Unaccompanied Children Information

HHS is required to provide care for unaccompanied alien children (UAC) when they are referred to the department’s Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) by another federal agency, usually the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Most children are placed into ORR care because:

  • They were apprehended by immigration authorities while trying to cross the United States (U.S.) border.
  • They are referred after coming to the attention of immigration authorities at some point after crossing the U.S. border.

ORR makes the following publicly available about our work with unaccompanied alien children:

ORR National Call Center Helpline

Parents or guardians trying to determine if your child is in HHS custody should contact the ORR National Call Center through either of the following methods:

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Unaccompanied alien children are defined as children who:

  • Have no lawful immigration status in the U.S.
  • Have not made it to 18 years of age.
  • Have no parent or legal guardian in the U.S., or no parent or legal guardian in the U.S. available to provide care and physical custody.

  • The call center collects information from the caller and immediately sends the information to the shelter where the child is located.
  • As a caller, you may provide your name, contact information, relationship to the child or child’s family, etc.
  • The ORR shelter must respond to a parent/sponsor/legal representative, after verifying the caller’s identity with the child or the child's family in their country of origin.
  • The call center does not verify or authenticate relationships, and therefore MAY NOT share the location or other personal information regarding the child with the caller.

  • Not every adult who tries to claim custody of a child is an appropriate sponsor due to a variety of reasons.
    • These reasons may include custodial disputes in the home country or environmental factors unsuitable for children.
  • Professional case managers conduct thorough investigations to determine safe settings for children to be released to a sponsor.

  • Yes. In addition to reunification support, the call center also serves children and sponsors post-reunification with issues that may include:
    • Finding resources in the community for education, medical care, emotional support, juvenile justice, substance abuse disorder, legal support, and safety.
    • Providing guidance on strengthening the relationship between the sponsor and child.
    • Receiving and addressing reports of child abuse or neglect.

  • Outside entities, attorneys or other individuals seeking UAC case file information must make a request to ORR under the appropriate policies and procedures.
  • Requesting parties should not make a FOIA request for UAC case file information.

Program contact information

Office of Refugee Resettlement
Administration for Children and Families
Mary E. Switzer Building
330 C Street, SW
Room 5123
Washington, DC 20201

Phone: 202.401.9246
Fax: 202.401.1022

To ensure the call center can focus on its critical mission of connecting children and families, ORR asks that members of the public, lawmakers and media do not use the 1-800 number. Instead use the ORR 202 phone number.

Content created by Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs (ASPA)
Content last reviewed