Responsibilities and risks: what you need to know for those who decide to sponsor a refugee from Ukraine in the USA

Since April 25, the United States has stopped letting Ukrainians through the Mexican border if they do not have a valid visa. Now, in order to get a humanitarian parole in the United States, Ukrainians must find a sponsor in the United States. And although the concept of sponsorship itself is not new, many have thought about what obligations and risks the decision to support Ukrainians can entail. ForumDaily decided to figure out how the procedure goes, who can be a sponsor and what will happen to those who cannot fulfill their maintenance obligations.

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Sponsor requirements are included in a new US program to welcome Ukrainians fleeing the war, which went into effect on April 25.

She got the name "Unity for Ukraine" (Uniting for Ukraine). The program is described as a streamlined U.S. humanitarian parole application process for Ukrainian citizens. It allows citizens of Ukraine and their immediate family who are outside the United States to come to the United States and temporarily stay there for two years.

Who can be a sponsor

According to the website Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), both an individual and an organization in the United States can become a sponsor. They must be prepared to go through security and background checks.

The sponsor must meet the following requirements:

• have legal status in the US (or parole, or deferred deportation (DED);
• pass a security and background check;
• prove the availability of sufficient financial resources for the reception, maintenance and support of Ukrainians during their stay in the United States.

Examples of types of beneficiary support that sponsors should keep in mind when deciding to sponsor a Ukrainian visit to the US:

• meeting upon arrival in the US and transportation to the original accommodation;
• providing safe housing and basic necessities;
• assistance in filling out the necessary documents (applications for a work permit, social security card, etc.);
• ensuring that medical needs are met;
• assistance in accessing education, learning English, finding a job and enrolling children in school.

Several sponsors may team up to be financially able to support one or more Ukrainians. In this case, the primary sponsor must file a Form I-134 (it's free) with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and include additional proof of identity and resources to be provided by the secondary sponsors, as well as a statement explaining the intent. share responsibility. The ability of these sponsors to support Ukrainians will be judged collectively.

Form I-134 can only be filed by an individual. Organizations cannot act as a designated sponsor on Form I-134. However, if an organization or other entity provides financial or other services to a named individual to facilitate support, this information must be provided as part of the evidence submitted with Form I-134 and will be taken into account in determining the sponsor's ability to support the named beneficiary.

On the subject: A new program for Ukrainians in the USA has been launched: who can apply and how

Form I-134 was not designed for this program, it has been around for a long time and has been used as evidence of the desire of a US resident to financially support a person arriving in the US on a nonimmigrant visa.

Forms apply to fiance and groom visas (K1 and K2) and some forms of visitor visas.

Formally, this document is an “affidavit of support” and is a legal promise to the government until the end of the protected status for Ukrainians (according to the rules of the program for 2 years) to support him during his stay in the United States, writes Boundless.

What are the risks for the sponsor

When a sponsor completes and signs Form I-134, they assure the U.S. government that the non-immigrant they are sponsoring will not need to apply for government assistance such as Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) , food stamps, or any other government-subsidized benefit, writes Nolo.

And if, as a result, a Ukrainian applies for any of these benefits and receives it, then your income or property may be taken into account when considering the application. Moreover, the government may sue you for reimbursement of the costs of providing public assistance to the Ukrainian, whom you promised to sponsor. But the case rarely goes to court.

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On the other hand, this "temporary" Form I-134 Affidavit of Support is often referred to by legal experts as "unenforceable." It is called so for several reasons:

• US visitors are not eligible for the vast majority of government benefits, and if they apply, they will be denied in most cases;
• most government agencies do not have the time or resources to enforce Form I-134 even if the temporary visitor is on public assistance;
• the sponsor agrees to support the non-immigrant only for a limited and defined period of time (under the Ukrainian assistance program it is 2 years), so any potential liability is limited in time.

Legally speaking, Form I-134 "barks but does not bite". It is used to show that a Ukrainian with a protected status in the United States has someone to rely on and someone to turn to.

The consulate may ask for a deposit

The only form of liability that you can actually be asked for is a deposit, writes All law.

The US Consulate has the right to ask the sponsor to post a bond to ensure that the Ukrainian fulfills all the conditions before the end of the humanitarian password. However, the consulate usually does this only in extreme cases. For example, if a Ukrainian receives government assistance, this deposit can be used to pay damages.

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