

Housing is supposed to be provided by the sponsors, who have to prove they can financially support the Ukrainians. They also may apply for employment authorization.

The Ukrainians are entitled to food stamps, Medicaid and other assistance. Sponsorship Breakdownsīut the problems facing refugees in the island state can be outsized due to one of the highest costs of living in the nation and a dearth of affordable housing that leaves many residents struggling to get by. Americans have filed some 124,000 applications seeking to sponsor Ukrainians since the program began in late April, with more than half coming from households in New York, Illinois, California, Washington and Florida, CBS News reported, citing Department of Homeland Security data. It’s a tiny number compared to the mainland. The family has had to move several times since fleeing the war in Ukraine. Nataliia and Volodymyr Osypets help daughter Lila read books at the kitchen table at the home in Hilo where they are staying. Osypets is one of some 100 Ukrainians who have landed in Hawaii as part of the federal Uniting for Ukraine program, which gives those fleeing the war a legal pathway to enter the United States and stay with Americans who have agreed to sponsor them for up to two years. Visa issues prevented them from staying in the South Asian nation so with no end to the war in sight, Osypets jumped at the chance to move to Hawaii when he met a couple from Maui who offered to host them. They had long planned a pilgrimage to India, so that was their first stop. Embassy that military action was likely imminent and he and his family should leave the country.

The 40-year-old IT project manager got a tip from a friend in the U.S. But he knew that he probably wouldn’t be returning to his homeland anytime soon. Volodymyr Osypets didn’t plan to travel to Hawaii when he, his wife and their 3-year-old daughter left Ukraine about a week before Russia invaded the country in February.
