“A ministry dedicated to helping refugees and asylees rebuild their lives in a safe land.”
Refugees are people seeking protection in the U.S. on the grounds that they have experienced or fear persecution in their homeland. Refugees generally apply in refugee camps or at designated processing sites outside their home countries. In some instances, refugees may apply for protection within their home countries, such as in the Former Soviet Union, Cuba, and Vietnam.
The United States accepts a limited number of refugees each year. This number is determined by the President in consultation with Congress. The total number of refugees admitted is divided among different regions of the world.
Private voluntary agencies contract with the Department of State to provide, in the first 90 days, for a refugee's food, housing, employment, medical care, counseling, and other services to help the refugee make the transition to economic self-sufficiency. Certain refugees are entitled to a special program of Refugee Cash and Medical Assistance, provided by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and administered by the state in which the refugee resides.
The Stages of Refugee Processing
Referral to the US Program
Only refugees who have been referred by UNHCR or by the US embassy in the country of asylum are eligible for the US Refugee Resettlement Program.
The Department of State's Bureau for Population, Refugees and Migration (PRM) oversees this program. The State Department develops application criteria, refugee admission ceilings and presents eligible cases to the Immigration & Naturalization Service (INS) for adjudication. The person must meet the definition of a refugee by proving that she has a well-founded fear of persecution. The refugee applicant must prove that this fear is based on the possibility of persecution because of her race, religion, membership in a social group, political opinion, or national origin.
Adjudication
Refugees, who meet the criteria for application to the US program, are interviewed by an INS officer who travels to the country of asylum.
The INS officer decides whether the applicant is a refugee as defined under US law. An individual designation as a refugee by UNHCR is not guaranteed admission to the US. Refugees must also pass the INS interview.
Assurance Process
The American resettlement organization must "assure" the Department of State that it is prepared to receive each refugee. This "assurance" is a written guarantee that various basic services will be provided to the refugee and any accompanying family members in the initial resettlement phase.
The availability of housing, employment, needed services, readiness of host community and a variety of other factors determine placement In the U.S.
Medical Clearance
All refugees are medically screened by a health care professional working for the US government prior to coming to the US. The screening identifies medical conditions that require follow up or constitute a public health concern. A few serious conditions may render a refugee ineligible for entry into the US. A waiver is sometimes available to the refugee. After being "medically cleared," a refugee must enter the US within one year.
Security Clearance
All refugees must undergo a security clearance procedure prior to coming to the US. The level of clearance needed depends on the refugee's country of origin. Most refugees submit to a "name check" process whereby the refugee's name is checked against the FBI's database of known terrorists and undesirables and the State Department's database of people who have been denied visas to enter the US in the past.
The circumstances under which refugees leave their country are different from those of other immigrants. They are fleeing persecution without the luxury of bringing personal possessions, i.e. documents.
