US hosted only 12 Ukrainian refugees in March/Getty Images
< strong _ngcontent-sc83="">The United States supports Ukraine in the fight against Russia through sanctions, military and financial support. In March, Joseph Biden announced that his country would shelter up to 100,000 Ukrainian refugees, but last month only 12 of our fellow countrymen received such a status there.
Such an incredibly small number of temporarily resettled Ukrainians in the United States is due to a number of factors, in particular, delays in processing applications. American lawmakers and lawyers urged Biden to speed up the process.
Opportunities for legal entry into the US for Ukrainian refugees
While in March, several thousand only 12 of Ukrainians entered the United States through the border with Mexico, and some on previously obtained visas, only 12 arrived under the current refugee program.
It is noted that there are several ways for Ukrainians to legally enter the United States:
- a special program for refugees, later allowing them to apply for citizenship;
- valid visa opportunities;
< li>Humanitarian assistance program guaranteeing only temporary entry during emergencies.
However, all these paths operate in the conditions of the financial fate adopted for the war, which in the United States ends on September 30th. Due to the large number of applications, the resettlement of Ukrainian refugees to the states can take a long time, because applications have no time to process.
Why so few Ukrainians received refugee status in the United States in March
The United States took in 514 Ukrainian refugees in January and February virtually before Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the US State Department notes.
Due to the fact that the processing of applications was suspended in Kyiv as a result of the outbreak of active hostilities, operations with Ukrainian refugees continued to be considered through the US office in Chisinau, the capital of Moldova, which greatly complicated the process.
Many Ukrainian applicants who were actually granted asylum were supposed to fly to the United States from Ukrainian territory in March. However, this became impossible due to the cancellation of flights as a result of the outbreak of active hostilities.
According to the US Department of Homeland Security, last week about 3 thousand Ukrainians were allowed to enter the territory of the states through border with Mexico. It is noted that this route is the most accessible for our citizens.
By the way, the US State Department said that applicants may experience longer waiting times at some US embassies and consulates due to the COVID-19 pandemic. At the same time, lawmakers and lawyers called on Biden to simplify and speed up the processing of applications from Ukrainians, saying that “too little has been done.”
