Ten Things You Need to Know About Immigrant Processing and Refugee Processing in Ukraine
1. At the moment, there are no consular services in Ukraine.
2. You can apply for a Ukrainian immigrant visa in Kyiv if you have a pending application. The U.S. Consulate General Frankfurt is the designated processing place for all Ukrainian immigrant Visa applications, except adoption cases.
3. In the next few months, notices of Frankfurt appointments will be sent to all immigrants visa applicants who have received a NVC case number and provided all supporting information in order to become “documentarily competent”. If you are not scheduled yet and wish to move your case elsewhere than Frankfurt, please follow the instructions provided by the State Dept. website.
4. You may be able to request expedited processing for a family-based petition if you have a pending application. This means that it is not yet approved. Please visit the USCIS website to learn more about expedition.
5. U.S. citizens living abroad with their immediate family members may file an I-130 petition to USCIS to request an immigrant Visa petition. This is only for U.S. citizens who are physically present in the consular district and have filed petitions for their spouses or unmarried children younger than 21 years old, as well as parents who fled Ukraine.
6. NVC might be able to speed up processing your case if you have already received approval for your I-130 petition by USCIS, but have not been scheduled for an appointment at Frankfurt.
7. The Department is working closely with Adoption Service Providers to answer questions and provide guidance during this difficult time. Potential adoptive parents should speak to their ASP about the impact of Ukraine’s crisis on their adoption plans.
8. Humanitarian Parole (DHS) is a program that allows individuals who are not eligible for entry to the United States to temporarily stay in the country for humanitarian or other reasons. This is not intended to replace a visa process. Anybody can apply for humanitarian parole.
9. Nearly all refugee cases from countries outside of the United Nations are handled by local authorities or UNHCR. Ukrainians should not apply for visas to enter the United States as refugees. They should instead contact the UNHCR or local authorities for refugee processing.
10. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has granted certain individuals from Ukraine permission to travel to the United States with no pre-departure COVID-19 testing until April 1.
Summarized from an article by U.S. Immigration Law Group, LLP.
