How to get Ukrainian Refugees to the USA through Asylum and Other Countries
Immigration to US from Ukraine:
Since Thursday, my firm’s team and I have been working around the clock to bring you news on how to get your loved ones from Ukraine to the US. After all, I think my work is my best contribution to the people of my homeland. I was born in Ukraine, grew up there, and love the Ukrainian people. Ukraine has been an independent sovereign country since 1991 and is not a province of Russia in any way. Ukraine has its own language and history and culture.
This post is to provide some information for Ukrainian refugees that I know as of today. We are receiving more and more information and news from official and private sources and below is the information we already gathered for REFUGEES FROM UKRAINE FOR COMING TO USA.
1. If you have an Immigrant Family Unification Case – you can reroute it to Poland or any other country where your Ukrainian family members have landed. You can also request to expedite it. Call us for help with this.
2. If you have any valid US visa, come to the US and file for Asylum here inside the USA. You do not need to have Covid vaccinations since the Covid-19 vaccines requirement is currently waived for Ukrainian nationals.
3. Apply for a NONIMMIGRANT visa to come to the USA.
In Poland, there are slightly different procedures in the Warsaw US Consulate and the Krakow US Consulate.
a. Warsaw. Apply for an expedited Visa Appointment here. Fill out DS-160, upload your photo and pay the consular fee. Make sure to choose the “C1/D” Transit visa option for crewmen and at the interview, the consular officer will adjust your visa type to Visitor Visa.
b. Krakow. Apply for an expedited Visa Appointment here.
Fill out DS-160, upload your photo and pay the consular fee. Make sure to choose the “F” Student visa option for Students, and at the visa interview, the consular officer will adjust your visa type to Visitor Visa.
c. If you have no success with scheduling as above, request GROUP APPOINTMENT here at the following link: http://ustraveldocs.com/en/en/group-appointments and choose a convenient date.
4. If there is a way to get the person to a country bordering with United States (Canada or Mexico), ask for HUMANITARIAN PAROLE AS REFUGEE from Ukraine. Alternatively, ask for ASYLUM right at the US Border.
– Be prepared to show documents for your US Family and friends who can be your sponsor for being released from ICE detention. Their passports, tax returns, ID copies, full name and phone numbers are a must! Have a documentary packet of your sponsor’s information with you. Anyone can be your sponsor – Family, friends, former neighbors, co-workers, etc. Anyone who is willing to help!
PRACTICAL ADVICE WHEN LEAVING UKRAINE:
i. Bring all your ID documents – passports, birth certificates, marriage certificates, divorces, changes of name, military books, driver’s licenses, medical and vaccination records, proof of real estate ownership, and any other ownership (business, etc.), party memberships, etc. Bring photos of your house or business as it was affected by the War with Russia.
ii. Bring cash, it’s ok if more than $10,000. Just declare it when entering.
5. ASYLUM. Once you are inside the US, we can help you file for Asylum. Asylum is for people who are displaced from Ukraine right now and whose life is in danger.
6. If you are a Student in the USA from Ukraine and have an F-1 Visa, we can help you file for an expedited emergency Work Authorization. You can read more about this type of Employment Authorization Document here at USCIS’s website: https://www.uscis.gov/humanitarian/special-situations.
7. NOT YET ANNOUNCED, BUT NEEDED.
Temporary Protected Status (TPS). Ukraine has not been yet formally designated as a TPS country. Ukraine has to officially request to be designated as a TPS country. Other countries like Haiti, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Venezuela, and Syria are already TPS countries. We are asking the US Government to please designate Ukraine as a TPS Country asap! TPS allows its holders to work legally in the US and be in deferred (non-deportable) status in the US.
We support Ukraine and wish for peace and safety for every Ukrainian national anywhere in the World. Praying for Ukraine!
Shepelsky Law Group
Tel: (718)769-6352