Program Update
February 2024
Welcome Corps for CHNV Sponsors
What is this new opportunity?
Through the Welcome Corps, a private sponsorship program for refugees under the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program, Americans can extend a warm welcome to Cubans, Haitians, Venezuelans, and Nicaraguans in need of safety and new beginnings.
Did you apply to the Processes for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans (Processes for CHNV) by filing Form I-134 or Form I-134A? If so, you may be eligible for the Welcome Corps. You can now also submit applications through this program.
You must have filed your forms by these dates:
Form I-134 by January 6, 2023
Form I-134A before September 30, 2023
Why should I join the Welcome Corps?
It’s another chance to bring the person you want to sponsor to the United States. Applying through the Welcome Corps will not affect your Processes for CHNV application. But if the refugee is already in the United States when you apply for the Welcome Corps, we won’t process your application.
Refugees who arrive through the Welcome Corps can apply for permanent residency after one year in the U.S. They can apply for citizenship after five years. Sponsored refugees who come through this program are able to work upon arrival. They don’t need to apply for work authorization.
Is it faster than other pathways?
No, the Welcome Corps is not necessarily a faster option. Privately sponsored refugees are subject to the same processing requirements as all other refugees.
How is Welcome Corps sponsorship different?
To sponsor refugees through the Welcome Corps, you must establish a private sponsor group. Private sponsor groups consist of at least five U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents (sometimes known as “Green Card holders”). They must be at least 18 years old and live in or near the same community. Sponsor groups must provide core resettlement services. They commit to doing it for 90 days after the refugees arrive in the United States. These services include:
- Locating and facilitating affordable housing
- Assisting in the enrollment of children in school
- Helping refugees find jobs
- Helping to sign refugees up for federal and state benefits they qualify for
- Supporting refugees’ integration into their new communities
If you are unable to form a sponsor group to participate in the Welcome Corps, there are options. Another group of five eligible individuals may form a sponsor group to apply to sponsor a refugee named on your Form I-134 or Form I-134A. You are not required to be part of that sponsor group for the refugee to be eligible for this program.
Who can I sponsor?
Individuals being referred for refugee resettlement through the Welcome Corps may be of any nationality. But they must meet the definition of a refugee under U.S. law and meet all of these criteria:
- They live outside their home country.
- They do not live in the United States.
- They live in a country where the U.S. government is able to interview sponsored refugee applicants and process their cases.
- They are at least 18 years old. Or, if they are a child, they must be referred with their parent or legal guardian. Without exception, anyone under 18 must be referred with their biological parent or legal guardian.
- They have not been previously denied resettlement to the United States through the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program.
In addition to meeting the Welcome Corps criteria above, individuals who are nationals of Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, or Venezuela must also meet the following criteria:
- They had Form I-134A filed on their behalf on or before September 30, 2023, or a Form I-134 filed before January 6, 2023; and,
- When they filed Form I-134A or Form I-134, they were outside their home country.
- If they do not have a Form I-134A or Form I-134 filed on their behalf before September 30, 2023, the sponsor filling out the application can upload proof that they registered as a refugee or asylum seeker. They must have registered on or before September 30, 2023 with the U.N. Refugee Agency (UNHCR) or the government of the country where they live.
All refugees sponsored through the Welcome Corps must pass the U.S. government’s screening and vetting process. This process is conducted for all refugees admitted through the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program.
Through the Welcome Corps, sponsor groups may apply to sponsor one refugee or refugee family of up to 10 people. The refugee family must currently live together in the same country. They must plan to live in the same household after they resettle in the United States.