Comment Submitted by Anonymous

I respectfully ask DHS to reconsider these proposed changes because they would place an unnecessary burden on people who entered the United States legally through humanitarian parole programs such as Uniting for Ukraine (U4U). When the United States invited Ukrainians through U4U, it offered a legal pathway to safety for families fleeing a brutal war. We followed every rule. We underwent security screening. We obtained sponsors as required. We arrived legally because the U.S. government created this program. We came here to work—not to depend on others. One part of this proposal is particularly difficult to understand: the requirement to prove "economic necessity" before receiving employment authorization. How is a person supposed to prove that they need to work? Every family needs food. Every family needs a place to live. We pay rent, utilities, insurance, transportation costs, childcare, medical expenses, and countless other everyday bills. The need to work is not something extraordinary, it is a basic reality of life. Asking lawfully admitted parolees to prove they need an income ignores how ordinary working families survive. There also seems to be a misunderstanding about the role of sponsors under the U4U program. A sponsor is not someone who is expected to financially support us for years. Sponsors helped us arrive safely and start over. They are not responsible for paying our rent, buying our groceries, or supporting our children indefinitely. Most Ukrainians do not want charity. We want the opportunity to earn our own living. We want to pay taxes. We want to pay Social Security and Medicare taxes. We want to support American businesses by renting homes, shopping locally, purchasing cars, paying insurance, and contributing to our communities. We want to be responsible, self-sufficient residents who give back to the country that gave us temporary protection. If employment authorization becomes more difficult to obtain or renew, the result will not be greater self-reliance. It will have the opposite effect. Families who are willing and able to work may instead be forced to rely on churches, nonprofit organizations, food pantries, relatives, and local communities simply because they are no longer allowed to support themselves. That outcome benefits no one. Many Ukrainians have already become valuable employees in schools, hospitals, factories, construction companies, restaurants, warehouses, transportation, and countless other industries. Employers rely on them. Communities rely on them. They are already contributing to the American economy every single day. Punishing people who entered legally, obeyed the rules, passed security screening, and have been working honestly does not strengthen the immigration system. It sends the message that even those who follow the legal process may lose the ability to support themselves. America has always admired people who work hard, obey the law, and strive for independence. That is exactly what Ukrainians under U4U are trying to do. Please do not make it harder for legal humanitarian parolees to work. Allow us to continue supporting our families with dignity, paying taxes, contributing to our communities, and honoring the trust that the United States placed in us when it welcomed us through a lawful humanitarian program. Thank you for considering this comment.