6,800 Venezuelans have been approved to come to the U.S. legally under sponsorship policy

The U.S. government has given more than 6,800 Venezuelans permission to fly to the U.S. legally, and admitted several hundred of them, under a sponsorship initiative the Biden administration set up in October to manage a record number of Venezuelan migrants arriving along the southern border, officials said Thursday.

Since the program launched on Oct. 18, approximately 490 Venezuleans have arrived in the U.S. under the humanitarian parole authority, which allows them to live and work in the country legally for at least two years, according to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials.

The program, currently capped at 24,000 arrivals, allows U.S.-based individuals who are willing and able to financially sponsor someone from Venezuela to file an application on their behalf. Venezuleans who have entered Panama, Mexico or the U.S. unlawfully after Oct. 18 are not eligible to come to the U.S. under the policy.