ORR Policy Letter 16-01 for SI/SQ Parole

This Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) is to inform the refugee resettlement network that in the coming months ORR anticipates Afghan individuals who have assisted the U.S. government overseas will be relocated to the United States. Due to the urgent nature of their arrival, these individuals will receive SQ/SI Parole.

ORR Policy Letter (PL) 16-01, Documentation Requirements for the Refugee Resettlement Program, announced a documentation guide, Status and Documentation Requirements for the ORR Refugee Resettlement Program (hereinafter Documentation Guide), that outlined the statuses and documents that confer eligibility for Refugee Resettlement Program (RRP) benefits and the documentation that is needed to show an individual is eligible. 

Due to the urgent need to relocate Afghan individuals who have assisted the U.S. government overseas, individuals who receive SI/SQ Parole are eligible for RRP benefits. ORR is issuing this PL to amend ORR PL 16-01’s Documentation Guide, designating an additional form of documentation showing eligibility for RRP benefits for certain Iraqi and Afghan parolees.

These Afghan parolees are eligible for ORR benefits and services. ORR Policy Letter (PL) 16-01, Documentation Requirements for the Refugee Resettlement Program, and its Documentation Guide, Status and Documentation Requirements for the ORR Refugee Resettlement Program (hereinafter Documentation Guide), outline the statuses and documents that confer eligibility for Refugee Resettlement Program (RRP) benefits and the documentation that is needed to show an individual is eligible. ORR has issued ORR PL 21-07 amending the Documentation Guide to include SQ/SI Parole (per section 602(B)(1) AAPA/Section 1059(a) NDAA 2006).