Central American Minors (CAM) Program
Alert: Starting Oct. 15, 2024, USCIS will allow attorneys and accredited representatives to file Form G-28, Notice of Entry of Appearance as Attorney or Accredited Representative, to represent and appear with CAM qualifying children during the initial USCIS interview. We will provide additional information regarding this initiative to CAM qualifying parents and legal guardians who file an affidavit of relationship, as well as to CAM qualifying children who are currently in the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program interview process.
Alert: Updates
Alert: On June 13, 2018, a complaint was filed in the Northern District of California, S.A. v. Trump, 18-cv-03539, challenging an August 2017 decision to terminate CAM parole and related issues.
About the Program
The CAM program provides certain qualified children who are nationals of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, as well as certain family members of those children an opportunity to seek refugee status and possible resettlement in the United States.
Only certain parents or legal guardians who are lawfully present in the United States may request access to the program for qualifying children. A qualified child must be unmarried, under the age of 21, and a national of El Salvador, Guatemala, or Honduras. In some cases, an in-country parent of the qualifying child may also qualify for access. Children of a qualifying child or of other eligible family members may also qualify if those children are under the age of 21 and unmarried.
If you receive access to the CAM program, but we find you ineligible for refugee status, we will consider you for parole. Parole does not lead to a permanent immigration status, but it does allow you to lawfully enter and live temporarily in the United States and to apply for work authorization. We will generally approve parole under CAM for a 3-year period. U.S. Customs and Border Protection makes the ultimate determination whether to parole an individual into the United States at a port of entry.
The CAM program was established in 2014.
On Aug. 16, 2017, USCIS published a Federal Register notice announcing the termination of the parole component of the CAM program. As part of the review of the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program for fiscal year 2018, the CAM program was terminated. On Nov. 9, 2017, the Department of State (DOS) stopped accepting new submissions of Form DS-7699, Affidavit of Relationship for Minors Who Are Nationals of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras (AOR), and on Jan. 31, 2018, USCIS stopped interviewing new CAM cases. We continued to process cases of people we interviewed before that date.
On March 10, 2021, DOS announced the reopening of the CAM program in 2 phases. Phase 1 began in March 2021 and focused on reopening and processing eligible AORs that were closed when the program was terminated in 2018. During Phase 1, DOS was not accepting new AORs. Domestic resettlement agencies contacted parents who previously submitted an AOR to verify eligibility and determine whether they wish to reopen the case.
On June 15, 2021, DOS and DHS jointly announced the details of Phase 2 of the reopening. Beginning in Phase 2, eligibility to petition expanded to include legal guardians (in addition to parents) who are in the United States under any of the following qualifying categories:
- Lawful permanent residence;
- Temporary Protected Status;
- Parole;
- Deferred action;
- Deferred enforced departure; or
- Withholding of removal.
In addition, this expansion of eligibility to request access included certain U.S.-based parents or legal guardians with a pending asylum application or a pending U visa petition filed before May 15, 2021.
On April 11, 2023, DHS and DOS published a Federal Register notice announcing enhancements for the CAM program. The notice provided the following enhancements:
At the time of a CAM parole adjudication, if the qualifying individual filing for a minor child is not that child’s biological or adoptive parent or legal guardian (for example, if they are a step-parent), USCIS will gather additional information to evaluate and confirm whether the child has such a parent or legal guardian in the United States who intends to remain available to provide for the child’s care and physical custody if the child were paroled into the United States. We will share this information with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) as part of CAM parole processing. Absent new information or circumstances, CBP may rely on the information gathered by USCIS to reunite these children with their families by facilitating direct reunification of minor beneficiaries with their U.S.-based relatives in all appropriate instances.
Some individuals requested access to CAM for their children and certain qualifying family members before February 2018, and the beneficiaries were interviewed but were not afforded a parole determination or an opportunity to complete parole processing. They will now be able to pursue CAM parole processing.
We will no longer require the Form I-134, Declaration of Financial Support, as evidence of financial support and will allow financial supporters to provide a sworn statement or other evidence of financial support for those CAM cases which require such evidence.
Eligibility to request access for their children will now include certain U.S.-based parents or legal guardians who have a pending asylum application, pending petition for U nonimmigrant status (U-visa), or pending application for T nonimmigrant status (T-visa) filed on or before April 11, 2023.
If you are interested in applying for a qualifying family member via the CAM program, please contact a domestic Resettlement Agency.
Note: If you were previously paroled into the United States under CAM, refer to Requesting Re-Parole to learn more about the process for requesting re-parole (a new parole period) under the restarted CAM program
| Qualifying Criteria | |
|---|---|
| Qualifying Parent or Legal Guardian | The U.S.-based qualifying parent or legal guardian must be at least 18 years old and in the United States in 1 of the following categories:
The U.S.-based qualifying parent or legal guardian must be in 1 of these categories when they file the AOR. In addition, for the qualifying child and other eligible family members to be approved for parole, the qualifying parent or legal guardian must still be in 1 of the categories listed above or have received asylum or had their U visa petition or T visa application approved. Note on Qualifying Parents or Legal Guardians with Parole and Deferred Action: Parolees and individuals with deferred action must have been authorized parole or deferred action for a minimum of 1 year. |
| Qualifying Child | The qualifying child, at the time the AOR is filed, must be:
Note: If a qualifying parent submitted an AOR before Nov. 9, 2017, and their qualifying child later reached the age of 21, the child is still eligible for the purposes of current adjudication. |
| Eligible Family Members | In some cases, the following eligible family members may have access to the program when included with a qualifying child:
If an in-country parent of the qualifying child is not legally married to the qualifying parent in the United States, the in-country parent may be included if they are:
In-country parents who qualify under either scenario listed above have their own case and can include their unmarried children under 21 who are not the child of the U.S.-based qualifying parent. Those children would be listed as derivatives on the in-country parent’s case. The qualifying child’s biological parent who is not legally married to the qualifying parent in the United States may also include their legal spouse as a derivative on their case. If a legal guardian is filing the AOR for a qualifying child, the legal guardian cannot include an in-country parent of the qualifying child. Children of the U.S.-based, qualifying parent, who are married or 21 years of age or older If the U.S.-based qualifying parent has children who are married or 21 years of age or older, those children have their own case and can include their legal spouse and unmarried children under the age of 21 on their case as derivatives. If a legal guardian is filing the AOR for a qualifying child, the legal guardian can include siblings of the qualifying child. Primary caregiver of the qualifying child A caregiver may be given access to the CAM program if they are related to:
The caregiver must also be the qualifying child’s primary caregiver and part of the same household and economic unit as the qualifying child. A legal guardian filing the AOR for a qualifying child can include a primary caregiver of the qualifying child only if the primary caregiver is related to the qualifying child. |
A qualifying parent or legal guardian in the United States may file an AOR with the assistance of a designated resettlement agency. For more information on contacting a designated resettlement agency, see the Department of State's FAQs.
There is no fee to apply for this program, and no one may charge a fee to complete the form.
Once an applicant receives access to the program, specially trained USCIS officers will interview the qualifying child and eligible family members to determine who may be approved for classification as a refugee. We determine eligibility for refugee status on a case-by-case basis. The qualifying child – as well as certain eligible family members – must establish an independent refugee claim to be granted refugee status.
- For more information about refugees and seeking status as a refugee in the United States, see the Refugees webpage. For a legal definition of “refugee,” see Section 101(a)(42) of the Immigration and Nationality Act.
Additionally, DNA relationship testing is required between individuals claiming a biological parent-child relationship. If we determine you are a refugee through this program, you will undergo a medical examination. If we approve you for travel, you will receive cultural orientation and assistance with travel arrangements to the city where your U.S.-based qualifying parent resides.
If you receive access to the program, but we find you ineligible for refugee status, we will consider on a case-by-case basis whether to parole you into the United States for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit. In considering parole, we may require you to submit additional information or documentation. This may include documentation that you will have a means of support if we parole you into the United States, which may include a sworn statement, and supporting evidence from adult and married qualifying family members, guardians, or caregivers.
If you are conditionally eligible for referral for further parole processing under the CAM program, you must meet the following additional requirements:
- All applicants considered for parole must obtain and pay for a medical examination.
- All applicants approved for parole must book travel through an approved USCIS process and pay to fly into the United States.
We make parole determinations on a case-by-case basis, depending on each individual’s unique circumstances. Parole does not provide an immigration status, but it does allow you to be lawfully present in the United States temporarily and to apply for an Employment Authorization Document (EAD). CAM applicants may be authorized for 3 years of parole.
There is no appeal for a denial of an application for refugee status. However, USCIS may exercise its discretion to review a case upon timely receipt of a Request for Review (RFR) from the principal applicant or a third party if the principal applicant waives their rights to confidentiality.
| If … | You may file an RFR of a denied refugee case… |
|---|---|
| USCIS denied the refugee case and conditionally approved parole* | Within 90 days from the date of the refugee status denial notice |
| USCIS denied the refugee case, but did not conditionally approve parole* | Within 90 days from the date of the parole denial notice |
* Potential impact of an RFR on the process for parole:
- USCIS will adjudicate an RFR independently of a parole case. However, we will consider an RFR abandoned if you enter the United States as a parolee. Additionally, if we approve an RFR and Form I-590 after your medical examination has concluded, we will not refund those costs. We will refund plane ticket costs (minus a refund fee and any applicable penalties).
- If we consider you for further parole processing, you may decide not to pay for the medical examination or plane ticket(s) until after the RFR decision. If you are waiting for the RFR decision, contact USCIS directly. We will pause processing your parole case until after the RFR decision.
If we administratively closed a parole case due to a Class A medical condition, inability to pay for medical examination or travel expenses, or for any other reason, you may contact us to request that we reopen the case.
If you have already been paroled under CAM but have not requested or received an immigration status in the United States, you must request re-parole (an additional parole period) to lawfully remain in the United States past the date that your initial parole expires. We will consider CAM re-parole requests on a case-by-case basis under the same criteria used for CAM. Submit re-parole requests at least 90 days before the parole expiration date to allow time for processing. If you did not apply for re-parole due to the previous termination of CAM parole, you may apply now that CAM parole has restarted. Include an explanation about why you did not submit the application for re-parole earlier.
Steps for requesting re-parole (an additional parole period):
File Form I-131, Application for Travel Documents, Parole Documents, and Arrival/Departure Records, and pay the required fee (or request a fee waiver) as provided in the Fee Schedule;
Check Box 10.F. in Part 1 of the form and complete the “Information About Them” section in Part 2. (Items 16.-27.), if applicable;
Include any evidence to support re-parole, including an explanation of why you need to stay in the United States and documents supporting your explanation; and
Mail the I-131 form and supporting documents together to the address provided on the Direct Filing Addresses for Form I-131 webpage.
Find additional information on how to apply for re-parole on the Humanitarian or Significant Public Benefit Parole for Individuals Outside the United States webpage.
If you receive parole under CAM, you will keep your parole until your parole period expires or you leave the United States, unless we terminate parole for other grounds under DHS regulations at 8 CFR § 212.5(e). We may revoke parole at any time if we determine that parole is no longer necessary or if you fail to comply with any conditions of the parole.