U.S. Not Extending CHNV Parole Program
By, Caitlyn Kelley, Legal Intern
On October 4, 2024, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that the approximately 500,000 noncitizens who entered the country under a temporary humanitarian sponsorship program known as the CHNV program will not be able to apply for renewal of the quasi-legal status called “parole” that allowed them to lawfully enter the United States. The CHNV program offered parole to qualifying individuals from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela.
The parole program was established in October 2022 by President Biden to reduce illegal border crossings through the creation of legal pathways for noncitizens with ties to the United States to safely enter the country. The program was initially put into place to reduce unauthorized immigration from Venezuela, the largest refugee-producing nation in the Western Hemisphere from which over 7 million people have fled to various countries across South, Central, and North America. Over time, the parole program expanded to three other countries from which large numbers of individuals were taking flight – Cuba, Haiti, and Nicaragua.
As a result of the CHNV program, individuals from the designated countries were able to lawfully live and work in the United States for two years under the immigration benefit known as parole. For individuals who traveled to the United States when the program was first announced in late 2022, their legal status will expire in the coming weeks and months.
Parolees will either need to leave the country before their parole expires or apply for a legal status that would enable them to lawfully remain in the United States. For instance, parolees with U.S. citizen spouses or adult U.S. citizen sons or daughters may be able to obtain green cards through the United States’ family-based immigration system. Many Haitians and Venezuelans may be eligible to apply for Temporary Protected Status (TPS). Cubans, meanwhile, could qualify for green cards under the 1966 Cuban Adjustment Act. In addition, some CHNV arrivals may be good candidates for asylum.
If you or someone you know is impacted by this announcement, be sure to contact qualified legal counsel as soon as possible. Our attorneys are standing by to assist with questions.
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