Latest Changes to Humanitarian Parole Programs, including Private Sponsorship Programs

Last updated Feb. 21, 2025 at 10:55 a.m. ET

We are tracking media reports that on Feb. 14, the Department of Homeland Security issued an internal memo suspending decision-making on all immigration applications filed by individuals who arrived in the United States through several sponsorship programs, including Uniting for Ukraine (U4U) and the Processes for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans (CHNV). The directive indicates that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services will not approve any alternative forms of legal status many sponsored individuals are seeking while this pause is in place. This includes applications filed for asylum, Temporary Protected Status (TPS), Employment Authorization Documents (EADs), advance parole travel, adjustment of status to permanent residence, naturalization, and all other applications filed to USCIS.

The memo has not been made public, and many questions remain, including if it will be challenged in court. We continue to strongly recommend that sponsored newcomers apply for alternative legal status, including asylum, if eligible, based on guidance from legal experts. Sponsors can help by connecting newcomers with legal services. Check out our guide to alternative legal options for support. We will continue to monitor policy changes and share updated recommendations as they impact sponsorship programs.

As of Jan. 31, 2025, reports suggest that President Trump’s administration may soon announce the immediate termination of existing humanitarian parole for newcomers who entered the U.S. through CHNV and U4U.

Background

As of Jan. 28, 2025, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has ended the Processes for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans (CHNV) program and paused the Uniting for Ukraine program. Neither program is accepting new applications, pending applications will not be processed, and no new travel authorization will be issued.

All individuals/families with humanitarian parole status should seek advice from a competent immigration attorney immediately and should work with a competent immigration attorney to seek alternative status immediately, such as TPS or asylum, if eligible.

• If parolees have an asylum case they are working on, they should submit it as soon as possible. It is free to file.
• If parolees have not yet filed for TPS but are eligible, they should apply immediately. We do not recommend filing a request for a fee waiver as that will slow the application.
• Sponsored individuals from the below countries are eligible to apply for TPS if they have been in the U.S. since the listed date (consult the USCIS website for the full list of eligible countries):
• Haiti - continuous residence in U.S. since June 3, 2024
• Ukraine - continuous residence in the U.S. since August 16, 2023
• Venezuela - continuous residence in the U.S. since March 8, 2021
• Cubans are eligible to apply for lawful permanent residency one year and one day after they have arrived in the U.S.

We strongly recommend that newcomers apply for asylum or another permanent status if they qualify. Sponsors can help by connecting them with legal services. Check out our guide to legal options for support.

We are closely monitoring official updates and will share further information as it becomes available.

See below for a Practice Alert issued on Jan. 31, 2025, by the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) to their membership for additional details.

Background on the use of humanitarian parole in the United States

• Humanitarian parole is a temporary immigration status that allows individuals facing urgent humanitarian crises to enter the United States legally.
• Humanitarian parole is a legal authority that has been used for nearly a century by Republican and Democratic presidents alike to respond to humanitarian crises. For example, President Eisenhower admitted nearly 30,000 people from Hungary following the collapse of the anti-Communist revolution. From the 1960s–1990s, presidents of both parties used humanitarian parole to establish programs that helped hundreds of thousands people fleeing persecution from Cuba, Vietnam, Indochina, and other areas arrive safely in the United States. And most recently, it has been used to help Afghans after the takeover of their country by the Taliban in 2021; Ukrainians after the Russian invasion in 2022; as well as Venezuelans, Cubans, Nicaraguans fleeing persecution from authoritarian leaders and Haitians seeking safety as their government collapsed.
• Sponsors welcomed them—using their own private resources to provide housing and meet immediate essential needs, help newcomers find employment and enroll kids in school, and extend a helping hand as friends and neighbors to newcomers rebuilding their lives in the United States. These newcomers have contributed to local economies and businesses, becoming our new neighbors, colleagues, and, for many of us, members of our extended family.
• Both the sponsors and newcomers passed thorough background checks, security vetting, and financial reviews carried out by the U.S. government before the newcomers are approved to travel to the United States.

Individuals with humanitarian parole seeking to remain in the United States and those concerned for their safety can consult this guide to alternative legal options for humanitarian parolees. Individuals with questions or concerns about changes to humanitarian parole can contact their federal and local representatives using this guide.

Visit our policy updates page for expert guidance, FAQs, and other resources, and subscribe to receive emails with the latest updates. Our team is committed to keeping this page updated with the latest information as we receive updates.

American Immigration Lawyers Association

Practice Alert: Possible Termination of CHNV Current Parole Grants

1/31/25 AILA Doc. No. 25013168. Humanitarian Parole, O & P Visas, Temporary Protected Status & Deferred Enforced Departure

Due to the Securing our Borders Executive Order, AILA members should be prepared for an attempt to immediately terminate current parole grants and for the administration to treat these individuals as immediate removal priorities if an application for lawful status, including TPS, has not been filed.

In the Day One Securing our Borders Executive Order, President Trump directed the Secretary of Homeland Security to terminate all “categorical” parole programs. The EO specifically named the Cuban, Haitian, Nicaraguan, and Venezuelan (CHNV) parole program and ended the use of the CBPOne application that facilitated the parole of noncitizens at the southern border.

While it was immediately clear that individuals could no longer apply for these programs, questions remain about what would happen to individuals who have already been paroled. To date, guidance has not been issued by DHS on how individuals with current valid parole will be treated.

However, AILA members should be prepared for an attempt to immediately terminate current parole grants and for the administration to treat these individuals as immediate removal priorities if an application for lawful status, including TPS, has not been filed. While 8 CFR 212.5(e) requires written notice to the individual when parole is terminated before its expiration date; the administration may attempt to limit this by issuing a Federal Register notice that will say that anyone who has not applied for lawful status by the date of the Federal Register notice will be a removal priority.

Looking Ahead

It should also be noted that while an immediate announcement is expected regarding CHNV parole, we could expect that similar terminations could be expected for other parole programs considered to be “categorical” by the administration, including:

• Uniting For Ukraine (U4U)

• Operations Allies Welcome (OAW)

• Central American Minors (CAM) program

• Family Reunification Parole programs for nationals of Colombians, Cubans, Salvadorans, Guatemalans, Haitians, Hondurans, and Ecuador

• Parole granted through Safe Mobility Offices

Practice Tip: AILA members should expect that such Federal Register notice could be published in the immediate future and should consider submitting any applications for lawful status for which a parolee may be eligible.