The Ukrainian Adjustment Act of 2025 creates a new pathway for eligible Ukrainian nationals to obtain lawful permanent resident status in the United States. This streamlined process applies to citizens or nationals of Ukraine, or those who last habitually resided there, who were paroled into the U.S. after February 20, 2014, after completing security and law enforcement background checks. It also extends eligibility to their accompanying or following-to-join spouses, children, and parents or primary caregivers of unaccompanied minors. To adjust status, applicants must submit an application, generally be admissible to the U.S. (with certain grounds of inadmissibility waived), and satisfy vetting requirements equivalent to those for refugees, including an interview. The Secretary of Homeland Security may waive some inadmissibility grounds for humanitarian reasons or family unity, but not for certain criminal conduct committed in the U.S. after February 20, 2014. The bill prohibits charging fees for adjustment of status applications or employment authorization, and individuals with pending applications are protected from removal and considered lawfully present. Eligible individuals must apply for adjustment of status within one year of the final guidance publication or their eligibility date; failure to do so generally precludes further parole or adjustment under this section. The Department of Homeland Security is mandated to issue interim guidance within 180 days of enactment and finalize it within one year. Importantly, aliens granted adjustment under this Act are exempt from numerical immigration limitations , and the bill includes provisions for battered spouses.
The Ukrainian Adjustment Act of 2025 creates a new pathway for eligible Ukrainian nationals to obtain lawful permanent resident status in the United States. This streamlined process applies to citizens or nationals of Ukraine, or those who last habitually resided there, who were paroled into the U.S. after February 20, 2014, after completing security and law enforcement background checks. It also extends eligibility to their accompanying or following-to-join spouses, children, and parents or primary caregivers of unaccompanied minors. To adjust status, applicants must submit an application, generally be admissible to the U.S. (with certain grounds of inadmissibility waived), and satisfy vetting requirements equivalent to those for refugees, including an interview. The Secretary of Homeland Security may waive some inadmissibility grounds for humanitarian reasons or family unity, but not for certain criminal conduct committed in the U.S. after February 20, 2014. The bill prohibits charging fees for adjustment of status applications or employment authorization, and individuals with pending applications are protected from removal and considered lawfully present. Eligible individuals must apply for adjustment of status within one year of the final guidance publication or their eligibility date; failure to do so generally precludes further parole or adjustment under this section. The Department of Homeland Security is mandated to issue interim guidance within 180 days of enactment and finalize it within one year. Importantly, aliens granted adjustment under this Act are exempt from numerical immigration limitations , and the bill includes provisions for battered spouses.