New York Asylum Lawyers Who Represent Ukrainians
If you live in the United States and are asking whether the recent conflict in the Ukraine gives you a basis to remain in the United States, the answer may be yes. Given the recent Russian invasion, there has been a change in the country conditions of the Ukraine, which may be a basis to give legal status to Ukrainians living in the United States. There are tens of thousands of Ukrainians living in the United States, without legal status. Our New York asylum lawyers know that while Ukraine was politically stable a few short weeks ago, that is no longer the case. While Ukrainians living in the United States were not eligible for asylum when Ukraine was safe and under the control of the Ukrainian government, the recent invasion changes things and has made Ukrainians living in the United States now eligible for either temporary protected status or political asylum status in the United States. At present an estimated three to five million people have been displaced and fled their homes, to more remote parts of Ukraine or border countries such as Poland.
POLITICAL ASYLUM
If you arrived in the United States in the last year, you can now file for political asylum to avoid returning to Ukraine, based upon a recent change in the country's circumstances. You can gain political asylum, regardless of whether you entered the United States illegally or are currently out of status. Our New York asylum attorneys know that an asylum petition must be filed within one year of your entry into the United States, unless you can demonstrate certain special circumstances. If you have been in the United States for more than a year, then you are still entitled to apply for Temporary Protected Status. If you are granted political asylum, then you are granted asylee status and can remain in the United States indefinitely.
A frequently asked question is whether Ukrainians now in Poland, Romania or in Ukraine can petition for asylum. Unfortunately the answer is no because even though the country conditions are sufficient to justify asylum, to apply for asylum, you must be physically in the United States or at a port of entry, such as an airport in the United States, if you have a valid tourist, student or other entry visa.
Temporary Protected Status
Another common question that is what effect does the invasion of Ukraine have on people from the Ukraine, who are presently living in the United States? Our New York Immigration lawyers are monitoring recent developments of United States policy in response to the recent events. On March 3, 2020, the Biden administration announced that they will give temporary protected status to Ukranians living in the United States. Temporary Protectected Status (TPS) applies where due to a change in a foreign countries conditions, the foreign citizen can no longer safely return to their native country. This means if you are living in the United States, even illegally, or if you overstayed your visa, you can now qualify for temporary protected status, which will give you legal status in the United States for atleast the next eighteen months.
One of the most common question our New York immigration lawyers are asked by people who are applying for temporary protected status is can I get a greencard or permanent residence? While TPS status does not in and of itself entitle you to permanent residence in the United States, it does provide you with legal status. Once you are in legal status, you can apply for an adjustment of your status if you have a legal basis to obtain permanent residence. In other words, once in temporary proteced status, you can apply to adjust your status to a permanent resident, which cannot do if you are out of status because you overstayed a visa or entered illegally. The most common forms of adjustment of status are family based, such as marriage visas, or employment based work visas. So if you are in temporary protected status and if you have an employer willing to sponsor you and they cannot find other workers to fill the job, (which in this tight labor market is not difficult to demonstrate), then in time, you may even qualify for permanent residence. In the short time you can qualify for a social security card, legal status which is temporary, but can be renewed.
Our New York immgration lawyers have decades of experience in preparing applications for temporary protective status and representing people from unsafe countries such as El Salvador, Haiti and other countries.
If you are originally from the Ukraine and are presently in the United States, call our New York immigration lawyers, who have decades of experience in preparing immigration petitions including asylum and temprorary protected status petitions.