Sponsor Circle Program

The Sponsor Circle Program is a community-led resettlement initiative that allows everyday Americans to take on the responsibility of welcoming newcomers to their communities.

In October of 2021 after the fall of Kabul, Community Sponsorship Hub launched the Sponsor Circle Program to support Afghans through Operation Allies Welcome. 

Like many of you, our team was devastated to watch the situation in Afghanistan unravel. As tens of thousands of Afghans fled for their lives, communities across America loudly proclaimed their desire to welcome newcomers.

The Sponsor Circle Program enabled everyday Americans to do just that. 

More than 90,000 Afghan newcomers were resettled to the United States, and more than 140 sponsor circles welcomed hundreds of Afghans across 33 states. 

These sponsor circles represented remarkable acts of engagement by everyday Americans from all walks of life, including:

  • a Vietnamese-American coalition in Seattle; 

  • military veterans in Rhode Island and New Mexico; 

  • faculty and staff at colleges and universities in New Jersey and Virginia; 

  • faith congregations in Colorado and Alabama; 

  • and so many more. 

The Sponsor Circle Program continues to showcase the adaptability and efficacy of community sponsorship models in providing humanitarian solutions. 

Since our launch, the program expanded to support groups volunteering through “Uniting for Ukraine” and “Processes for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguan and Venezuelans (CHNV).” And the Sponsor Circle Program paved the way for the Welcome Corps, the first private sponsorship of refugees program in the United States.

In January 2025, the executive order “Realigning the United States Refugee Admissions Program,” suspended refugee travel to the United States and all U.S. Refugee Admissions Program refugee case processing activities, including through the Welcome Corps.

To meet the demand of Americans who want to welcome during this suspension, the Sponsor Circle Program supports communities in welcoming Afghan allies stranded overseas and refugees who have already been lawfully resettled in the United States.