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Humanitarian Protections and Pathways
How can people seek refuge in the United States?
Across the world, families are making impossible choices as conflict, disaster, and persecution are forcing them from their homes. The United States offers several humanitarian pathways that provide safety, stability, and a temporary shelter for families facing dire need. Global Refuge stands with families seeking safety and works every day to ensure these protections remain strong, accessible, and rooted in compassion.
We advocate for policies that uphold dignity, expand protection pathways, and ensure the United States remains a place of welcome. Whether through TPS, humanitarian parole, or other humanitarian programs, these pathways reflect our nation’s promise: that people fleeing danger deserve protection, stability, and the chance to rebuild their lives.
What is Temporary Protected Status (TPS)?
Temporary Protected Status (TPS) is a lifesaving protection for people from countries experiencing war, natural disasters, or other extraordinary crises. When the U.S. government designates a country for TPS, eligible individuals already in the United States can receive:
- Protection from deportation
- Permission to live and work legally
- Access to travel authorization
TPS doesn’t provide permanent status, but it offers essential stability while conditions at home remain too dangerous. Global Refuge advocates for timely designations, renewals, and clear pathways for families who rely on this protection.
What is humanitarian parole?
Humanitarian parole allows individuals to enter or remain in the U.S. temporarily when they face urgent humanitarian circumstances or when their presence provides a significant public benefit. It is used when no other immigration pathway is available or fast enough.
People may be considered for parole if they:
- Need urgent medical care
- Are fleeing war or disaster
- Face family separation that would cause extreme hardship
- Are victims of trafficking, violence, or abuse
Parole is temporary and does not create a long‑term immigration status, but it can provide a crucial bridge to safety and access to work authorization.
While humanitarian parole has historically been individual case by case grants of discretion, the use of categorical parole programs for specific populations have emerged over the last several years, particularly for Afghans and Ukrainians.
Global Refuge supports humanitarian parole programs that reunite families, protect vulnerable children, and respond quickly to emergencies.
What other humanitarian protections are available?
Other Humanitarian Protections
The U.S. also offers several additional protections for people facing danger, exploitation, or persecution:
- Refugee Status – for people outside the U.S. who cannot return home due to persecution
- Asylum – for people already in the U.S. seeking protection from persecution
- U Visas – for victims of certain crimes who assist law enforcement
- T Visas – for survivors of human trafficking
- VAWA Self‑Petitions – for non-citizen survivors of domestic violence by a U.S. citizen or permanent resident
- Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) – for children in the U.S. who cannot safely reunite with a parent due to abuse, neglect, or abandonment
These pathways vary in eligibility and benefits; some can lead to permanent residency, while others provide temporary protection.
Why These Pathways Matter
Together, these humanitarian programs reflect the United States’ commitment to protecting people in crisis. They offer safety, stability, and dignity to individuals and families who cannot return home and ensure that compassion remains a cornerstone of U.S. immigration policy.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Temporary Protected Status (TPS) is granted by the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and provides temporary protection and work authorization to certain nationals in the United States from countries (or parts of countries) experiencing ongoing armed conflict, natural disasters or epidemic, or other extraordinary and temporary conditions that prevent their safe return. TPS does not lead to lawful permanent resident status or grant any other immigration status. TPS protections are limited to those who are already present in the United States.
TPS was created under the Immigration Act of 1990 and first granted to nationals of El Salvador. For more information on TPS eligibility and countries currently designated for TPS visit the USCIS website.
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According to the Congressional Research Service as of March 31 2025, there were approximately 1.2 million TPS beneficiaries. The largest numbers of TPS beneficiaries in 2025 were from Venezuela (352,190), Haiti (330,735), El Salvador (170,125), and Ukraine (101,150). In the first half of 2026,18,200 applicants were approved for TPS. A complete chart of TPS beneficiaries by nationality is available in the Congressional Research Service Report Temporary Protected Status and Deferred Enforced Departure. As of March 2025, the largest populations of TPS recipients lived in Florida, Texas, New York, and California.
For more information on TPS eligibility and countries currently designated for TPS visit the USCIS website.
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The Afghan Special Immigrant Visa program is a not technically a humanitarian pathway but rather considered a type of employment-related immigration program. It was created by Congress to offer a pathway to Afghan nationals who directly served the U.S. military and diplomatic mission in Afghanistan that began in 2001.
To be eligible, Afghan nationals must demonstrate they were employed by or on behalf of the U.S. government in Afghanistan at some point since October 2021 for at least a year of “faithful and valuable” service to the U.S. government. Like other populations, Afghan SIVs undergo security checks through a multi-layered, inter-agency process of biometric and biographic screenings by the government. Afghan SIVs also must be admissible under U.S. immigration law, clearing health, security, criminal, and other grounds.
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Parole, or humanitarian parole, is admission and entry to stay in the United States for a noncitizen. It is a temporary immigration benefit that does not confer access to another more durable status.
Humanitarian Protections and Pathways for Specific Populations
Learn more about pathways that have historically been available to nationals from certain countries.