The Welcome Corps empowers Americans to privately sponsor refugees seeking freedom and safety.
What is the Welcome Corps?
The Welcome Corps empowers Americans to privately sponsor refugees seeking freedom and safety. Modeled after Canada’s long standing and successful sponsorship program, the Welcome Corps draws on the promise of private-sector engagement to welcome and integrate refugees.
The program enables Americans from any town or city to form local teams and apply to sponsor a refugee of any nationality. All refugees sponsored through the Welcome Corps undergo the same vetting and security screening processes as other refugees coming to the U.S. They arrive authorized to work and have a pathway to legal permanent residence and U.S. citizenship.
Resources and printouts on how to sponsor someone through the Welcome Corps
The Niskanen immigration team has several resources addressing frequently asked questions and guiding interested individuals through the Welcome Corps sponsorship process.
Did you apply to sponsor someone through the Processes for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans (CHNV) program? You may be eligible to sponsor your loved one through the Welcome Corps too:
Our work on the Welcome Corps
In 2015, the Niskanen Center launched a policy portfolio dedicated to private refugee sponsorship and began publishing original research and policy recommendations. Our work was critical in building a new consensus among refugee advocates and stakeholders that private sponsorship could play a promising role in enhancing the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP). With coverage ranging from a Wall Street Journal op-ed to a panel on the Hill covered by C-SPAN, Niskanen has long been at the forefront of the issue, analyzing data, issuing policy recommendations, and building coalitions. We were excited that the Biden administration launched the Welcome Corps program in early 2023 and expanded it in December 2023.
As private sponsorship initiatives like Welcome Corps continue to gain support and evolve, Niskanen will continue its steadfast commitment to drawing attention and eliciting support for pragmatic and demonstrably successful refugee policies.