The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has announced processes through which nationals of Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, and their immediate family members (spouses, including common-law partners and unmarried children under 21), may request to be paroled into the United States for a period of up to two years for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit.

To participate, eligible beneficiaries must:

• Have a supporter in the United States;
• Undergo security background checks;
• Be outside the United States;
• Meet other eligibility criteria; and
• Warrant a favorable exercise of discretion.

Individuals participating in these processes must have a supporter in the United States who agrees to provide them with financial support for the duration of their parole in the United States.

Children under the age of 18 MUST travel with a parent or legal guardian.

Applications were accepted beginning on October 18, 2022 for Venezuelans and January 6, 2023 for all others; as of those dates, you can submit Form I-134A, Online Request to be a Supporter and Declaration of Financial Support.

• You must be a U.S. citizen; lawful permanent resident; hold a lawful status in the United States such as Temporary Protected Status or asylum; be in valid non- immigrant status, or be a parolee or recipient of deferred action;
• The sponsor/supporter must pass security and background checks, including for public safety, national security, human trafficking, and exploitation concerns; and
• You must show sufficient financial resources to receive, maintain, and support the people you agree to support for the duration of their parole period.
• Separate I-134A applications need to be submitted for each individual in a family, including minor children.
• Multiple supporters can join together to sponsor an individual beneficiary.

In order to act as a financial sponsor, you must live in the United States. You will need to submit the following documents:

• Copy of last U.S. Federal Tax Return
• Letter of employment on company letterhead verifying date of hire, job title, salary, and whether job is temporary or permanent
• Letter from bank indicating date account(s) opened, present balance, total amount deposited over the past 12 months

• The beneficiary will receive an email with instructions on how to create a USCIS online account and other next steps through myUSCIS;
• After confirming biographic information through myUSCIS and completing required eligibility attestations, the beneficiary will receive instructions through myUSCIS on how to access the CBP One app. The beneficiary must enter their biographic information into CBP One and provide a photo;
• The beneficiary will receive a notice in their online account confirming whether CBP has granted them authorization to travel to the United States to ask for a discretionary grant of parole at the airport.
• Beneficiary must travel to the U.S. by air within 90 days of the travel authorization
  being issued. When a beneficiary arrives a port of entry, CBP will inspect them and consider them for a grant of discretionary parole on a case-by-case basis.
• As part of the inspection, beneficiaries will undergo additional screening, including additional fingerprint biometrics. Individuals who are determined to pose a national security or public safety threat, or found ineligible for parole as a matter of discretion upon inspection, may be referred to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

No. Even if you have been approved as a financial supporter, the beneficiary is ineligible for parole if:

• The applicant has been granted permanent residence or asylum in another country (does not apply to immediate family members traveling with primary applicant);
• The applicant is a dual national (does not apply to immediate family members traveling with primary applicant);
• The applicant has been ordered removed from the U.S. in the past five years or has a bar to admissibility based on a prior removal order;
• The applicant is under 18 and is not traveling with a parent or legal guardian;
• The applicant fails a background check for security or public safety reasons (so, certain arrests or convictions);
• The applicant has crossed the Mexican or Panamanian borders without status after 10/12/2022 for Venezuelans or 1/9/2023 for Cubans, Nicaraguans and Haitians.

• Valid, unexpired passport (certain Venezuelan passports are exempt from this requirement). Minor children must have their own passports;
• Birth certificates and marriage certificates (if applicable);
• For beneficiaries under the age of 21: custody order granting legal custody to the person with whom they are traveling if not a parent;
• Must be vaccinated for measles, polio and first dose of COVID-19 and comply with other health guidelines.

The beneficiary will be paroled into the United States for up to two years. Once they arrive in the U.S., they will be able to apply for work authorization with USCIS. The U.S. government could decide to extend these periods of parole status, but it is too early to know whether this will happen.

To apply for this process, the first step is that the U.S.-based financial supporter needs to file Form I-134A online. If that is approved, the next two steps of the process are completed by the beneficiary through an online account and an app. There are no application or filing fees payable to the U.S. Government for any of these stages of the application process.

Once the beneficiary arrives in the U.S., if they want a work permit, they will need to file Form I-765. There is a $410 filing fee for that form unless the applicant qualifies for a waiver.

This information is also available for download in English, Spanish, and Creole.

The information in this document has been prepared by The Legal Aid Society for informational purposes only and is not legal advice. This information is not intended to create, and receipt of it does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship. You should not act upon any information without retaining professional legal counsel.