Ukrainian Humanitarian Parolees Eligible for ORR Benefits and Services

Policy Letter 22-13

Current as of: May 7, 2024

May 26, 2022
Revised March 23, 2023¹
Revised May 7, 2024²
Revised July 25, 2024³

The purpose of this policy letter (PL) is to inform Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) grant recipients that as of May 21, 2022, the Additional Ukraine Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2022 (AUSAA), as extended by the Ukraine Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2024 (USSAA)⁴, authorizes ORR to provide resettlement assistance and other benefits available for refugees to specific Ukrainian populations and other non-Ukrainian individuals in response to their displacement from Ukraine and entry into the United States.

New categories of ORR-eligible Ukrainian populations and other non-Ukrainian individuals displaced from Ukraine
1. Citizens or nationals of Ukraine who the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has paroled into the United States between February 24, 2022, and September 30, 2024⁵, due to urgent humanitarian reasons or for significant public benefit, known as Ukrainian Humanitarian Parolees (UHPs).
2. Non-Ukrainian individuals who last habitually resided in Ukraine and who DHS has paroled into the United States between February 24, 2022, and September 30, 2024,⁶ due to urgent humanitarian reasons or for significant public benefit.
3. A spouse or child⁷ of an individual described in section I.A. or I.B. who is paroled into the United States after September 30, 2023.
4. A parent, legal guardian, or primary caregiver of an unaccompanied refugee minor⁸ or an unaccompanied child⁹ described in section I.A. or I.B. who is paroled into the United States after September 30, 2023.
Services
1. Mainstream and ORR Refugee Benefits and Services
  Populations listed above are eligible to receive mainstream benefits (e.g., Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, Medicaid, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Supplemental Security Income), resettlement assistance, and other benefits available to refugees,¹⁰ with the exception of an initial resettlement program funded under section 412(b)(1) of the Refugee Act.¹¹
2. AUSAA-funded Benefits and Services
  Populations listed above are also eligible for AUSAA-funded benefits and services, for the timeframe indicated. ORR’s use of “AUSAA-funded” in this and other ORR guidance includes “USSAA-funded.”¹²
3. Benefits and Services for Unaccompanied Refugee Minors and Unaccompanied Children
  1. Unaccompanied Refugee Minors (URM) Program
    Any citizen or national of Ukraine or other non-Ukrainian individual who last habitually resided in Ukraine and is defined as an unaccompanied child under section 462(g)(2) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. § 279(g)(2)), (hereinafter referred to as Unaccompanied Ukrainian Minors, or UUMs) is eligible to apply for ORR’s URM Program (8 U.S.C. § 1522(d)(2)).¹³ UUMs who enter the URM Program are eligible to receive URM services to the same extent as refugees in the URM Program.
  2. Unaccompanied Children (UC) Program
    Prior to or instead of entering the URM Program, UUMs may enter ORR custody through the UC Program.¹⁴ Those UUMs released to family or sponsors rather than entering the URM Program are eligible for mainstream and ORR refugee benefits upon release from the ORR UC Program’s custody.
  3. Immigration-Related Legal Assistance
    UUMs in the URM Program or who have been referred to ORR custody in the UC Program will be eligible to receive immigration-related legal assistance, with the purpose of adjusting to a lawful immigration status or category that will enable the UUM to remain in the United States after their parole expires.

Acceptable documents for new categories of ORR-eligible Ukrainian populations and other non-Ukrainian individuals displaced from Ukraine

ORR Policy Letter (PL) 16-01, Documentation Requirements for the Refugee Resettlement Program, announced a documentation guide, Status and Documentation Requirements for the ORR Refugee Resettlement Program (“Documentation Guide”), that outlines the statuses and categories that confer eligibility for ORR’s Refugee Resettlement Program benefits and the documentation that is needed to show an individual is eligible.

In addition to the acceptable documents listed for Ukrainian refugees and asylees within ORR PL 16-01’s Documentation Guide, the following chart lists the newly eligible applicants and corresponding acceptable documents. All other elements of ORR PL 16-01, including its attached Documentation Guide, as amended by the Frequently Asked Questions document, remain unchanged and in effect.

Immigration Status or Category of Applicant	Acceptable Documentation
Ukrainian citizen or national who received humanitarian parole (known as a Ukrainian Humanitarian Parolee, or UHP)	Form I-94 noting humanitarian parole (per INA section 212(d)(5) or 8 U.S.C. § 1182(d)(5)) Or Foreign passport with DHS/CBP admission stamp noting “DT” Or Foreign passport with DHS/CBP admission stamp noting Uniting for Ukraine or “U4U” Or Foreign passport with DHS/CBP admission stamp noting Ukrainian Humanitarian Parolee or “UHP” Or Form I-765 Employment Authorization Document (EAD) receipt notice with code C11 Or Form I-766 Employment Authorization Document (EAD) with the code C11 Or Any other notation of parole under INA § 212(d)(5)¹⁵
A non-Ukrainian individual who received humanitarian parole and the U4U or UHP class of admission in response to their displacement from Ukraine¹⁶	Foreign passport with DHS/CBP admission stamp noting Uniting for Ukraine or “U4U” Or Foreign passport with DHS/CBP admission stamp noting Ukrainian Humanitarian Parolee or “UHP”
A non-Ukrainian individual who last habitually resided in Ukraine and received humanitarian parole, but without the U4U or UHP class of admission¹⁷	Any one of the forms or stamps listed above And Documentation of last habitual residence in Ukraine, including Crimea¹⁸^,¹⁹

Date of eligibility for eligible Ukrainian parolees²⁰, ²¹
For eligible Ukrainian parolees who entered the United States with parole between February 24, 2022 — Sept 30, 2023, their date of eligibility is May 21, 2022, or their date of parole, whichever is later.²²
For eligible Ukrainian parolees who entered the United States as a member of the group described in section I.C. (“A spouse or child of an individual described in section I.A. or I.B. who is paroled into the United States after September 30, 2023”) or section I.D. (“A parent, legal guardian, or primary caregiver of an unaccompanied refugee minor or an unaccompanied child described in section I.A. or I.B. who is paroled into the United States after September 30, 2023”), their eligibility date is the date of their parole.²³
For eligible Ukrainian parolees who enter the United States with parole between October 1, 2023 — Sept 30, 2024, their date of eligibility is April 24, 2024, or their date of parole, whichever is later.²⁴
Period of eligibility for eligible Ukrainian parolees²⁵
UHPs and other non-Ukrainian individuals displaced from Ukraine are eligible for ORR benefits and services until the end of the individual’s parole term, unless otherwise amended by law or the individual gains another ORR-eligible category or status.
For example, an eligible Ukrainian parolee who entered the United States on Sept 30, 2023, has a date of eligibility of Sept 30, 2023. This eligible Ukrainian parolee remains eligible for the duration of their parole, including any additional period of re-parole.
If a UHP or other non-Ukrainian individual displaced from Ukraine applies for and obtains Temporary Protected Status (TPS), the individual will remain eligible for ORR benefits and services until the end of the individual’s parole term, due to their underlying receipt of humanitarian parole per INA section 212(d)(5). Note, however, that an individual with only TPS and no underlying humanitarian parole or other ORR eligible immigration status or category²⁶ is not eligible for ORR benefits and services.

If you have questions about the information contained in this PL, contact ORR’s Refugee Policy Unit at RefugeeEligibility@acf.hhs.gov.

Robin Dunn Marcos
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Humanitarian Services and Director for the Office of Refugee Resettlement
Office of Refugee Resettlement

Footnotes
¹ All March 23, 2023, edits are footnoted.
² All May 7, 2024, edits are footnoted.
³ All July 25, 2024, edits are footnoted.
⁴ May 7, 2024: additional legislative authority added.
⁵ May 7, 2024: Date changed to September 30, 2024, as amended by the Ukraine Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2024.
⁶ May 7, 2024: Date changed to September 30, 2024, as amended by the Ukraine Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2024.
⁷ As defined in section 101(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) (8 U.S.C. § 1101(b))
⁸ An individual determined to be an unaccompanied refugee minor under section 412(d)(2)(B) of the INA (8 U.S.C. § 1522(d)(2)(B)).
⁹ An individual determined to be an unaccompanied child under section 462(g)(2) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. § 279(g)(2)).
¹⁰ Refugees who are admitted to the United States under section 207 of the INA (8 U.S.C. § 1157).
¹¹ As cited within the AUSAA: “the program of initial resettlement authorized by section 412(b)(1) of the INA (8 U.S.C. § 1522(b)(1)).”
¹² May 7, 2024: Sentence added.
¹³ The URM Program is a specialized foster care program for ORR-eligible children who do not have a parent or relative available to provide care. For more information, see https://www.acf.hhs.gov/orr/programs/urm/about.
¹⁴ The UC Program provides care and placement services for unaccompanied children. For more information, see https://www.acf.hhs.gov/orr/programs/ucs/about.
¹⁵ May 7, 2024: Additional parole notation language added.
¹⁶ March 23, 2023: This row of the table added to address non-Ukrainians with U4U and UHP classes of admission.
¹⁷ March 23, 2023: This row of the table revised to clarify that documentation of last habitual residence in Ukraine is required only for non-Ukrainians without a U4U or UHP class of admission.
¹⁸ Acceptable documentation indicating last habitual residency in Ukraine includes an original Ukrainian government-issued document, such as a current driver’s license or identification card. For documentation outside of these examples, contact the Refugee Policy Unit at Refugee.Eligibility@acf.hhs.gov.
¹⁹ March 23, 2023: Revised to note that per the U.S. Department of State, Crimea is part of Ukraine; see https://www.state.gov/crimea-is-ukraine-2/ .
²⁰ May 7, 2024: revised for simplicity.
²¹ May 7, 2024: the term “eligible Ukrainian parolees” includes Ukrainian Humanitarian Parolees and other non-Ukrainian individuals displaced from Ukraine who are eligible for ORR refugee benefits and services.
²² May 7, 2024: Substance unchanged. Re-worded for simplicity. The AUSAA allowed for benefits for eligible Ukrainian parolees who entered the United States with parole between Feb 24, 2022 — Sept 30, 2023, but it was not published until May 21, 2022. ORR allows the date of eligibility to begin on the later of May 21, 2022, or their date of parole to ensure that eligible Ukrainian parolees do not lose their ability to access time-limited benefits and services.
²³ May 7, 2024: The USSAA allows for benefits for eligible Ukrainian parolees who entered the United States with parole between Oct 1, 2023 — Sept 30, 2024, but it was not published until April 24, 2024. ORR allows the date of eligibility to begin on the later of April 24, 2024, or their date of parole, whichever is later, to ensure that eligible Ukrainian parolees do not lose their ability to access time-limited benefits and services.
²⁴ July 25, 2024: Added to clarify the date of eligibility for family members.
²⁵ May 7, 2024: Section on “Period of eligibility” created to separate this content from “Date of eligibility” text.
²⁶ May 7, 2024: Revised for accuracy.