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<p>In April 2022, the Biden administration launched the <i>Uniting for Ukraine (U4U)</i> program to provide refuge for Ukrainians fleeing Russia’s war of aggression. Based on 31 in-depth interviews conducted in the New York Metropolitan Area in 2024–2025, this article examines how U4U’s requirement of private sponsorship created a form of “immigration by design,” privileging those with family or friends in the USA and positioning members of the Ukrainian diaspora as key sponsors. The analysis explores a wide range of socio-economic, circumstantial, and emotional factors shaping decisions to migrate or remain in Ukraine, including family ties, financial security, safety concerns, travel costs, access to refuge in Europe, responses to wartime conditions, patriotism, and cultural norms. On this basis, three categories of refugees emerge: <i>determined refugees</i>, who had aspired to migrate before the war and are committed to permanent resettlement in the U.S.; <i>reluctant refugees</i>, who migrated because of the war but remain open to return; and <i>compelled refugees</i>, whose decisions were driven by urgent economic and security pressures. The study also highlights that despite transnational family ties and potential diaspora sponsorship, many Ukrainians declined the opportunity to relocate. Their decisions underscore how refugee self-selection is influenced by a complex mix of personal and structural factors that extend beyond security, economics, and family/diaspora connections. These findings challenge conventional distinctions between “forced” and “economic” migration and show that post-2022 Ukrainian migration decisions are shaped by unique intersections of war, displacement, and diaspora networks.</p>

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Immigration by Design: Factors Affecting Ukrainian Refugees’ Relocation to the United States

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年1月28日

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  • Halyna Lemekh

摘要

In April 2022, the Biden administration launched the Uniting for Ukraine (U4U) program to provide refuge for Ukrainians fleeing Russia’s war of aggression. Based on 31 in-depth interviews conducted in the New York Metropolitan Area in 2024–2025, this article examines how U4U’s requirement of private sponsorship created a form of “immigration by design,” privileging those with family or friends in the USA and positioning members of the Ukrainian diaspora as key sponsors. The analysis explores a wide range of socio-economic, circumstantial, and emotional factors shaping decisions to migrate or remain in Ukraine, including family ties, financial security, safety concerns, travel costs, access to refuge in Europe, responses to wartime conditions, patriotism, and cultural norms. On this basis, three categories of refugees emerge: determined refugees, who had aspired to migrate before the war and are committed to permanent resettlement in the U.S.; reluctant refugees, who migrated because of the war but remain open to return; and compelled refugees, whose decisions were driven by urgent economic and security pressures. The study also highlights that despite transnational family ties and potential diaspora sponsorship, many Ukrainians declined the opportunity to relocate. Their decisions underscore how refugee self-selection is influenced by a complex mix of personal and structural factors that extend beyond security, economics, and family/diaspora connections. These findings challenge conventional distinctions between “forced” and “economic” migration and show that post-2022 Ukrainian migration decisions are shaped by unique intersections of war, displacement, and diaspora networks.