Ukrainians who came to the USA after April 11, 2022 through Mexico and were granted humanitarian parole, are nearing the end of their 1-year parole. Is there a USCIS form or procedure to extend humanitarian parole without having to leave the United States? From my understanding, they are not eligible for Uniting for Ukraine program or for I-131 advance parole if they are already present in the United States. I contacted USCIS several times and they were not able to answer this question.
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is there extension of humanitarian parole?
- Thread starter motopokep
- Start date
See the USCIS humanitarian parole page, section "Re-Parole". It says to file I-131 and select the box for advance parole for someone outside the US, and write "re-parole". I don't know if there is some other procedure that should be done for Ukrainians or not (e.g. should they switch to Uniting 4 Ukraine with I-134A?).
correct, they entered prior to Uniting for Ukraine, by crossing border through Mexico when they were still allowed in. They are not eligible for TPS because they came in right after the cutoff date of April 11, 2022, and now they need an extension of 1-year humanitarian parole. They are not eligible for U4U because you have to be outside of USA to be eligible for U4U and also I-131 is not an option, as it's only for those who are outside of USA. USCIS is not able to provide any answers so the best thing to do is probably to contact CBP.
But the USCIS page I linked to, under "Re-Parole", specifically says that I-131, options 1.e or 1.f, can be used for re-parole of people who are inside the US on parole:and also I-131 is not an option, as it's only for those who are outside of USA.
The Department of State manual, 9 FAM 202.3-2(B).d, also mentions that I-131 can be filed by people in the US on parole to seek re-parole:Parole ends on the date the parole period expires, is revoked, or when the parolee leaves the United States or obtains an immigration status, whichever happens first. Although parole is temporary in nature, in some instances, an individual may need to remain in the United States beyond the period of authorized parole. In such instances, an individual may request re-parole from within the United States.
The petitioner may request re-parole by:
Filing a new Form I-131, Application for Travel Document;
Checking box 1.e or 1.f in Part 2 of the form; and
Writing “re-parole” across the top of the application.
Filing a new Form I-134, Declaration of Financial Support;
Including required fees (or request for fee waiver); and
Submitting materials and evidence to support re-parole, including an explanation and providing supporting documents on the need for an additional authorized parole period.
So it must be possible to file I-131 for extension of parole in at least some circumstances.Parolees generally must depart the United States before the end of the authorized parole period; however, some circumstances may permit an individual to remain in the United States beyond the authorized parole period. In such situations, an individual may request to be re-paroled by filing Form I-131, or the U.S. Government agency that made the original parole request may request an individual be re-paroled.
However, I am not sure it would apply to your circumstance, because you were granted humanitarian parole by CBP without approval from USCIS first, right? The USCIS I-131 filing addresses page, under "Humanitarian Parole Applicants", includes "Inside the United States with parole previously authorized by USCIS from outside of the United States and requesting re-parole". But in your case, you were not previously authorized by USCIS, right? On the CBP page I linked to, it says people whose parole was granted by CBP should contact the port of entry for an extension:
So I think, in your case, you should contact CBP first.If a foreign national requires an extension of a parole granted by CBP, please contact the Port of Entry where the parole was granted.
This is a little late, but I want to mention that the DHS page on Uniting for Ukraine has a section on "Information for Ukrainians Paroled before Uniting for Ukraine".