On Feb. 27, 2024, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced the expansion of its re-parole program to include eligible Ukrainian citizens and their immediate family members who are physically present in the United States. As of February 24, 2024, Ukrainian citizens and their immediate family members paroled into the United States on or after February 11, 2022, are eligible to apply for re-parole enabling them to temporarily live and work in the U.S.

Parole allows an individual, who may be inadmissible or otherwise ineligible for admission into the United States, to be paroled into the country for a temporary period. As background, in 2022, in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security exercised his discretionary authority to permit certain Ukrainians to seek temporary parole in the U.S. and apply for work authorization. In its February 2024 announcement, the USCIS declared that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has resulted in tremendous civilian casualties and invited eligible Ukrainian citizens to apply for re-parole. The agency pledged to consider the current extraordinary circumstances on a case-by-case basis when evaluating such requests.

For a Ukrainian national to be eligible for re-parole under this process, the individual must demonstrate the following:

• Evidence of Ukrainian citizenship of the applicant or their immediate family member who was paroled into the United States on or after Feb. 11, 2022
• Evidence of continued urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit for issuance of a new period of parole
• Evidence that the individual warrants a favorable exercise of discretion
• Proof of physical presence in the United States as a parolee
• Proof of compliance with the conditions of the initial parole
• Clearance of biographic and biometric background checks

Eligible Ukrainian citizens and their immediate family members may apply for re-parole online or by mail. To apply for re-parole, eligible individuals must submit Form I-131, Application for Travel Document, along with the required supporting documentation and filing fee or fee waiver request. Fee waiver request are not available for re-parole applications submitted online.

This article was co-authored by Tieranny Cutler, independent contract attorney.