The Biden administration is considering speeding up the resettlement of U.S.-linked Ukrainian refugees, including family members who already live here, a U.S. official said, amid growing calls from supporters for it to do so. War-torn Ukraine.

US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have repeatedly promised to welcome Ukrainian refugees to the US, but the reality is for those trying to rejoin their families in the US. The US is different, given the limited ways in which Ukrainians can legally come to the US. country.

Nearly three million people have fled Ukraine for neighboring countries, according to the United Nations refugee agency. Although most Ukrainian refugees tend to live in Europe, there are those who want to come to the United States, where they have families. There are more than one million people of Ukrainian descent in the United States, according to 2019 census estimates.

Options for Ukrainian refugees seeking to reach the United States are limited. The US refugee resettlement process, for example, can take years to complete, prompting pressure from advocates to speed up the process for people who already have relatives in the US and can settle further away easily where the relatives are.

A State Department spokesman said the United States was working with European allies and partners, along with international organizations, to support people displaced by war.

“If there are Ukrainians who cannot live safely and for them resettlement in the United States is a better option, we will work with UNHCR and the EU to consider it. It is not a quick process, so we will look at other options and whatnot. what we can do,” the spokesman said in a statement last Thursday, noting that the United States hoped that Ukraine would want to live in a neighboring country or in the European Union.

Meanwhile, the Democratic representative in New York, Tom Suozzi, plans to ask the government on Monday to grant tourist visas to Ukrainian citizens wishing to travel to the United States. But this also has its difficulties.

To get a tourist visa, Ukrainian citizens must apply, get an appointment at a US consulate and prove that they will be coming to the US for a short period of time, a requirement set by law.

Marina Shepelsky, an immigration lawyer who works with Ukrainian clients, told CNN that some people have managed to get tourist visas, but requests have been a challenge.

“It’s very difficult. It’s always been difficult to get a tourist visa period, but now so many people are applying, they really have to choose,” said Shepelsky.