U.S. Sponsorship for Ukrainian refugee family

My name is Janelle, I'm an Air Force veteran, a former K-12 Spanish teacher, and a Project Manager. I'm urgently looking for a group (or individual) to sponsor my Ukrainian friend Anton's wife and two children to come to the U.S. under the Uniting for Ukraine (U4U) government program.

Anton used to work at a poultry farm just outside my Midwest hometown back in 2006 as part of an agricultural work/education program; I met him through mutual international friends. I am newly married, have no savings to speak of and am already working with my husband on his own citizenship process; there is no way we can commit to sponsor a family ourselves though we are happy to budget to contribute a couple hundred monthly to assist anyone who might be able to sponsor Anton's family. We are also ready and willing to assist them with transportation, completing paperwork, and assist with English learning/practice should they find sponsorship in our local area.

I am hoping that a church or aid group would be willing to discuss with me the possibility of sponsoring Anton's family as an organization*. If you text me or leave a voicemail for me at 850-733-6344, or email me at janelletranslates@gmail.com, I will arrange to meet in-person at your office or place of worship to discuss sponsorship opportunities. If you are outside my local area and would like to schedule a video call with me I will be happy to do so and share further info about my background so you can verify the situation; if you have a viable sponsor for this family and would like to communicate with them, I will facilitate getting you in direct contact with them.

*As of 08 January 2023 I have reached out to approximately 180 churches local to my area, about 12 nationwide megachurches, and about 8 charity/aid organizations. Two-hundred widescale attempts to find a sponsor for three people. One church took the time to speak with me over the phone, and one church invited me to present at one of their meetings. At present, there are no solid leads on finding any group to sponsor Anton's family. Please don't assume someone else will step up to help; please be willing to share this need with people in your social circle to try and help find a sponsor.

My communications with Anton (newest to oldest)

2023 - January

I continue to keep him updated in my search for someone willing to sponsor his wife and children to come to the U.S., and recently in late January 2023 he relayed that they were able to temporarily find safe housing: "Olha and the children are in Spain, they were temporarily given free housing and food from the Red Cross."

Regarding his own status (being unable to leave the country since he is a military-aged male), when I then asked if he was safe and able to stay warm, he replied "At the moment I'm ok. A couple of days ago, my mother sent me a gasoline generator... so I use it when the electricity is turned off. I drive carefully to work and if an air raid sounds, I try to stay in a bomb shelter. I am very glad that my wife and children are safe at the moment... and they are 3000 thousand km from missiles, bombs and drones that bring death."

2022 - December

Anton: "...I wanted to ask you if I manage to get out of Ukraine with my family, can I count on your help in legalizing in the USA under the Uniting for Ukraine (U4U) program. Perhaps I will need a family that can accept us for the first time, while we we won’t make the documents and my wife and I won’t find a job. I have adult children 13 years old (boy) and 10 years old (girl). Thank you for your understanding and possible help... at the moment my wife and children are in Ukraine."

He also mentioned that he and his wife were trying to figure out where in Europe she and their children could go for immediate physical safety (without freezing to death for lack of housing/heat), since they had returned to Ukraine in the winter when housing assistance dried up in Poland and western Ukraine was relatively safe: "They will not be able to take a lot of things and get there will be on their own. At the moment we are considering countries that provide free housing to overwinter because we have power outages through drone attacks (they give 4 hours a day). Poland is close to us, but there is no free housing now, and since they are going now without me, we are looking for countries and programs deeper in Europe that can provide Ukrainians with housing for the winter. At the moment, I can't leave the country - but I'm trying my best to find a solution to this issue. Perhaps my way will be in two stages - first Europe then the United States (having a sponsor under the program), but in my favorite cases I have to save my wife and children from missile and drone attacks now."

When I said I would keep looking to try and find a sponsor for them he told me "Thank you very much for this help and support in this situation. You don't have to do anything on purpose, but if it turns out, it will be great. I hope it should end in the spring, but I can't put my wife and children to this risk. Before the attacks in October it was more or less calm and the line of fire was pushed back to the east of the country (Lugansk region and Donetsk) and my wife and the children returned, but then the missile and drone attacks began, they are hammered, but not all, a lot of fragments. I just can't give them protection here"

2022 - February/March:

When Russia invaded Ukraine I found Anton's old resume with his phone number, and searched for him on a messaging app to ask him how he and his family were doing. He sent pictures of some bomb debris and downed planes from the news, told me that his wife and kids made it to safety in Poland, and we periodically checked in with each other over the subsequent months

2006-2021:

I met Anton in the U.S. in 2006, and in 2007 after his U.S. after his work/education program ended he returned to Ukraine and we didn't really communicate much. I did however help him proofread his English language resume via email in 2015, but we then fell out of touch.

Organizations such as churches can sponsor a Ukrainian family through the Uniting For Ukraine (U4U) program

"Can U.S.-based individuals support more than one individual beneficiary?"

"Yes. The supporter must file a separate Form I-134 for each beneficiary (including each member of a family). Additionally, multiple supporters may join together to demonstrate the financial ability to support one or more Ukrainian beneficiaries. In this case, a primary supporter should file a Form I-134 and include in the filing supplementary evidence demonstrating the identity of, and resources to be provided by, the additional supporters and attach a statement explaining the intent to share responsibility. These supporters’ ability to support Ukrainian beneficiaries will be assessed collectively."

"Can U.S.-based organizations support Ukrainian beneficiaries?"

"Yes, they may provide the financial or in-kind support, but the Form I-134 still requires an individual to sign the form. Organizations may not serve as the named supporter on a Form I-134. However, if an organization or other entity is providing financial or other services to the named individual for the purpose of facilitating support, this information should be provided as part of the evidence submitted with the Form I-134 and will be taken into account in determining the supporter’s ability to support the named beneficiary."

Source: Department of Homeland Security page on the Uniting For Ukraine sponsorship program- https://www.dhs.gov/ukraine

Ukrainians arriving in the U.S. are authorized to work & are eligible to apply for food, housing, & medical assistance

"Are parolees under Uniting for Ukraine allowed to work before USCIS approves their Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization?"

"Yes. Individuals paroled into the United States under Uniting for Ukraine are employment authorized incident to parole. This means that if [a Ukrainian is] paroled into the United States under Uniting for Ukraine, [the U.S. government does] not need to approve [the Ukrainian’s] application for employment authorization before [they] can work in the United States"

Source: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services website, Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about the Uniting For Ukraine program, "Employment Authorization" https://www.uscis.gov/humanitarian/uniting-for-ukraine/frequently-asked-questions-about-uniting-for-ukraine

Under the Additional Ukraine Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2022 (AUSAA), Ukrainian citizens, nationals of Ukraine and other non-Ukrainian individuals paroled into the US between 02/24/2022 and 09/30/2023, are eligible to receive all federal mainstream benefits, including SNAP benefits, Cash assistance (TANF, RRP) and Medical assistance if all financial and non-financial eligibility requirements are met. Sponsors can help Anton's family apply for these benefits to aid in providing for them.

Source: U.S. Dept of Health and Human Services, Office of Refugee Resettlement "Refugee Support Services Funded by the Additional Ukraine Supplemental Appropriations Act" Policy Letter 22-15 (dated 15 Aug 2022) https://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/documents/orr/PL-22-15-RSS-Funded-Additional-Ukraine-Supplemental-Appropriations-Act.pdf

What types of support should sponsors expect to provide?

"Supporters agree to provide financial support and other resources to the beneficiary for the duration of the parole period. Before committing to be a supporter, supporters should keep the following types of support in mind when deciding whether to support a beneficiary. Support for beneficiaries includes:

• Receiving the beneficiary when they arrive in the United States and transporting them to initial housing;

• Ensuring that the beneficiary has safe and appropriate housing for the duration of their parole, as well as initial basic necessities;

• As appropriate, helping the beneficiary complete necessary paperwork such as for employment authorization, a Social Security card, and other services for which they may be eligible;

• Ensuring that the beneficiary’s health care and medical needs are met for the duration of the parole; and

• As appropriate, assisting the beneficiary with accessing education, learning English, securing employment, and enrolling children in school."

Source: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services website, Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about the Uniting For Ukraine program, "Questions Relating to Supporters" https://www.uscis.gov/humanitarian/uniting-for-ukraine/frequently-asked-questions-about-uniting-for-ukraine

Note: Welcome Connect has continually been recommended as a resource but it is not helpful at present since the page says that registration is closed to Ukrainians. I am trying to connect with real people to find possible sponsors; having website after website referred with impersonal online forms and dead leads has been time-consuming to process and ultimately unhelpful however well-intentioned. Please only suggest a website if you know someone from that website's organization and can connect me with a specific person who is in a position to take action to assist in this situation.

Website creation: 07 Jan 2023

This page was last updated: 21 January 2023