Building on the Success of Uniting for Ukraine
CBS News recently published an article reviewing the impressive success of the Uniting for Ukraine program, which allows Americans to sponsor Ukrainian migrants fleeing Russia’s brutal invasion of their country. Ukrainians with such sponsorship can live and work legally in the US for up to two years. Since it began two years ago, the program has enabled some 187,000 Ukrainians to come to the United States, begin working and contributing to our economy, and all with little controversy or opposition:
In April 2022, the Biden administration created an unprecedented program known as “Uniting for Ukraine,” allowing an unlimited number of Ukrainians sponsored by Americans to come to the U.S. and work here legally without having to go through the lengthy visa process….
In two years, U.S. immigration officials have approved more than 236,000 cases under the Uniting for Ukraine program, according to the Department of Homeland Security. As of the end of March, more than 187,000 Ukrainians had arrived in the U.S. under the policy….
Another 350,000 Ukrainians have arrived in the U.S. outside of the sponsorship process since the start of the Russian invasion, mainly through temporary visas, according to DHS…
Republican-led states, for example, have filed lawsuits against virtually every major Biden administration immigration policy, including a similar sponsorship program for migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela. But the Uniting for Ukraine program has not been challenged in court. In fact, some Republican lawmakers have expressed support for welcoming Ukrainian refugees.
While the arrival of hundreds of thousands of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border has strained resources in some communities like New York City, Chicago and Denver, the resettlement of Ukrainians has not provoked the same backlash, nor triggered major political problems for the Biden administration.
Unlike the program for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans, which is capped at 30,000 approvals per month, Uniting for Ukraine has no numerical limit. Applications for the Uniting for Ukraine program are also adjudicated fairly quickly, sometimes in a matter of weeks or even days — a rarity in a backlogged and understaffed U.S. immigration system.
Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, president and CEO of the refugee resettlement organization Global Refuge, said Uniting for Ukraine “shows how the U.S. can act with swiftness when it wants to.”
Those who come to the U.S. under Uniting for Ukraine need an American sponsor willing to help them financially, and they can work legally immediately after setting foot on U.S. soil. Congress also made the first wave of Ukrainian refugees eligible for refugee resettlement benefits, such as food stamps.
Migrants coming from the southern border can’t work legally until 180 days after they request asylum. They’re also generally not eligible for federal benefits. Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguan and Venezuelans who arrive under the other sponsor policy have to apply for a wor
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