Los Angeles Area

• Pro Bono (Free)/Low-Cost Legal Services Providers in Los Angeles

Sacramento Area

• CAIR Sacramento Valley/Central CA Afghan Community Advisory
• Immigration Services Request Intake Form
• Know Your Rights resources in Pashto and Dari

California

• Pro Bono (Free)/Low-Cost Legal Services Providers in California

Nationwide

• Pars Equality Center: Legal Resources for Afghans
• USCRI Pro Bono Afghan Legal Services (PALS) for nationwide legal services

Are you an Afghan individual who has been granted humanitarian parole?

You may be eligible for cash assistance, medical assistance, employment preparation, job placement, English language training, and other services offered through the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR). You may also be eligible for federal “mainstream” (non-ORR funded) benefits, such as cash assistance through Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), health insurance through Medicaid, and food assistance through Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

Office of Refugee Resettlement

• Afghan Assistance Resources
• Benefits for Afghan Humanitarian Parolees (English) (Pashto) (Dari)

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)

• Information for Afghan Nationals on Requests to USCIS for Humanitarian Parole

Effective June 9, 2023, through July 31, 2024, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will consider, on a case-by-case basis for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit, a two-year extension of the original parole period for Afghan parolees who have already applied for asylum or for adjustment to lawful permanent resident (LPR) status (such as adjustment of status as a special immigrant). This is in recognition of the continued urgent humanitarian reasons and significant public benefit underlying the original parole grant and the time necessary for Afghan parolees to accomplish the purpose of their parole and regularize their immigration status. These Afghan parolees who have already applied for asylum or LPR status do NOT need to apply for re-parole.  If approved, USCIS will extend their original employment authorization and send a Form I-797C, Notice of Additional Action, to their last address of record with USCIS.

If these Afghan parolees require an updated Employment Authorization Document (EAD) in addition to the Form I-797C, they may file a fee-exempt Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, with USCIS under category c(11).

We understand the need for re-parole to provide continuity in lawful presence and the ability to work and support one’s family while pursuing a more permanent immigration status. For this reason, certain Afghan parolees in the United States who have NOT YET filed for any immigration benefit, or who have applied for a temporary benefit such as Temporary Protected Status, may NOW APPLY for re-parole and employment authorization through a new streamlined and fee-exempted application process that is available online and on paper.  USCIS will exempt application fees for these applicants for re-parole by using Form I-131, Application for Travel Document. These applicants who self-file for re-parole will also be able to request an EAD using the same Form I-131.

USCIS will accept and consider, on a case-by-case basis for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit, re-parole requests under section 212(d)(5) of the Immigration and Nationality Act from certain noncitizen Afghans paroled into the United States. Afghan nationals who were paroled into the United States from July 31, 2021, through June 8, 2023, and have an “OAR” or “PAR” class of admission on their Form I-94, Arrival/Departure Record, are eligible for the fee exemption from June 8, 2023, through July 31, 2024. This reflects the DHS’s commitment to providing Afghan nationals with a streamlined process to request re-parole and an EAD.

The process to request fee-exempt re-parole for certain Afghan nationals will be available both online and via paper filing. A new Re-Parole Process for Certain Afghans webpage will provide information on the process and step-by-step instructions on how to apply for re-parole.

• To apply for fee-exempt re-parole and an EAD on the 06/06/23 edition of Form I-131, the applicant must:
  • Select “I am outside of the United States, and I am applying for Advance Parole Document” on the paper application in Part 2, Item 1.e.;
  • Mark “Y” for the question, “Are you applying for re-parole?”; and
  • Mark “Y” in Part 8 for the question, “I am requesting an Employment Authorization Document (EAD) upon approval of my new Operation Allies Welcome (OAW) period of parole” to request a fee-exempt EAD.
• Do not submit a separate Form I-765 with your Form I-131. If you submit Form I-765 with your request for re-parole, we may reject your application or take longer to process it.
• Applicants filing by paper and using the 10/31/22 edition of Form I-131 before Aug. 8, 2023, should write “OAW EAD” on the top of the form, regardless of whether they have a PAR or OAR class of admission.

If your initial EAD is expiring, you must indicate you would like to renew your EAD when filing Form I-131 through this new streamlined process.

If you are an Afghan national and applied for re-parole through Form I-131 before June 8, 2023, when this new streamlined application process was not yet available, you may submit a new request using this process to receive the fee exemption and concurrent EAD processing. Please see the Afghan Nationals Re-Parole FAQs webpage for more information on the options available to you.

APPLICATION TOOLKIT – Click the link below to download the toolkit, which includes the following: I-131 instructions and re-parole application, re-parole presentation slides.

DOWNLOAD TOOLKIT

PASHTO RE-PAROLE I-131

DARI RE-PAROLE I-131

VIDEO: Form I-131, Afghan Re-Parole (USCIS)

What is Temporary Protected Status (TPS)?

TPS is an immigration status granted to eligible nationals of a designated country or persons without nationality who last habitually resided in the designated country. The Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in consultation with the Secretary of State is authorized to designate a foreign state for TPS based on an emergency, such as an ongoing armed conflict or environmental disaster, that temporarily prevents nationals who are in the United States from returning safely to the designated county.

TPS beneficiaries who register by the specified date are eligible to remain in the Unites States during the TPS designation period and receive protection from deportation. They may also apply for employment authorization and advance parole travel permission during their grant of TPS.

Who is eligible for TPS for Afghanistan?

To be granted TPS, an applicant must be a national of Afghanistan or a noncitizen with no nationality who last habitually resided in Afghanistan. He or she must also prove continuous residence in the United States since March 15, 2022, and continuous physical presence in the United States since May 20, 2022. Absences that are "brief, casual and innocent" do not prevent applicants from showing continuous residence or continuous physical presence. Likewise, a brief temporary trip abroad required because of an emergency or extenuating circumstances outside the applicant's control will not break continuous residence.

The applicant must apply within the registration period that runs from May 20, 2022, through Nov. 20, 2023, unless he or she qualifies for late initial registration. An otherwise eligible individual is disqualified from TPS if he or she:

• Has been convicted of any felony or two or more misdemeanors committed in the United States;
• Is found inadmissible as an immigrant under the applicable grounds in INA § 212(a), including non-waivable criminal and security-related grounds; or
• Is subject to any of the mandatory bars to asylum found at INA § 208(b)(2)(A).

For more information:

• Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc.: Frequently Asked Questions: Temporary Protected Status for Afghans (May 23, 2022)
• USCIS: Temporary Protected Status Designated Country: Afghanistan

APPLICATION TOOLKIT – Click the link below to download the presentation slides and collected/translated documents in English, Dari, and Pashto from IILA’s Afghan Legal Representation Project (ALRP).  Documents include overview presentations, application instructions, and checklists for applying for TPS and fee waivers.

DOWNLOAD TOOLKIT

More information coming soon!

Click the link below to download the toolkit.

DOWNLOAD TOOLKIT

The Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) is an immigration program that grants permanent residence to people who aided the U.S. government abroad. If you are currently applying for Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) or awaiting Chief of Mission (COM) approval, we strongly recommend that you also apply for asylum and Temporary Protected Status (TPS).

U.S. Department of State

• July 18, 2022 - Statement by Secretaries Antony J. Blinken and Alejandro N. Mayorkas - Ongoing Efforts to Support Afghan Special Immigrant Visa Applicants
• Current Special Immigrant Visas for Afghans Program Requirements 

International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP)

• For SIV Applicants: Legal Information Website:
  • (English) (Dari) (Pashto)
• IRAP Afghan SIV Training, Practice Guide and Other Materials
• Special Immigrant Visas for Afghans Training Course - free comprehensive online course with samples. Short videos covering an introduction and all stages of the SIV adjustment process