What Happened to Biden’s CHNV Parole Program?

The CHNV parole program, the Biden-era pathway that let nationals of Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela enter the United States temporarily with a U.S.-based financial supporter, has ended. The Department of Homeland Security formally terminated it on March 25, 2025, and after the Supreme Court cleared the way in May 2025, the government began revoking parole status and employment authorization for the roughly 530,000 people who had entered under it.¹ No new applications are being accepted, and people already here on CHNV parole have either lost that status or are at risk of losing it.

How the Termination Happened

The unwinding started on January 20, 2025, when an executive order titled “Securing Our Borders” directed the Secretary of Homeland Security to end categorical parole programs at odds with the new administration’s border policies. The order named CHNV specifically.² USCIS paused acceptance of new Form I-134A supporter filings almost immediately.³

Two months later, on March 25, 2025, DHS published a Federal Register notice terminating the program effective that day. The notice also cut short the parole periods of people already inside the country: anyone whose parole had not already expired would see it end on April 24, 2025. DHS rescinded confirmations of all pending Form I-134A filings, closing the door on beneficiaries who had not yet traveled.¹

The Court Fight

A federal district court in Massachusetts hit pause on April 14, 2025, in a case called Svitlana Doe v. Noem. The judge certified a class of CHNV parolees and stayed both the Federal Register notice and the individual termination notices DHS had been sending through MyUSCIS accounts. Status and work authorization briefly held.

The reprieve was short. On May 30, 2025, the Supreme Court stayed the district court’s order, letting the termination move forward while the appeal continued.⁴ DHS then resumed terminating parole and revoking Employment Authorization Documents.⁵ By June 2025, termination notices were going out and the agency was publicly encouraging former parolees to leave the country voluntarily. The underlying legal question — whether the statute allows categorical parole on this scale — remains on appeal.

What Former Parolees Face Now

Once parole is terminated, the person no longer has a lawful basis to be in the United States. The Employment Authorization Document tied to that parole is revoked, and USCIS has instructed affected individuals to return their EAD cards.⁵ Employers who verify status through the SAVE system will now receive a response reading “No Status — Not Employment Authorized,” which effectively ends the job.

Removal is the stated next step. The Federal Register notice said DHS generally intends to promptly remove people who entered under CHNV parole and do not have another lawful basis to remain. The agency indicated it may use expedited removal where the person has not been continuously present in the United States for at least two years. For parolees who are at or past that two-year mark, DHS said it would need to use standard removal proceedings in immigration court, which takes longer and allows the person to present any available defenses.¹

Who May Still Have a Basis to Stay

Not every former CHNV parolee is out of options. The termination notice itself said DHS would not prioritize for removal people who had already filed for another immigration benefit before the notice was published, such as an asylum application, adjustment of status, or Temporary Protected Status. Someone who is the beneficiary of a family-based petition filed on their behalf may also have a basis to remain while that petition is pending.¹

TPS is a moving target for these nationalities and cannot be assumed as a safety net. Venezuela’s 2023 TPS designation was terminated by Supreme Court order in October 2025, though certain work authorization documents issued under the earlier 2021 designation remained valid through specific expiration dates. Haiti’s TPS status has also faced termination proceedings in 2026.⁵ Whether TPS is still available to a given person depends on which designation was active when they registered and whether it has since been terminated. Anyone in this position should get individual legal advice rather than rely on general guidance.

Keep Your Address Current

Every noncitizen in the United States has to report a change of address to USCIS within 10 days of moving. This applies whether or not parole has been terminated, and it can be done through a USCIS online account or by mailing a paper Form AR-11.⁶ Failing to report an address change is a separate immigration violation that can complicate any pending benefit request or future application for relief. If you have anything in progress with USCIS or the immigration court, missing this step can hurt you independently of the parole issue.

What the Program Was, Briefly

The program launched for Venezuelans in late 2022 and expanded in January 2023 to add Cubans, Haitians, and Nicaraguans. It used the federal government’s discretionary parole authority, which lets the Secretary of Homeland Security grant temporary entry on a case-by-case basis for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit.⁷ The stated goal was to give people from these four countries a legal alternative to dangerous irregular crossings.

The mechanics: a U.S.-based supporter filed Form I-134A committing to financial support, and if the government approved, the beneficiary could fly commercially into a U.S. airport, be inspected by Customs and Border Protection, and receive parole for up to two years along with eligibility to apply for work authorization.⁵ Parole is not a visa and not an admission. That distinction matters now, because most paths to permanent residency require a formal admission, and parole alone does not satisfy that requirement.⁷

1
Federal Register. Termination of Parole Processes for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans
2
The White House. Securing Our Borders
3
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Update on Form I-134A
4
Supreme Court of the United States. Noem v. Svitlana Doe – Order on Application for Stay
5
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. FAQs on the Effect of Changes to Parole and Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for SAVE Agencies
6
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. AR-11, Alien’s Change of Address Card
7
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1182 – Inadmissible Aliens