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TPS is available for those Ukrainian nationals who were already in the U.S. on or before April 11, 2022 and have been physically present in the U.S. continuously since April 19, 2022. Ukrainians who arrived in the U.S. after April 11 are not eligible to apply for TPS. TPS is available regardless of one’s current immigration status in the U.S., except those who are already U.S. Citizens or Lawful Permanent Residents (green card holders). However, eligibility may be affected if an individual has been convicted of a felony or two or more misdemeanors committed in the United States. Those who previously applied for asylum and have a case pending should speak with an attorney before applying for TPS, since there could be some negative interactions between asylum and TPS. Read more

Temporary Protected Status (TPS) is granted when the person’s home country is experiencing difficulties or conflicts that make returning unsafe or unfeasible. People who are granted TPS are protected from being removed from the U.S. Read more

Since Ukrainians are no longer able to apply for entry by humanitarian parole at the U.S. border, it is unknown whether or not there are volunteers available to help at the border. Read more

It is extremely difficult to get information from ORR about a child’s location. Only a parent is entitled to this information. ORR will not give out information to a non-parent beyond confirming it has custody of a child. Instead, the caller’s contact information will be sent to the facility where the child is located. Non-parents or attorneys only learn where the child is physically located when social workers from ORR contact the potential sponsor to begin the screening process for taking custody of the child. Read more

First, they can be held in a Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) facility for up to 72 hours. Then, they will likely be transferred to a detention center run by the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), where they could potentially be held for weeks and even months. After an unaccompanied minor is taken into ORR custody, the child may be moved throughout the U.S. to a facility that has bed space. Children over the age of 12 are usually sent to group homes. Children under 12 are usually in group homes during the day and foster families at night. If an unaccompanied minor is transferred to an ORR detention center, ORR will try to find someone in the U.S. to take custody of the child. The more distant the relation (relative vs. friend vs. stranger), the more time it will take to screen the adult before releasing the child into their custody. Read more

A minor child (a child who is under the age of 18 years) who tries to cross the border without an adult will definitely be detained. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) will not release an unaccompanied minor into the U.S. out of concern for human trafficking and other safety hazards. Read more

Any child traveling with someone over the age of 18 who is not a parent or legal guardian (or who cannot show a judicial custody order) will be separated at the border. This includes children traveling with grandparents, aunts/uncles, adult siblings, step-parents, cousins, distant relatives, or any other adults. Read more

A child who is a minor (a person who is under the age of 18 years) must be accompanied by a parent or adult who has proof of Legal Guardianship over the child. Ideally, this should include the parent’s name on the child’s birth certificate. The proof of Legal Guardianship must be in the form of a judicial custody order and should be translated into English. If the court order is in Ukrainian or any other language, Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) could refuse to accept it unless an interpreter is available to verify its content. Please note that a Power of Attorney is not an acceptable form of Legal Guardianship. A minor child who is accompanied by a parent without proof of Legal Guardianship is likely to be separated from the parent and detained. Read more

As of April 25, 2022, Ukrainians will not be granted humanitarian parole at the U.S. border. The Department of Homeland Security has instructed that, beginning April 25, 2022, Ukrainian nationals who come to the U.S. border without a valid visa or without pre-authorization to travel to the U.S. through the “Uniting for Ukraine” program may be denied entry and referred to apply through this program. For more information on this program, please see the section above on “Uniting for Ukraine.” Read more

Humanitarian parole is not intended to be used as a substitute for normal visa processing procedures and timelines or to bypass inadmissibility through other entry processing channels. Since humanitarian parole is not a legal status, a person who is in the U.S. on humanitarian parole will either need to reapply for another term of parole before their current term expires, select a different legal status for which to apply, or leave the U.S.. However, a person who is in the U.S. on humanitarian parole may apply for a change in legal status by filing Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status. Read more