Blumenthal, Padilla Lead Colleagues in Urging DHS & USCIS to Waive Afghan Humanitarian Parole Application Fees
Afghans applying for humanitarian parole from outside the U.S. must currently pay $575 to have their application processed
[Hartford, CT] – Today, U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Alex Padilla (D-CA) led a group of Senate colleagues in sending a letter to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Director Ur M. Jaddou urging them to implement a blanket waiver on fees for Afghans applying for humanitarian parole to come to the United States. The letter also requests that the agencies issue guidance to provide clarity on the current status of these types of applications.
Afghans applying for humanitarian parole from outside of the United States must currently pay $575 to have their application processed by the Department of Homeland Security. For many Afghans applying for this status, these costs are a prohibitive barrier in the application process.
“Given the extreme financial hardship and immediate danger facing Afghans fleeing to the United States, we urge you to implement a blanket waiver on fees for Afghans and their families when they apply for humanitarian parole into the United States, and we ask that you issue guidance for applicants and attorneys who are filing for this status,” said the Senators.
“The burden of application fees is weighing heavily on communities here in the United States. Families and friends of Afghans who are trying to apply for humanitarian parole are shouldering payments and are being forced to make difficult financial decisions,” the Senators continued. The letter also asks questions related to the number of Afghans who have applied for parole and how many have been granted waivers.
In addition to Blumenthal and Padilla, the letter was also signed by U.S. Senators Thomas Carper (D-DE), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Edward Markey (D-MA), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Patty Murray (D-WA), Tina Smith (D-MN), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Christopher Coons (D-DE), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Benjamin Cardin (D-MD), Robert Casey (D-PA), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), and Michael Bennet (D-CO).
Full text of the letter is available HERE.
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