Anna Yezerova, a Ukrainian national, arrived in the United States last year with her young daughter and a couple of months of summer clothes. Their hope: that the war in Ukraine would be over soon.
Nearly one year later, Yezerova remains in the US and is setting down roots in New Jersey, trying to chart out a life she never envisioned for herself.
“I have never dreamed of moving abroad,” Yezerova told CNN. “We started everything from nothing.”
President Joe Biden’s visit to Poland this week is expected to again put into sharp focus the Ukrainian refugee crisis and the need for humanitarian support in addition to security assistance. Poland was among the countries that took in millions of refugees as Russia invaded Ukraine.
But as Russia’s war in their country slogs on, Ukrainian refugees in the US who were once optimistic they would return to their homeland within two years are coming to grips with the fact that they’re probably not going back and having to wrestle with their legal status in the US.
Last year, the Biden administration set up a program, dubbed “Uniting for Ukraine,” that provided a streamlined process for Ukrainian refugees to come to the United States. The humanitarian parole program requires Ukrainians to be sponsored by a US citizen or an eligible individual, as well as undergo rigorous security vetting and checks. If accepted, the individuals are allowed to live and work in the US for up to two years.
Refugee advocates applauded the program, which opened a pathway for Ukrainians seeking to come to the US. Prior to that, thousands of Ukrainians traveled to Mexico, where it was easier to obtain a visa, and then tried to enter the US through land ports of entry.
Now, as the one-year anniversary of Russia invading Ukraine approaches, many Ukrainians who came to the US are getting closer to…
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