Immigrant Hope aids Ukrainians locally

JACKSON HOLE, Wyo. — Immigrant Hope-Wyoming/Idaho is committed to assisting low-income Ukrainians in the Jackson Hole-Teton Valley area with applications for Temporary Protected Status as soon as the application process is made available by U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services.

On March 3, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) designated Ukraine for Temporary Protected Status (TPS), a program that protects foreign nationals from deportation to countries that have undergone natural or human-made disasters, and also grants employment authorization and permission to travel for a period of time.

This designation will enable Ukrainian nationals (and individuals without nationality who last resided in Ukraine) who have been residing in the United States prior to March 1, 2022 (regardless of what status they are currently in or how they entered) to remain in the U.S. and be issued employment authorization for the designated period of 18 months, if they meet eligibility requirements and undergo security and background checks.

Once the designation is published in the Federal Register, which is expected to happen shortly, instructions for applying for TPS for Ukrainians and an Employment Authorization Document will be available on the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) website. At that time, Immigrant Hope-Wyoming/Idaho will be able to meet with Jackson area Ukrainians to screen for eligibility and to assist them with the application process for free or at a low cost.

Immigrant Hope’s attorney Andrea Gomez Oxman says, “I am excited for Immigrant Hope to be able to offer low cost, quality legal assistance to Ukrainian members of our community with the TPS registration process. While Ukrainians are a small minority of the immigrants in our community, we expect our assistance will allow many of them to be able to continue to live and work in the area and continue their valuable contributions to our country.”