Written by: Dariana Guzman🇬🇹
A man from Venezuela holds his son after returning home from a day of work at a construction site in Columbus, Ohio, U.S. on March 25, 2024. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
Earlier in October, the Biden administration announced the non-renewal of the Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela (CHNV) parole program.
Since October 2022, Around 530,000 migrants who arrived in the United States from Cuba, Nicaragua, Haiti, and Venezuela, were granted two years under the program.
The CNHV parole program allowed migrants that had obtained U.S. sponsorship to enter and reside in the country.for humanitarian reasons or if their entry was deemed as a significant public benefit.
It was an attempt to lessen the amount of illegal entry in the southern border and it was expected for a re-parole to be enacted or for an extension to be automatically granted.
This was not the case.
“Parole will automatically terminate at the end of your parole period (up to two years from the day you were paroled into the United States). If you have not sought a lawful status or period of authorized stay, you will need to leave the United States before your authorized parole period expires, or you may be placed in removal proceedings after your period of parole expires.” stated the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services.
Many are left to try and seek other alternative programs or may risk being deported back to their home countries.
Certain Venezuelans who had not been granted Temporary Protected Status (TPS) before are allowed to file a first-time registration under the 2023 designation.
Haitians are allowed to remain in the U.S. through TPS as well through Feb. 3, 2026.
Meanwhile Cubans under the CNHV program may apply for adjustment of status after they have resided in the US for a year after they apply for form I-485.
Nicaraguans, however, seem to have gotten the short end of the stick.
While the rest of the migrants who have been accepted in the program may have alternative programs, Nicaraguans can only re-register under TPS if they were registered under it from Nov. 6, 2023, through July 5, 2025. This isn’t possible for those under the parole program as they would have to apply, and new applications TPS for Nicaraguans are no longer being accepted.
Their other two options are asylum where they must provide proof that they have suffered persecution or fear of being persecuted–and family-based immigration where you are eligible to apply for if sponsored by an immediate relative who is at least 21 years.
All countries under the parole program are eligible to apply for both asylum and family-based immigration visa programs.
Considering the conservative legislative majority, policies might be changing in the upcoming months.
Following the results of the 2024 presidential election, President-elect Donald Trump is adamant on changing immigration policies that were signed under the Biden administration.
In a tweet posted in September, Trump stated that if he won the 2024 presidential election, he would be suspending refugee settlement and revoking deportation immunity. In the end, it’s important to note that for the time being, the new migrants can apply for the CHNV parole program–it will just be expiring after a two year period.
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