The Lautenberg Program

In 1989, U.S. Senator Frank Lautenberg urged the creation of a refugee program that would process cases in-country for religious minorities, primarily from countries comprising the former Soviet Union. The program has to be re-approved on an annual basis, explaining why the program opens for AOR submissions at a different time every year.

World Relief Sacramento is only able to file applications for USTs who live within a 100-hundred mile radius of Sacramento or our sister office in Modesto, CA. If you do not live in these areas, we will not be able to serve you.

The UST must be:

• 18 years old
• Either:
  1. a U.S. Citizen
  2. a Legal Permanent Resident
  3. an Asylee, or
  4. a Refugee
  5. a Parolee
  6. a Temporary Protected Status-holder

The PA must be:

• 18 years old
• A citizen of an FSU country, which includes: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan
• A member of a religious minority and able to prove this. This includes Jews, Evangelical Christians (Baptists, Pentecostals, Seventh Day Adventists, and Jehovah’s Witnesses), Ukrainian Greek Catholics, and members of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church
• Related to the UST as a spouse, parent, child, sibling, grandparent, or grandchild
• Additional notes:
  • Every applicant in addition to the PA must be a citizen of an FSU country and also a member of a religious minority to successfully process.
  • Individuals who are not directly related to the PA but living in the same household may be considered for processing on a case-by-case basis.

USTs must provide copies of the following:

• Original birth certificate
• Proof of current U.S. legal status

Applicants must provide copies of the following:

• Original birth certificates
• Valid passport-identity page

Applicants may need to provide the following, as applicable:

• Marriage certificate;
• Divorce certificate or deceased spouse’s death certificate
• Adoption paperwork

• UST completes an online screening. If the applicant(s) is/are eligible, WRS will email the UST an AOR application packet with instructions.
• All applicants 14 years old and older will complete a Preliminary Questionnaire, filled out in English or the applicant’s native language. This can be signed electronically or physically and scanned and returned to WRS.
• WRS will prepare the AOR application and work with the UST to ensure all required documentation is obtained.
• The UST will meet with WRS to sign the completed AOR
• WRS will submit the application World Relief's Home Office who reviews the AOR and submits it the government before the program closure date.

WRS has seen these cases take between two to five years. This can vary dramatically based on case size and other factors. It is uncertain, for example, if Ukrainian cases may process more quickly because of the current war in Ukraine.

PAs can contact the Refugee Support Center in Kyiv directly: (Kyiv): +380 44 568 50 20; Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 09:00 to 14:00 (GMT+3), or by email: ICC@iom.int

• AORs cannot be filed for Ukrainian individuals who are currently in the U.S., for example, if they are on tourist visas or parole.
• USRAP continues to process all Eurasian cases. They are NOT conducting any in-person activities or scheduling any departures from Ukraine. During the war in Ukraine, applicants do not have to remain in Ukraine to be processed and can be processed from anywhere within Eurasia.
• USRAP is striving to make travel arrangements for displaced Ukrainians in final processing from their current locations outside of Ukraine. Any Ukrainian applicants with cases in process who are displaced should let USRAP know of their changed location by writing to icc@iom.int.

Final in-person processing has to take place in applicants’ country of citizenship, even if they live or work in another country, with the exception of Ukrainians displaced by war.

The government has said that it is extremely unlikely they will expedite cases on humanitarian grounds. WRS cannot assist USTs in making expedite requests.

If a Ukrainian family member travels to the U.S. and receives any sort of status, including parole through the Uniting for Ukraine program, they forfeit being able to process through the program.

USRAP is addressing these cases on a case-by-case basis. USTs should reach out to icc@iom.int with questions relating to this issue.

See our page Ukraine Response - World Relief for general information.