Many Ukrainians who came to the United States in connection with hostilities are wondering what to do next after the expiration of the humanitarian password or temporary protection status? Is it possible to change the status and legalize in the USA?
Temporary Protection Status (TPS) is a program that allows migrants whose home countries are considered unsafe the right to live and work in the United States for a temporary, but extendable, period of time.
On April 19, 2022, USCIS opened the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) program for Ukrainian citizens who arrived in the United States on or before April 11, 2022 and have been living in the country since. TPS status for Ukrainians is granted for 18 months, until October 19, 2023.
TPS is good because it extends your legal stay in the US. After the expiration of temporary protection, you can continue to be in the same status that you were before or switch to any other status.
Here is a list of TPS status change options:
- political asylum;
- marriage to a US citizen;
- US family reunification;
- employment/investment visa, talent visa, student visa, etc., but provided that you arrived on a visa and were in legal status prior to applying for TPS.
Humanitarian Parole — a special permit that allows a foreigner to enter the United States and legally stay there only for a certain period of time.
In connection with the hostilities in Ukraine, citizens of Ukraine from April 25, 2022 can apply for participation in the “Uniting for Ukraine” program and receive a humanitarian parole. Previously, Ukrainians could get a humanitarian parole at the border with Mexico, but with the start of the program, this option is no longer available.
Unlike TPS, it is not possible to switch from a humanitarian parole to another status, since the humanitarian parole itself is not a status. But still there are several options. Ways of legalization by humanitarian parole:
- political asylum;
- marriage to a US citizen;
- US family reunion.