Thousands of Ukrainian migrants living in the US face the inevitable risk of losing their legal status. Because they came to the country at a time when the US government did not have a long-term plan to receive them..

Last year, in the first months after the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, tens of thousands of Ukrainians who had relatives or friends in the United States flew to Mexico, hoping to be allowed to cross the American border, writes the Wall Street Journal.. The sudden influx of Ukrainians at a border crossing near San Diego prompted the Joe Biden administration to create a series of migration programs to give them status and quickly resettle them.. But there is a gap in this decision: a roughly 10-day period in April, during which Ukrainians were given a year's residence permit in the United States. This decision is coming to an end.. And the US government has not announced its intention to extend it.

" Everything will start from scratch again,” said Kharkiv-based chemical engineer Elena Lapshina, who arrived in San Diego on April 13 with her two sons..

Her annual legal status will end in less than two months.. Along with the loss of her US residence permit, Lapshina will also be forced to give up her job as a mechanical engineer in Rockville, Maryland.. Her driver's license will also become invalid.. And the woman will not have the necessary documents to rent an apartment for herself and her two sons: Artem and Kirill. The Ukrainian hopes that the boys, one of whom is 7 years old and the other 12, will be able to continue to study at school.

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Lapshina says she has no idea what she will do if she is forced to leave the US. Anyone who crossed the border prior to April 11, 2022 was eventually added to an additional humanitarian program called Temporary Protected Status, which provides protection similar to that received by people with humanitarian permits.. However, temporary protected status lasts longer and is easier to renew. Later on April 21, the administration announced the launch of a new program called United for Ukraine, allowing Ukrainians to legally fly to the US and stay for up to two years if they have a US sponsor..

However, anyone who crossed the border during the days between the adoption of the two programs now risks losing their permission to stay in the country.. Immigration lawyers and lawyers say that we are talking about about 10 thousand people.

“No one knows for sure what will happen next.. Everyone knows about the problem. The government knows,” said lawyer Alec Beinenson, who works with Ukrainians.

The US Department of Homeland Security said it " Although a fairly narrow group of people is at risk of imminent loss of their status, this problem for the government may increase in the coming months.. Tens of thousands of Afghans evacuated after the fall of the Afghan government in 2021 and allowed to enter the United States under similar conditions to Ukrainians will face the expiration of their residence permits in the summer and fall. And since October, the Biden administration has begun allowing tens of thousands of Venezuelan, Cuban, Nicaraguan and Haitian citizens to apply monthly for a two-year humanitarian relocation permit program.. And they, too, may face the same problem as the Ukrainians.

The Biden administration is actively discussing how to deal with everything. This was reported to the Wall Street Journal by officials informed of the details of the discussions.. Although there is still no solution that would allow Ukrainians to stay longer. Meanwhile, while Republicans are not directly challenging policy approaches that allow Ukrainian citizens to temporarily reside in the US, a group of GOP representatives are demanding the closure of the program for Venezuelans, Cubans, Haitians and Nicaraguans..

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Immigration lawyers say that Ukrainians are unlikely to be deported after losing their legal status. But uncertainty creates a new layer of tension for people seeking stability as they wait for the end of the war..

One of the few ways Ukrainians can stay in the US forever is to apply for political asylum.. However, this step is also risky.. Immigration Lawyers Doubt Ukrainians Fleeing War Can File Such Claims. Because the process provides protection for people who face persecution under special circumstances. But obtaining asylum in the United States will also not allow a citizen of Ukraine to return home in the near future.. Because it will undermine his migration case..

“Most Ukrainians are here temporarily,” said Yulia Bikbova, an immigration lawyer based in Chicago but originally from Kyiv..

She explained that this is why most Ukrainians in the US are looking for simpler solutions..