Welcome.US at the Table: Sponsorship in the news

President Trump signed H.R.1, which he calls the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, into law on July 4, 2025. What does this mean for me and my newcomer neighbors? What alternative legal status options exist for newcomers in the United States? Where can I get my legal questions answered?

With travel bans, legal status terminations, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity regularly in the news, it can be challenging to understand how to best respond and prepare.

Hear from an attorney from the Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project and Welcome.US Senior Policy Counsel and Special Advisor, Manpreet Teji.

Guest speakers

Leidy Perez is the Policy & Communications Director at the Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project (ASAP). Leidy is an experienced immigration law specialist and former direct services attorney. Prior to joining ASAP, Leidy served as Special Assistant to the President for Immigration at the White House Domestic Policy Council. She also worked for the American Immigration Lawyers Association focusing on communications and policy work. She earned a JD from Florida International University College of Law. Leidy is originally from a small town near Maracaibo, Venezuela, immigrated to the United States when she was six, and grew up in Miami.

Kim is a wife, mom, CPA, and adoptive parent whose heart for Haiti fuels her work in immigration advocacy and sponsorship. She’ll be sharing her experience as sponsor of Haitian newcomers.

Issues addressed

• What new immigration fees are included in the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act"?
• Will newcomers (refugees, humanitarian parole, asylum seekers, green card holders) still be able to access healthcare (Medicaid, ACA)?
• Reception & Placement services resumed for Afghan SIV holders
• What is humanitarian parole and why do people have to apply for another status?
• What is Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and who is eligible?
• How does employment authorization works for those with pending TPS applications?
• Are pending TPS applications or approved TPS status considered a protection against detention or deportation?
• What is asylum and who can apply?
• While applicants are waiting for their asylum approval, are they eligible for work authorization?
• When someone's TPS status ends, does their work authorization automatically end?
• Are green card applications delayed?
• Do new immigration fees apply retroactively?
• Can a Uniting for Ukraine beneficiary transfer their humanitarian parole status to a work visa when her humanitarian parole expires?
• Will sponsors be held responsible for repaying public benefit use?
• Is USCIS processing re-parole applications?
• Are families that were processed through the Welcome Corps being transferred to other resettlement pathways?
• How are SIV (green card) holders who are here in the US impacted by this legislation?
• Does the bill make any changes to the exemptions that certain statuses (like refugees) have to the five-year ban on receiving public benefits as a green card holder?
• What should people do if their EADs based on asylum have been pending more than 30 days?

What is Welcome.US at the Table?

Join us the third Thursday of every month at 3 p.m. ET to participate in a national conversation about our joint work of welcoming. These webinars are designed for sponsors and Welcomers who care about private sponsorship pathways, the newcomers we’ve welcomed, and the stories of welcome that unite us.

For us, meeting at the table means nourishment, encouragement, community building, and idea sharing. That's the spirit we strive to foster.