DES MOINES, Iowa — After leaving Ukraine to escape war, refugees who are displaced in Iowa are now sharing concerns about the potential to lose their legal status next year.

Over 2,000 displaced Ukrainians are now living in Iowa with direct sponsorship through United for Ukraine, according to IA Nice, a nonprofit based in Eastern Iowa that helped sponsor some Ukrainian refugees.

Angela Boelens founded the nonprofit in late 2022 in response to the Russo-Ukrainian War in Eastern Europe. Since then, she has helped 22 families, making up 76 people, find homes in Iowa.

According to Boelens, refugees through this program enter the country legally and utilize little to no publicly funded benefits.

“They don’t get SNAP, they don’t get refugee cash assistance, nothing like that,” she said.

Boelens said displaced families achieve financial independence within 120 days of arriving to Iowa. They start working in the community and now have mortgages and car loans.

In March, Boelens went to Ukraine and visited the hometowns of families who now live in the state. She saw bombed buildings, bullet and bomb holes, and destruction in many communities.

One of the neighborhoods she visited belonged to a now 36-year-old mother and her daughter, who left their entire family behind in Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital city, to escape the war. The two Ukrainian refugees wished to remain anonymous for their safety.

“We didn’t have electricity. We didn’t have internet, normal internet, and it started to be colder and we didn’t have heaters in our house,” said the mother about life after war broke out in her homeland.

Over a year after the war started, she came to Iowa through IA Nice and United for Ukraine. Her now 15-year-old daughter had a difficult time transitioning into their new life.

“I really miss home. I miss my school in Ukraine,” she said.

After living in De Witt, Iowa for two years, she said it got easier. But now, their legal status in the United States is in question after the mom’s work permit expired in May, and her application for renewal hasn’t been approved.

Boelens said this is happening to many refugees.

The mom said she also applied for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) through the Department of Homeland Security, and she’s also waiting for that application to be acknowledged. In total, she said her family paid over $5,000 to fill out applications to maintain a legal status in the country.

“We don’t want to ask for money. We don’t want to ask for food. We just want to have our own job and do our own job and just live normal life,” she said.

The mother lost her job in May when her work permit expired. She still has to pay her mortgage, car loan, and shop for food.

With peace negotiations taking place, many refugees are hopeful for the end of the war, but going back may not be an option.

“The country is still torn up. I’ve been to the homes of the people we sponsor. It’s not a place to go back to,” said Boelens.

The mother and daughter’s legal status will expire in October 2026. According to IA Nice, this is also the case for all of the over 2,000 Ukrainians who arrived under Iowa citizens-sponsored United for Ukraine programs.

“It’s not easy to start your life [over] every two years,” said the mother.

She said going home to Ukraine isn’t an option and she’s considering moving to another country in Europe, but she’s worried she’ll meet the same fate.

“Maybe after two years they’ll also say [to] me, ‘You can’t live here, you have to move somewhere else,’” she said.

As a result, she would prefer to stay in Iowa, where she and her daughter are already starting to make a new life.

Boelens said IA Nice is hoping state politicians can help find a solution with the federal government.