U.S. grants some Venezuelans speedy entry under new program, sponsors say

Venezuelan migrant Victoriana Loaiza, 23, who was expelled from the U.S. to Mexico under Title 42 and later got a humanitarian parole to travel back to U.S., poses for a portrait in Mexico City, Mexico October 28, 2022. REUTERS/Raquel Cunha

(Reuters) - U.S. sponsors applying to bring Venezuelans into the United States under a new program are receiving approvals in hours or days, a lightning-fast pace that could soon fill up available spaces in the program, according to U.S. sponsors and advocates.

Some sponsors are U.S.-based relatives of Venezuelans eager to flee political and economic turmoil back home. But others, like South Florida business consultant Maria Antonietta Diaz, are willing to help strangers. Diaz, a Venezuelan-American advocate who has lived in the United States for the past 25 years, got in touch with Venezuelans seeking sponsors via social media.