I 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 6892 

To designate Ukraine under section 244 of the Immigration and Nationality 

Act to permit nationals of Ukraine to be eligible for temporary protected 

status under such section, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 2, 2022 

Mr. CICILLINE (for himself, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Mr. FITZPATRICK, Mr. QUIGLEY, 

Mr. HARRIS, and Ms. KAPTUR) introduced the following bill; which was 

referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To designate Ukraine under section 244 of the Immigration 

and Nationality Act to permit nationals of Ukraine to 

be eligible for temporary protected status under such 

section, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Ukrainian Protection 

5 Act of 2022’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) On February 24, 2022, Vladimir Putin 

2 launched a ‘‘special military operation’’ in Ukraine, 

3 and has since authorized hundreds of missile and ar4 tillery attacks against Ukraine and sent tens of 

5 thousands of Russian troops into Ukraine in an un6 lawful and unprovoked act of war. 

7 (2) On February 27, 2022, Vladimir Putin or8 dered his nuclear forces to be on high alert. 

9 (3) Conservative approximations estimate that 

10 hundreds of Ukrainians have been killed and thou11 sands wounded as a result of Russian attacks, and 

12 that more Ukrainians will die or be severely wound13 ed if Russia does not end its attack on Ukraine. 

14 (4) During ongoing Russian attacks on Ukrain15 ian soil, millions of Ukrainian citizens have had to 

16 seek shelter in their homes, bomb shelters, and sub17 way stations. 

18 (5) Due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, al19 most 900,000 Ukrainian refugees have already fled 

20 the country to neighboring countries, such as Po21 land, Hungary, and Slovakia. 

22 (6) It is estimated that there will be up to 4 

23 million refugees as a result of Russian attacks on 

24 Ukraine if the conflict continues to escalate. 


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1 (7) Russian airstrikes against Ukraine have se2 verely damaged residential buildings and key resi3 dential infrastructure in Ukraine, including major 

4 airports, a public square and opera house in 

5 Kharkiv, a hospital area in Vuhledar, and Kyiv’s 

6 main television tower, causing television broadcasts 

7 in Ukraine’s capital to temporarily cease. 

8 (8) On February 24, 2022, the U.N. Secretary 

9 General stated of the Russian invasion of Ukraine: 

10 ‘‘The use of force by one country against another is 

11 the repudiation of the principles that every country 

12 has committed to uphold. . . . We know the toll of 

13 war. With deaths rising, we are seeing images of 

14 fear, anguish and terror in every corner of 

15 Ukraine.’’. 

16 (9) On February 24, 2022, the U.N. High 

17 Commissioner on Refugees stated of the Russian in18 vasion of Ukraine: ‘‘The humanitarian consequences 

19 on civilian populations will be devastating. There are 

20 no winners in war, but countless lives will be torn 

21 apart.’’. 

22 (10) On February 24, 2022, the UNICEF Ex23 ecutive Director stated of the Russian invasion of 

24 Ukraine: ‘‘UNICEF is deeply concerned that inten25 sifying hostilities in Ukraine pose an immediate 


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1 threat to the lives and wellbeing of the country’s 7.5 

2 million children. Heavy weapons fire along the line 

3 of contact has already damaged critical water infra4 structure and education facilities in recent days. Un5 less the fighting subsides, tens of thousands of fami6 lies could be displaced, dramatically escalating hu7 manitarian needs.’’. 

8 (11) On February 26, 2022, the United Na9 tions Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian 

10 Affairs released their first report on the impact of 

11 Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, noting that: ‘‘Signifi12 cant infrastructural damage has left hundreds of 

13 thousands of people without electricity or water, 

14 while bridges and roads damaged by shelling have 

15 left communities cut off from markets for food and 

16 other basic supplies.’’. 

17 (12) On February 24, 2022, the State Depart18 ment issued a Travel Advisory Level 4: Do Not 

19 Travel. This advisory read, in part: ‘‘Do not travel 

20 to Ukraine due to armed conflict and COVID-19. 

21 . . . On February 24, Russia’s forces attacked 

22 major Ukrainian cities, and the Ukrainian govern23 ment closed its airspace to commercial flights due to 

24 Russia’s military actions. . . . The security situation 

25 throughout Ukraine is highly volatile, and conditions 


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1 may deteriorate without warning. U.S. citizens 

2 should remain vigilant and take appropriate steps to 

3 increase their security awareness. Know the location 

4 of your closest shelter or protected space. In the 

5 event of mortar and/or rocket fire, follow the in6 structions from local authorities and seek shelter im7 mediately. If you feel your current location is no 

8 longer safe, you should carefully assess the potential 

9 risks involved in moving to a different location.’’. 

10 (13) While United States policy advises Ameri11 cans that current conditions make it unsafe to travel 

12 to Ukraine, the same conditions make it dangerous 

13 and inappropriate to forcibly repatriate Ukrainians 

14 at this time. 

15 (14) Ukraine’s recent crisis and existing dan16 gers to anyone located in Ukraine, which have been 

17 recognized by domestic and international actors, 

18 clearly make Ukrainian nationals currently in the 

19 United States eligible for temporary protected status 

20 under subparagraphs (B) and (C) of sections 

21 244(b)(1) of the Immigration and Nationality Act 

22 (commonly known as ‘‘TPS’’). 

23 (15) There are more than 30,000 Ukrainian 

24 nationals residing in the United States who could 


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1 benefit from TPS designation during this ongoing 

2 conflict. 

3 (16) TPS grants temporary protection from de4 portation to nationals of a country in which environ5 mental or political events have occurred which make 

6 it temporarily unsafe to deport them. TPS has been 

7 granted to nationals of many countries due to ongo8 ing armed conflicts in these nationals’ home coun9 tries. 

10 (17) TPS is appropriate and necessary to grant 

11 to Ukrainians in the United States given the ongo12 ing violent conflict in Ukraine. 

13 SEC. 3. DESIGNATION FOR PURPOSES OF GRANTING TEM14 PORARY PROTECTED STATUS. 

15 (a) DESIGNATION.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of section 244 

17 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

18 1254a), Ukraine shall be treated as if such country 

19 had been designated under subsection (b) of that 

20 section, subject to the provisions of this section. 

21 (2) PERIOD OF DESIGNATION.—The initial pe22 riod of such designation shall begin on the date of 

23 enactment of this Act and shall remain in effect for 

24 18 months. 


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1 (b) ALIENS ELIGIBLE.—In applying section 244 of 

2 the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1254a) 

3 pursuant to the designation made under this section, and 

4 subject to subsection (c)(3) of such section, an alien who 

5 is a national of Ukraine is deemed to meet the require6 ments of subsection (c)(1) of such section only if the 

7 alien— 

8 (1) is admissible as an immigrant, except as 

9 otherwise provided under subsection (c)(2)(A) of 

10 such section, and is not ineligible for temporary pro11 tected status under subsection (c)(2)(B) of such sec12 tion; and 

13 (2) registers for temporary protected status in 

14 a manner that the Secretary of Homeland Security 

15 shall establish. 

16 (c) CONSENT TO TRAVEL ABROAD.—The Secretary 

17 of Homeland Security shall give the prior consent to travel 

18 abroad described in section 244(f)(3) of the Immigration 

19 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1254a(f)(3)) to an alien 

20 who is granted temporary protected status pursuant to the 

21 designation made under this section, if the alien estab22 lishes to the satisfaction of the Secretary of Homeland Se23 curity that emergency and extenuating circumstances be24 yond the control of the alien require the alien to depart 

25 for a brief, temporary trip abroad. An alien returning to 


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1 the United States in accordance with such an authoriza2 tion shall be treated the same as any other returning alien 

3 provided temporary protected status under section 244 of 

4 the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1254a). 

Æ 


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