Refugee Program or Conditional Admission for Minors in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras
On December 3, 2014, the United States announced the official launch of an in-country program to request refuge and/or conditional admission (Parole) in El Salvador, Guatemala or Honduras. (Refugee Program or Conditional Admission for Minors in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras) This program was established to provide a legal, safe and orderly alternative to avoid the dangerous journey that some children are currently making to the United States. Refugee Program This program will allow certain parents from one of these three countries who are legally in the United States to file a petition so that they can bring their children to the United States as refugees through the U.S. Refugee Admission Program (U.S. Refugee Admissions Program.) Admission Conditional Children who are determined not to be eligible for admission as refugees, but still at risk of harm or danger, may be considered for conditional admission (Parole) on a case-by-case basis. The “refugee or conditional admission” program will not be available as an avenue for undocumented parents to bring their children to the United States, only for those parents who are already legal in the country. Instead, the program will provide certain vulnerable and/or endangered children with the opportunity to reunite with their parents legally in the United States. A fact sheet in English and Spanish describing the program can be found on the Department of State’s website at: http://www.state.gov/j/prm/releases/factsheets/2014/234067.htm How to Apply Applications for this program can be initiated by a parent legally in the United States. Form DS-7699 must be filed with the help of a designated re-settlement relief agency that works with the Department of the U.S. State Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration. (U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration) to help resettle refugees in the United States. Parents do not have to pay any fees to file this form or to receive help in completing and submitting the form, but are expected to cover the initial DNA costs to confirm the biological parent-child relationship. The costs of DNA testing are reimbursable under certain circumstances. Form DS-7699 will not be available on the Department of State’s website to the general public and cannot be completed without the assistance of a State Department re-settlement agency. These nearly 350 affiliated resettlement agencies are located in more than 180 communities across the United States. Additional information about the program, as well as a list of affiliated resettlement agencies that can help with the DS-7699 filing can be found at: http://www.wrapsnet.org/CAMProgram/tabid/420/Default.aspx