Almost 6,000 Ukrainians approved for temporary resettlement in U.S.

Ukrainian refugees on a bus traveling from Mexico to the United States.

(Image credit: Nicolo Filippo Rosso/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

published 9 May 2022

The Department of Homeland Security has approved nearly 6,000 Ukrainians to enter the United States as part of the Uniting for Ukraine program.

The Uniting for Ukraine online portal was launched on April 25 as part of the Biden administration's plan to get up to 100,000 Ukrainians temporarily settled in the U.S. amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Before the program began, many Ukrainians were traveling to Mexico on tourist visas and then crossing the southern border into the United States.

To be approved, a Ukrainian migrant must be sponsored by someone who legally lives in the U.S. and agrees to financially support them. All parties are vetted before approval, with the Ukrainian migrant going through biographic and biometric screening. In a statement, the Department of Homeland Security said the vetting process is able to identify and screen out individuals "who may pose a threat to the American public," protects against "exploitation and abuse," and ensures that "supporters are able to financially provide for the individuals they have agreed to help."

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

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