Frequently Asked Questions

We are so sorry to hear about your struggles, and we pray for your safety. Unfortunately, we are limited only to serving the refugee resettlement process after arrival to the U.S. We do not have any relationship with the refugee processing centers, United Nations processing, or the humanitarian parole process with the U.S. immigration system. Welcome Corps in the U.S. assists with helping to match immigrants to possible U.S. sponsors. Please consider reaching out to them to ask for their help to match you with a sponsor here in the U.S. Once you arrive to the U.S., then organizations like LSSMN would be able to help you to apply for eligible programs, work authorization, education, and other services.  

If you know of someone who can be a sponsor for you, they can also complete the sponsorship application online and then connect with LSSMN so that we can explain how we are able to help you once your sponsorship is approved and you arrive to the U.S. 

We’re very sorry that there is not more that we can do. Please continue to engage with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) for options like humanitarian parole, as those may be the paths that can lead you to a new settlement home. We continue to think of the struggles you are facing and hope that you can find solutions that can help.

This page allows people to enter their address, choose a radius and look for free adult classes. Choose “English (ESL)” under class subjects, and then pick the options you want in the left-hand column.

If you are a refugee or other (ORR) Office of Refugee Resettlement-eligible individual in the Twin Cities, the quickest way for you to get an appointment with our immigration team is to attend a walk-in session, which occur every Tuesday from 9 A.M. to 3 P.M. at 2400 Park Ave, Minneapolis, MN 55404. If you are in St. Cloud or greater MN, please fill out the Contact Us form below.

LSS Refugee Services unfortunately does not have any services available for asylum seekers. You can check out The Advocates for Human Rights for Legal Representation. Also take a look at MN Asylum Network, a resource list for asylum Seekers. Counties often have some supports available to asylum seekers with children through the Parents Support Outreach Program (PSOP). PSOP is an early intervention program providing short-term voluntary support for at-risk children and families. Questions can be sent to the Minnesota Department of Human Services.

LSS Circle of Welcome is a support program that allows volunteers to walk alongside refugees being resettled by LSS. Although it also involves time and financial help from the group involved, it is not considered a sponsorship program because the volunteers are not the primary providers of those initial resettlement services, such as securing housing, applying for county benefits, etc.

In 2023, a new program called Welcome Corps was announced, which is designed to allow private sponsorship groups to directly resettle refugee newcomers (without involvement of a local resettlement organization).  Locally, this program is supported through Alight. For Twin-Cities area specific information, send an email to sponsorship@wearealight.org.  

Click here for information about private sponsorship for Ukrainians, aka Uniting for Ukraine. 

Click here for information about private sponsorship for Cuban/Haitians, Nicaraguans, Venezuelans: 

LSS currently has resettlement offices in the Twin Cities and St. Cloud. We also have a satellite office in Willmar. Refugees who come through these locations generally stay near our resettlement office, as we’re able to provide immediate support and access to a variety of resources locally. You might consider reaching out to other nonprofit organizations in your community. Thank you for your generosity and willingness to help.

Yes! We love speaking about our work in the community. Please fill out the Contact Us form below with the date, time, and details of your event and we’ll see if we can arrange for a member of our team to present.

Yes, we love working with groups from middle school to adults. Most commonly, groups help set up apartments for newly- arrived families. (Many hands make light work!) Depending on the needs and interests of the group, we are also able to pair the hands-on experience with a presentation or conversation about the refugee experience. Please fill out the Contact Us form below with your volunteering idea!