to come to the United States on humanitarian parole through U.S. sponsors.
Between May 2022 and December 2024, almost 240,000 Ukrainians were paroled through U4U. Another 30,000-35,000 were granted humanitarian parole by U.S. border officials.
Unfortunately, the U4U program was suspended in January 2025 by the new administration and remains closed to new U.S. sponsors and Ukrainian beneficiaries. Meanwhile, many parolees living in the U.S. face major challenges with legal statuses and uncertainty about their future.
Although immigration laws have largely remained unchanged, immigration policies have shifted dramatically since 2025. Under the Trump Administration, many immigration pathways and protections have been tightened or eliminated as federal agencies implement dozens of new rules and procedures to align with the administration’s goals. These goals include reducing the number of new arrivals through humanitarian pathways, deporting individuals who are considered by the administration to be here unlawfully or against U.S. interests, and removing protections for many temporary residents.
Parolees and other Ukrainians who cannot return to Ukraine are allowed to remain for now, but many are finding it difficult to maintain lawful statuses and employment authorization. Massive processing backlogs create long delays, while skyrocketing fees make applications more costly than ever. Some Ukrainians who came on U4U wait anxiously for re-parole approvals and work permit renewals, while those whose parole already expired live in limbo, unable to work without valid authorization and unable to access critical services without valid papers. Others experience errors or malfunctions caused by technical issues that prevent timely application approvals. Many of these issues remain unresolved.
Meanwhile, a number of Ukrainians who qualify for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) can’t take advantage of this important protection because TPS approvals have slowed to a halt since 2024. Even those who already have TPS are only protected through October 19, 2026, when Ukraine’s TPS designation expires. As of now, it has not been extended or redesignated.
Adding to these challenges, immigration enforcement has ramped up significantly, with record numbers of Ukrainians finding themselves unexpectedly detained, including women and children. An estimated 200 Ukrainians have been deported, and some remain separated from their families. Even Ukrainians in valid parole or other statuses are being detained, despite having committed no violations and having no criminal history.
Many Ukrainian parolees would like to seek other statuses but are prevented by lack of qualifying sponsors, lack of eligibility, or lack of available options. Some previously available visas, such as diversity visas and H-1B temporary visas, have been substantially restricted or effectively eliminated, closing off historically popular pathways. Other temporary worker visas, as well as student and visitor visas, are also out of reach unless applicants are willing to leave the U.S. to interview abroad, which could jeopardize their re-entry. Meanwhile, permanent pathways such as asylum and employment-based green cards are technically available but not realistically viable due to legal technicalities or unattainable deadlines. And, in the case of employment-based green cards, parolees may need to leave the U.S. to interview at the U.S. consulate in Ukraine, which is not feasible for everyone.
For the lucky minority of parolees who can be sponsored for family-based green cards, they can now expect extremely rigorous vetting under new policies, with mandatory social media scrutiny, intensive marriage investigations, FBI background checks, aggressive interviews lasting hours, and even review of their U4U sponsor’s application. Immediate relative visas that used to take less than a year can now drag on while applicants wait with pending statuses, increasingly exposing them to immigration enforcement. Some Ukrainians have even been apprehended by ICE while attending routine interviews at USCIS, immigration court hearings, or after having an immigration application denied.
Ukrainians who sought refuge here deserve a chance to live safely, provide for themselves and their families, contribute to communities that welcome them, and pursue more durable statuses in the United States. But without prompt government action, many of these Ukrainians face imminent threats to their safety, stability, and well-being.
Please read and share the below report summarizing the current challenges facing Ukrainian parolees and proposed solutions to help safeguard their protections.
Photo by Ethan Robertson on Freerange Stock.