The United States is establishing an in-country refugee/parole program in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras allowing at-risk children a chance to be reunited with parents in the United States. Beginning in December 2014, a parent lawfully present in the United States with children in El Salvador, Guatemala, or Honduras will be able to file for their children under the age of 21, requesting a resettlement interview. If the second parent resides with the child in the home country and is currently married to the lawfully present parent in the United States, the second parent may be added to the child’s petition and considered for refugee status. Children and parents who are found ineligible for refugee admission may be considered for parole, a way of allowing inadmissible individuals to enter the U.S.

There will not be a publicly available form for this process. Interested individuals will have to contact a resettlement agency on their own, Resettlement agencies are located in more than 180 communities throughout the United States. When the program is launched, the Department of State will provide information on how to contact one of these agencies to initiate an application. DNA relationship testing will be required to confirm the biological relationship between the parent and child.