Parole Programs for Venezuela, Nicaragua, Haiti, and Cuba

The Biden Administration has implemented nationality-specific parole programs for Venezuela, Nicaragua, Haiti, and Cuba. USCIS announced a program for Venezuelans modeled after Uniting for Ukraine (U4U) October 19, 2022, and expanded and revised the program to include Nicaragua, Haiti, and Cuba on January 5, 2023. While each parole process is separate, they have the same requirements and procedures and collectively can be referred to as “CHNV”). The program will be limited to 30,000 monthly travel authorizations spread across all four nationalities.

As part of this announcement, the Biden administration will apply Title 42 to nationals of all four countries entering at land port of entries (POE) for direct expulsion to Mexico. According to the regulations, when Title 42 ends DHS will continue to work with Mexico to coordinate Title 8 removals of CHNV nationals to Mexico.

The application is available online only. Once approved, beneficiaries will have travel authorization for 90 days to enter the United States and be eligible to apply for work authorization under the c(11) category. The period of parole will be up to two years but will be determined by CBP at the time of arrival on a case-by-case basis.

The Basics

• Supporter eligibility:
  • An individual or entity located in the United States who:
    • Is a U.S. citizen, national, or lawful permanent resident; holds a lawful status in the United States such as Temporary Protected Status (TPS) or asylum, or a parolee or recipient of deferred action or Deferred Enforced Departure (DED);
    • This does not include people with pending asylum or a pending initial TPS application. If someone has already been granted an initial TPS and it is expired but there is a pending renewal, that person is considered “in status” for the purpose of being a supporter.
    • Passes a security and background vetting; and
    • Demonstrates sufficient financial resources to receive, maintain, and support the individual they are agreeing to support for the duration of their parole period.
  • Fill out Form I-134A online, and they must name the beneficiary on the I-134A.
  • The I-864P Poverty Guidelines are a good baseline for the financial threshold, although the adjudication for the I-134A may be more generous.
  • A supporter may apply to support more than one beneficiary as long as they can demonstrate they can do so financially. There will need to be a separate I-134A for each beneficiary.
  • Supporters do not need to be related to the beneficiary, but they do explain their relationship to the beneficiary when they file I-134A.
  • Multiple individuals can join together to be a supporter, but one individual must sign the I-134A. Supplementary evidence should identify other supporters, with a signed statement of intent to share responsibility.
  • If the supporter is an entity, an individual must still sign on behalf of the organization. (Please see evidence considerations below.)
• Beneficiary eligibility:
  • A national of Venezuela, Nicaragua, Haiti, or Cuba (or their immediate family member as defined below) who is outside the United States.
  • Immediate family members in this process include
    • The spouse or common-law partner of a national of a CHNV country; and
    • Their unmarried child(ren) under the age of 21.
      • If a child is under 18, they must be traveling with a parent or legal guardian in order to use this process.
    • The eligible lead beneficiary cannot have dual citizenship, permanent residency, or hold refugee status in a country other than a CHNV country.
      • This requirement does not apply to immediate family members (spouse, common-law partner, or unmarried child under the age of 21) of an eligible CHNV national a who they are traveling with.
    • Pass required national security and public safety vetting and comply with all additional requirements, including vaccination requirements.
    • Demonstrate that a grant of parole is warranted based on significant public benefit or urgent humanitarian reasons, as described above, and that a favorable exercise of discretion is otherwise merited.
    • Possess a passport valid for international travel
      • Please note that “Venezuelan passport holders will have the validity period of five years from the expiration date of their passport and have valid admission to the United States, as long as the traveler has a valid visa.” (CBP, Oct. 12, 2022)
      • Even infants need a passport.
    • Provide for their own commercial air travel to an airport (they cannot arrive at a land border).
    • Health Requirements:
      • When an I-134A is confirmed and deemed sufficient, USCIS will send the beneficiary an email regarding setting up an account. Included in this process will be attestations for required vaccines, which are measles, polio, and the first dose of COVID-19. After they enter the US, they must attest to receiving a medical screening for TB and that has to happen within 90 days of their arrival.
        • The first dose of COVID-19 must be approved or authorized by FDA or for emergency use by the WHO.
        • If the COVID-19 vaccine received cannot be determined or is not available in the United States, the beneficiary can attest to receiving at least one dose of the FDA-approved or authorized COVID-19 vaccine upon arrival.
      • The beneficiary is ineligible if:
        • They are an unaccompanied child.
        • They have been ordered removed from the United States within the past five years or be subject to a bar based on a prior removal order.
        • They entered the United States without authorization between POEs along the SWB since October 19, 2022 (Venezuelans) or January 9, 2023 (all other CHNV countries).
          • Exception: Individuals are still eligible if they crossed without authorization after December 20, 2022, and were permitted a single instance of voluntary departure pursuant to INA 240B, 8 U.S.C. 1229c, or withdrawal of their application for admission pursuant to INA 235(a)(4), 8 U.S.C. 1225(a)(4).
        • They crossed the Panama or Mexico border irregularly after October 19, 2022 (Venezuelans) or January 9, 2023 (all other CHNV countries).
      • The process:
        1. Supporter fills out Form I-134A. A separate Form I-134A is needed for each beneficiary, including minors.
        2. The beneficiary will receive an email from USCIS
        3. The beneficiary will receive instructions to submit information via USCIS and the CBP One Mobile Application.
        4. The beneficiary will receive notice of travel authorization.
        5. The beneficiary arrives at an air POE and is paroled on a case-by-case basis.
      • There is no filing fee for this program.
      • Request for Evidence (RFE) at the I-134A stage will be issued through “case status” on the online account. A notification should be sent, or this can be checked by logging into the account.
        • The instructions for responding to the RFE will be on the myUSCIS account. There will be a maximum of 5 documents in response to RFE. Once submitted, then the RFE portal closes and submitted after that initial submission will be considered part of the RFE response.
      • The beneficiary will need to scan their passport and take a photo of themselves.
      • Each beneficiary needs their own I-134A.

Additional Information & FAQs

• There is currently no parole-in-place program for CHNV nationals who are already present in the United States.
• Beneficiary status considerations:
  • Venezuelans living in Colombia with a temporary protection permit are eligible because it is a temporary status.
  • Having a pending or approved I-130 does not make a beneficiary ineligible.
  • You can apply with a B1/B2 as a beneficiary but not as a supporter.
  • A pending family-based application does not impact beneficiary eligibility.
• Someone paroled into the United States through this program is eligible for family-based adjustment of status.
• Evidence considerations for the I-134A:
  • If taxes are available, submit them.
  • Other forms of evidence include recent paystubs and/or bank accounts going back a couple of months and evidence of investments.
  • Evidence for entities:
    • Individuals signing for an organization do NOT need to submit their own financial documents if the entity has sufficient resources.
    • The entity should have a letter of commitment or other document from a representative of the organization explaining how the beneficiary will be supported (e.g. listing housing and/or specific benefits).
  • Non-English documents must be submitted with an English translation.
• Based on reported experiences with U4U and the initial Venezuelan program, common denials under this program were for:
  • At the I-134A stage: not being able to financially support the beneficiary.
  • At the Travel Authorization stage: negative immigration or criminal history, including visa denials, visa overstays, and previously being denied entry at the airport.
• If your travel authorization is denied, there is no appeal process, but you can re-apply with the same or a new supporter.
• The beneficiary will need to file a separate Form I-765 for employment authorization. Employment is not incident to status for CHNV nationals at this time.
• Ethical concerns:
  • It is advisable to be clear (and in writing) with potential clients that this is a new program that may fill quickly and/or change abruptly, and that there is no guarantee of success. As with other sponsorship applications, attorneys should clearly communicate and document who their client is (the beneficiary vs. the supporter).
  • There is currently no G-28 set up for this program. If the attorney is filling out or reviewing the online form for the supporter, the attorney should ensure that the supporter 1.) has full access to the USCIS account and the form; 2.) is the individual who hits submit on the application. If working virtually, attorneys might want to consider using video teleconferencing systems with the “screen share” feature enabled.

Resources

• USCIS: Processes for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans
• USCIS: Frequently Asked Questions About the Processes for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans
• Featured Issue: Border & Asylum
• Federal Register Notices
  • Implementation of Changes to the Parole Process for Venezuelans
  • Implementation of a Parole Process for Cubans
  • Implementation of a Parole Process for Nicaraguans
  • Implementation of a Parole Process for Haitians

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