This backgrounder contains historical, political, and cultural information intended to cultivate a general understanding of Ukrainians who are arriving in the U.S. CORE produced this backgrounder to aid U.S. Resettlement Agencies and their local affiliates and partners to provide culturally appropriate Cultural Orientation and other services to newly arrived Ukrainians.

This publication by the Council of Foreign Relations provides an overview of the geopolitcal realities confronting Europe and the West in light of the Russian Invasion of Ukraine.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has a helpful overview of the program, information on eligibility, and links to government resources that will assist in the application process.

Archbishop Borys Gudziak, Archeparch of the Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Philadelphia, recently released a video reflecting on the situation confronting Ukraine in the aftermath of the Russian Invasion.

Use this checklist for community members who express an interest in Welcome Circles but know very little (page 1), and for those who have formed a group and are ready to take next steps (page 2)

Use this checklist to keep track of initial services the Welcome Circle will need to provide from pre-arrival to 2^nd month of newcomer’s stay

The organization Sponsor Circles has develop a variety of tools and resources that will provide ongoing support for local sponsor circles. These resources are worth reviewing and implementing as the need arises.

This toolkit, developed by USCCB/MRS provides a useful overview of sponsorship process and points to resources that will assist as you develop and implement welcome circles in your locality. As always, please reach out to welcomecircles@usccb.org should you need further support and advice.

The Welcome Circles flyer provides a useful marketing tool that will help you to advertise to your local parish and community the opportunity to become a sponsor.

Your This 2-page flyer created by CSH provides a good overview of Sponsor/Welcome Circles.

This resource is intended to help guide prospective financial sponsors through the humanitarian parole application process.

In accord with their policy, “USCIS uses the Federal poverty guidelines as outlined by the Department of Health and Human Services as a general guide in determining the supporter’s ability to support the beneficiary for the duration of the beneficiary’s anticipated period of parole. When using the Federal poverty guidelines, USCIS will consider a supporter’s household size to include any beneficiaries on the supporter’s Form I-134, even if they do not intend to live with the supporter.”

The I-134 FAQ provides helpful tips and answers to questions that will help potential sponsor circles navigate the I-134 submission process.

Please see this FAQ from the Catholic Legal Immigration Network on the I-134 form.

The I-134 form ensures that the supporter has sufficient financial resources to support the Ukrainian beneficiary(ies) for the duration of the parole period. Following the submission of the form, the US government will also conduct a background check on the supporter(s).

For individuals who are new to the U.S. Justice system, it is important that we help them become familiar with their rights as residents. This resource provides an overview of the legal rights of individuals in the United States and the protections afforded to them.

Effective immediately, all beneficiaries aged 6 months and older must have an attestation submitted attesting that they received COVID-19 vaccinations both before traveling to the United States and after arrival in the United States, unless they are eligible for an exception. More information is available at the USCIS website.

The Ukraine Immigration Task Force has available additional legal resources that might be of use to sponsors and Ukrainian beneficiaries paroled into the United States.

This resource highlights the ways in which the Uniting for Ukraine program and the Welcome Circle program both differ from and overlap with each other.

The Welcome Connect Sponsorship Portal is a first-of-its kind platform created to bridge the gap between Americans who want to sponsor, but don’t know anyone fleeing the war, and Ukrainians seeking refuge in the U.S.

This post, created by Switchboard and the Cultural Orientation Resource Exchange (CORE), lists resources in Ukrainian, Russian, Polish, and English that you may find helpful while serving Ukrainian beneficiaries