Supporting Ukrainians on a path forward

A Q&A with Anne Smith of Ukraine Immigration Task Force

What began in March 2022, shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine, as a rapid-response coalition of legal volunteers has since grown into a large-scale educational nonprofit and a leading advocate for Ukrainian newcomers in the United States. Composed of nearly 250 attorneys and resettlement experts, the Ukraine Immigration Task Force (UITF) serves as a critical bridge between complex, ever-changing U.S. immigration policy and the people it impacts.

Now four years since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the need for clear, expert guidance for displaced families has never been more vital. We sat down with Anne Smith, Executive Director and Regulatory Counsel of the Task Force, to discuss their impactful work and the current landscape for Ukrainian newcomers.

For those in our community who may be discovering your work for the first time, can you share the Ukraine Immigration Task Force’s core mission and how your purpose differs from other organizations supporting Ukrainian newcomers?

Looking back at the inception of the Task Force, how has your work evolved as the needs of the Ukrainians you serve have shifted?

When we were first established as a volunteer legal coalition in early 2022, the most pressing need was to facilitate entry for thousands of Ukrainians who had fled their homes. Displaced Ukrainians and their frantic friends and relatives in the U.S. were contacting us to find out how to get them here quickly.

Unfortunately, the U.S. immigration framework was not well-equipped to take in a high volume of refugees in a short time. Formal avenues through the State Department were not feasible for large numbers of people who had to evacuate suddenly, our laws do not recognize fleeing war as a sufficient qualification for asylum, and traditional humanitarian parole had been used sparingly to grant entry to individuals who needed to come here urgently with no other efficient avenues. But in the absence of other viable options, Customs and Border Protection officers found themselves granting parole to up to thousands of Ukrainians per day by April 2022.

As the number of displaced Ukrainians multiplied and overwhelmed other countries that had been taking them in, we advocated for a more practical solution in this country to help as many Ukrainians as possible find safety. We were thrilled when our government launched the Uniting for Ukraine (U4U) program, which gave Ukrainians a chance to come here for two years, work, and send their children to school. Ukraine was also designated for Temporary Protected Status (TPS), which allowed an estimated few hundred thousand Ukrainians who were already in the United States with non-permanent statuses or expired to remain here safely.

We applauded these milestones and immediately began offering assistance with TPS applications, U4U sponsorship packages, and work permit applications.

In the past year, U4U, re-parole, work permit renewals, asylum, adjustment of status, the diversity visa lottery, and other processes were paused. While some of these processes have resumed, others remain suspended, closing off critical avenues that could allow Ukrainians to seek greater stability. This, combined with significant processing delays, fewer approvals, and widespread immigration enforcement, has caused immense fear and uncertainty among Ukrainians.

In response, we expanded our materials educating people on their legal rights and what to do if they encounter law enforcement in various settings. We have also grown our attorney network significantly and added members in underserved states where Ukrainians have relocated. To help Ukrainians overcome the ever-increasing hurdles they face, our attorneys are constantly educating themselves, brainstorming creative solutions with other attorneys, and plugging in to our local and national legal networks.

Many Ukrainians are now entering their third or fourth year in the U.S. under temporary statuses. What are people experiencing during the re-parole process?

The good news is we are finally seeing a steady stream of re-parole approvals. Although there were some pauses in the past year, USCIS has resumed regular processing of re-parole applications. Generally, those who filed for re-parole in the past 6 months and submitted all the required evidence are being processed more expeditiously.

The bad news is some applicants are experiencing unusually long delays, especially those who filed in 2024 or early 2025. We are also seeing a number of individuals receive Requests for Evidence (RFEs) after filing their re-parole applications. If someone receives an RFE from USCIS, it's not necessarily a bad sign. It just means USCIS needs to understand the individual's urgent humanitarian reasons for requesting re-parole and the supporting evidence demonstrating why they can't return to Ukraine.

We have put together step-by-step guidance on applying for Ukrainian re-parole that covers eligibility, when and how to apply, current fees, strategies for requesting re-parole, and renewing employment authorization. We also have more focused guidance on submitting evidence of urgent humanitarian reasons for requesting re-parole.

Another issue has been the rising cost of re-parole, as well as many other applications. Re-parole in particular has become exceedingly expensive, which is cost prohibitive for some families, especially households with single earners or those who had to stop working due to expired work permits.

How is the Task Force addressing the need for more permanent, sustainable pathways for those who cannot safely return home?

Since green cards through U.S. relatives or employers are not available to many Ukrainian parolees, we are seeing more Ukrainians now applying for asylum, which is one of the few long-term avenues that remain for Ukrainians after the popular diversity visa lottery was suspended.

Unfortunately, the number of asylum grants has fallen significantly for all nationalities of applicants. Currently, all affirmative asylum applications are paused, so while interviews are taking place, no decisions are being issued.

The Ukrainian Adjustment Act was re-introduced last year to provide a pathway for Ukrainians to pursue permanent residence without needing a qualifying U.S. family member or employer. We are supporting both of these initiatives while advocating for redesignation of Ukraine's TPS in the short term. We are also urging members of Congress to conduct oversight to investigate undue delays of application processing.

What are the most pressing immigration policy challenges facing Ukrainians in the U.S.? How is the Task Force addressing them?

Right now, there is a lack of meaningful options for Ukrainians to remain in the U.S. safely. Most Ukrainians don't have qualifying family sponsors or eligibility for employer-sponsored visas, and diversity visas are not being issued. A number of pathways and protections have been paused, closing off critical avenues that could allow Ukrainians to seek greater stability.

For a number of Ukrainians, their parole has already expired, leaving them undocumented. Many of these individuals diligently applied for TPS, re-parole, and work permits and paid steep application fees, but USCIS has yet to adjudicate their applications.

Additionally, Ukrainians risk being detained just by attending their asylum or adjustment of status interviews at USCIS, or by attending required court hearings. Even Ukrainians who have obtained lawful protections or have pending applications for asylum or adjustment of status are being detained by immigration enforcement.

Sadly, Ukrainians in this position are forced to choose between living in the U.S. without legal status, returning to Ukraine to live in dangerous conditions, or picking up and starting over in a new country. In fact, some Ukrainians have attempted to move to other countries only to find tightened restrictions, little to no humanitarian assistance, and lack of housing or employment. Others cannot afford to travel outside of the U.S. and risk becoming targets for immigration enforcement.

These are unprecedented times for immigrants in the United States, and we have the utmost empathy for those who find themselves in bleak situations.

For the Welcome.US audience, what is the single most impactful thing they can do right now to support the Task Force’s work or the broader Ukrainian community?

We are encouraging advocates to raise awareness about the crisis facing hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians in the United States. Advocates can educate members of Congress, the media, and the general public on the drastic reduction of immigration pathways and the impending loss of temporary protections available to Ukrainians.

Ukrainians throughout the U.S. live in fear of being arrested, detained, and deported. And this fear is not unfounded. The public needs to know that an alarming number of Ukrainians have been detained in the past year, ripping families apart and subjecting children to new trauma after having experienced the horrors of war.

With immigration enforcement reaching record levels, more and more Ukrainians are being detained every day. Some Ukrainians have already been deported, and we expect to see more deportation flights this year.

Although members of Congress do not control the top-level directives or the day-to-day functions of the immigration agencies, Congress does control appropriations that fund many agency operations, and it has a duty to conduct timely oversight of ineffective agency actions. If regulatory procedures fail to address the significant delays and barriers to lawful protections, advocates can ask Congress to legislate new pathways or protections for hundreds of thousands of vulnerable Ukrainians in the United States.