How to Apply for ORR Release: Sponsors, VOR Form, and Home Study

To apply to sponsor an unaccompanied child through ORR, contact the care provider facility where the child is held or call ORR’s National Call Center at (800) 203-7001. Within 24 hours of identifying you as a potential sponsor, the facility or the Call Center sends a Sponsor Application Packet containing the application, an Authorization for Release of Information, a Sponsor Care Agreement, fingerprinting instructions, and resource materials.¹ You then return the completed packet with supporting documents so ORR can vet you and, if approved, release the child into your care.

Who Can Sponsor and How That Affects Your Application

Federal regulations rank sponsors in a preference order. ORR releases children first to a parent, then a legal guardian, then an adult relative (brother, sister, aunt, uncle, grandparent, or first cousin age 18 or older), then a designated adult named by a parent or legal guardian, then a licensed program willing to accept legal custody, and finally another adult or entity approved at ORR’s discretion when no other option exists.²

ORR groups sponsors internally into three categories that set the vetting intensity. Category 1 covers parents and legal guardians and receives the least intensive review because the legal bond already exists. Category 2 covers close adult relatives. Category 3 covers more distant connections and non-relatives and gets the most thorough scrutiny. Your category also drives the clock: ORR aims to decide completed applications from parents, legal guardians, and close relatives within 10 calendar days, and other close relatives within 14 calendar days.³

Documents to Gather Before You Start

Missing paperwork is one of the most common reasons an application stalls, so pull everything together before you begin.

Your Identification

You need at least one unexpired government-issued photo ID. Originals are fine, and so are legible full-color photocopies, digital scans, or high-resolution photos. Acceptable documents include a U.S. passport or passport card, a Permanent Resident Card (Form I-551), a foreign passport with a temporary I-551 stamp, an Employment Authorization Document with a photo (Form I-766), a U.S. state driver’s license or ID card with a photo, a military ID, a Native American tribal document, or a Canadian driver’s license, among others.¹

ID for Every Adult in Your Home

Every adult age 18 or older living in your household, along with any adult caregiver named in a sponsor care plan, must also submit at least one government-issued photo ID from the same list.¹

Proof of Your Address

Submit at least one document verifying your current address. A current lease or mortgage statement, a state ID showing the current address, a utility bill in your name, a bank statement, or a payroll check stub all work. Documents with a date requirement must be dated within the month before you submit the application.¹

Proof of Your Relationship to the Child

If you claim a biological or legal relationship, you have to prove it. Parents typically submit birth certificates. Legal guardians submit court orders. Extended relatives may need to trace the connection through multiple birth certificates. When you claim a biological relationship, ORR may ask for DNA testing. You are not required to give a sample, but refusing can lead ORR to reclassify the case as an unrelated Category 3, which triggers more intensive vetting.⁴

Providing false information carries real consequences. Under 18 U.S.C. § 1001, knowingly making a materially false statement in a matter within federal jurisdiction is punishable by a fine, up to five years in prison, or both.⁵

Background Checks and Fingerprints

Every sponsor, every adult household member age 18 or older, and every adult caregiver named in a sponsor care plan goes through background screening no matter the sponsor category. At minimum, ORR checks the U.S. Department of Justice National Sex Offender public website. ORR may also require a public records criminal history check or an FBI fingerprint-based national criminal history check.⁶ Current ORR policy requires fingerprinting of all adult sponsors, household members, and caregivers named in the sponsor care plan, processed through federal partners.⁷

When a Home Study Is Required

Some applications require a home study before ORR will release the child. Under the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act and ORR’s regulations, a home study is required when:

The child is a victim of a severe form of trafficking.
The child has a disability requiring specialized services or treatment.
The child has been a victim of physical or sexual abuse indicating significant harm.
The proposed sponsor clearly presents a risk of abuse, maltreatment, exploitation, or trafficking.
The child is 12 or younger and the sponsor is not a relative.
A non-relative sponsor is seeking to sponsor multiple children or has previously sponsored a child.

ORR may also order a home study at its discretion — for instance, when a Category 1 sponsor cannot provide required documentation and seeks a waiver, or when a sponsor claiming a biological relationship refuses DNA testing.¹ The suitability assessment also weighs your motivation, the physical environment of your home, your resources and understanding of the child’s needs, and the preferences of both the child and the parent.⁶

ORR can deny your application if it decides you cannot provide for the child’s physical and mental well-being or that the placement would endanger the child or the community. ORR is not required to release a child to anyone it has reason to believe may harm or neglect the child, or who may fail to bring the child to required immigration proceedings.³

Release and the VOR Form

Once ORR approves you, the agency coordinates the physical handover at a designated facility or, in some cases, arranges transportation. You sign the Sponsor Care Agreement, and at discharge ORR issues a paper Verification of Release (VOR) form to you and the child, confirming that the child was processed through federal custody and released to a vetted sponsor. The form records the child’s name, date of birth, and Alien Registration Number (A-number) along with your sponsor information.⁸ Since December 2024, ORR also mails a wallet-sized plastic VOR card to the home within about five calendar days of release, at no cost to you or the child.⁹

One boundary worth knowing: the VOR form and card confirm release from federal custody, but they are not evidence of immigration status. They do not grant status, work authorization, or eligibility for ORR benefits, and they do not verify status through the SAVE system.¹⁰

What You Agree to as a Sponsor

The Sponsor Care Agreement is a binding commitment. By signing it, you agree to:

Provide the child’s basic needs: food, shelter, clothing, education, and medical care.
Ensure the child appears at all future immigration proceedings before DHS and the immigration court.
Report address changes promptly. Notify the local immigration court or Board of Immigration Appeals within five days using Form EOIR-33, and notify USCIS within ten days by filing Form AR-11 or updating online.
If you are not the child’s parent or legal guardian, make best efforts to establish legal guardianship through your local court within a reasonable time.
Attend the Department of Justice’s Legal Orientation Program for Custodians if it is available in your area.
Notify local law enforcement or child protective services within 24 hours if the child is at risk of or has experienced abuse, neglect, or maltreatment. If the child disappears, contact the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 1-800-843-5678 within 24 hours.
Ensure the child reports to ICE if an immigration judge orders removal or voluntary departure.

¹¹

You must also notify ICE as soon as possible, or within 24 hours, if the child is contacted by anyone you believe represents a smuggling syndicate, organized crime group, or human trafficking organization.¹¹

Post-Release Services You May Receive

After release, participation in post-release services is voluntary, because the child is no longer in government care. Even so, ORR is required to offer post-release services when a home study was conducted before release, including all TVPRA-mandated cases. ORR may also offer services at its discretion for any released child, depending on funding.¹²

ORR-funded providers offer three levels of service. Level One is virtual check-ins to confirm the child’s safety and well-being. Level Two is case management that connects you and the child with community resources such as legal aid, education, English language classes, and healthcare. Level Three is intensive in-person case management for children with higher needs.¹³ If a services provider identifies a safety concern, they must submit a Notification of Concern to ORR whether or not you or the child is actively participating.¹²

1
Administration for Children and Families. ORR Unaccompanied Alien Children Bureau Policy Guide: Section 2
2
eCFR. 45 CFR 410.1201
3
eCFR. 45 CFR Part 410 Subpart C – Releasing an Unaccompanied Child From ORR Custody
4
Office of Refugee Resettlement. Field Guidance 27 – DNA Testing Expansion
5
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 1001 – Statements or Entries Generally
6
eCFR. 45 CFR 410.1202 – Sponsor Suitability
7
Office of Refugee Resettlement. Field Guidance 26 – Fingerprint Background Checks
8
Office of Refugee Resettlement. Verification of Release (VOR) Form and Card
9
Office of Refugee Resettlement. Verification of Release Cards for Unaccompanied Children Released From ORR Custody
10
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. SAVE Guidance on New Verification of Release Card for Alien Children
11
Office of Refugee Resettlement. Sponsor Care Agreement
12
Administration for Children and Families. ORR Unaccompanied Children Bureau Policy Guide: Section 6
13
Administration for Children and Families. Post-Release Services (PRS)