Ukrainians in Portugal seeking travel to the U.S

Last updated: May 18, 2022

Ukrainians in Portugal Seeking Travel to the United States

The U.S. Government is working closely with European allies and partners who will be at the forefront of any response to support those displaced internally within Ukraine and those who may seek safety in neighboring countries.

If you are physically present in Portugal, please note that the Portuguese Immigration and Border Service (SEF) launched a platform in Ukrainian, English and Portuguese for requests for temporary protection. The https://sefforukraine.sef.pt/platform will enable all Ukrainian citizens and their households, to make an online request for temporary protection.

If you are outside of Portugal, we suggest you reach out the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) athttps://www.unhcr.org/en-us/for further information.

Uniting for Ukraine

On April 21, 2022, the United States announced a key step toward fulfilling President Biden’s commitment to welcome Ukrainians fleeing Russia’s invasion. Uniting for Ukraine provides a pathway for Ukrainian citizens and their immediate family members who are outside the United States to come to the United States and stay temporarily in a two-year period of parole. Ukrainians participating in Uniting for Ukraine must have a supporter in the United States who agrees to provide them with financial support for the duration of their stay in the United States. For more information on how to apply for Uniting for Ukraine, please visit https://www.dhs.gov/ukraine.
To be eligible for this process, children under the age of 18 must be traveling to the United States in the care and custody of their parent or legal guardian. Under the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 (TVPRA), any child under the age of 18 who is not accompanied by their parent or legal guardian generally must be turned over to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and vetted to protect against exploitation and abuse. Sponsors must be vetted before that child can be released and reunified. As a result, children traveling on their own, or with a non-parent or non-legal guardian adult, are not currently eligible for this process.
From April 25, 2022, Ukrainian nationals who present at U.S. Southwest border land ports of entry without a valid visa or without pre-authorization to travel to the United States through Uniting for Ukraine may be denied entry and referred to apply through this process.

NON-IMMIGRANT VISAS (NIV)

Before applying for a nonimmigrant visa, consider carefully whether you are qualified for the visa you intend to apply for. Nonimmigrant visas are for temporary stays in the United States. Since nonimmigrant visas are for a temporary stay in the United States, they will not be approved for those seeking refugee status.

All nonimmigrant visa applicants must demonstrate strong social and economic ties outside of the United States that would ensure their departure after a short stay. Applicants unable to demonstrate these strong ties to the satisfaction of the interviewing consular officer must, by U.S. law, be refused.

There are limited appointments for non-residents of Portugal who wish to apply for tourist visas to visit the U.S. We will consider all circumstances when approving or denying requests for expedited appointments.

Contingent on availability of appointments, you can create an account, pay the application fee, and then schedule an appointment at the following link https://ais.usvisa-info.com/en-pt/niv. Please note that available appointments may be available only for dates far in the future. Applicants may schedule on those dates and thereafter request expedited appointments. Expedite requests will be reviewed and decided by a consular officer.

IMMIGRANT VISAS (IV) FIANCE VISAS (K) and DIVERSITY VISAS (DV)

Due to the temporary suspension of all visa services at the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv, the U.S. Department of State has designated Consulate General Frankfurt as the primary processing location for immigrant visas for residents of Ukraine.

If you have an I-130 petition approved by USCIS pending processing at the National Visa Center (NVC) and want to transfer it to another Embassy, the designated processing post for Ukrainian Immigrant Visas is now United States Consulate General Frankfurt, Germany. You may request expedition and transfer from the National Visa Center: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/immigrate/national-visa-center/nvc-contact-information.html.

If you have not yet filed a petition but wish to do so, you may contact U.S. Consulate General Frankfurt to inquire regarding possible local filing (this applies only to U.S. citizens filing petitions for their spouses, unmarried children under 21 and parents). Both the petitioner and the applicant must be present in Germany.

U.S. Embassy Lisbon has not processed immigrant visas since 2012, when all immigrant visa processing responsibilities for residents of Portugal were transferred to U.S. Embassy Paris.