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What is the United States Refugee Program
and Who Benefits? Every year millions of people around
the world are displaced by war, famine, civil unrest, and political
unrest. Others are forced to flee their countries in order escape
the risk of death and torture at the hands of persecutors. In
mid-1998, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees estimated
the world's population of refugees and asylum seekers to be 13
million. The United States works with other governmental, international,
and private organizations to provide food, health care, and shelter
to millions of refugees throughout the world.
Resettlement in third countries, including the United States,
is considered for refugees in urgent need of protection, refugees
for whom other durable solutions are not feasible, and refugees
able to join close family members. In seeking durable solutions
for refugees, the United States gives priority to the safe, voluntary
return of refugees to their homelands. This policy, recognized
in the Refugee Act of 1980, is also the preference of the United
Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). If safe, voluntary
repatriation is not feasible, other durable solutions are sought
including resettlement in countries of asylum within the region
and resettlement in third countries.
In addition, the United States considers persons for admission
into the United States as refugees of special humanitarian concern.
People who meet the definition of a refugee
and who are otherwise admissible to the United States may be resettled
in the United States if they have not been firmly resettled in
a third country. (Many grounds of inadmissibility may be waived
for refugees.) Generally, refugees are people who are outside
their homeland and have been persecuted in their homeland or have
a well-founded fear of persecution there on account of race, religion,
nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political
opinion.
Asylum and refugee statuses are closely related; however, they
differ depending on where a person applies for the status. If
an applicant is already in the United States, he or she may apply
for asylum status. If a person is not in the United States, he
or she may be eligible to apply for refugee status. In either
case, all people who are granted either asylum or refugee status
must meet the definition of a refugee
. If you will apply inside the United States, please see
How Do I Apply for Asylum?.
What Does the Law Say? The legal foundation for this program comes from the Immigration
and Nationality Act (INA). For the part of the law concerning
the Refugee Program, please see INA
§ 207(Refugees) and INA
§ 101(a)(42) (Definition of Refugee). Rules
published in the Federal Register explain the eligibility
requirements and procedures to be followed by applicants and the
government. These rules are incorporated into the Code of Federal
Regulations [CFR] at 8
CFR § 207.
How Do I Apply?
If you believe that you are in need of protection, you may wish
to make your concern known to the UNHCR or to an international
non-profit voluntary agency. If either of these organizations
is unavailable to you, you should contact the nearest U.S. embassy
or consulate. Where appropriate, a representative from one of
these organizations will discuss your situation with you to find
out if you might be eligible to apply for resettlement in the
United States. If so, you must then complete a packet of forms,
and the USCIS will conduct a formal interview with you to determine
if you qualify for refugee status. If the USCIS determines that you
should be resettled in the United States as a refugee, the State
Department, together with other organizations, will then complete
your processing. There are no application fees. Please see the
United
Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Website for contact
information, or you may call the High Commissioner's representative
in the United States at (202) 296-5191. How Does My Spouse or Child Apply to Be Resettled in the United
States as a Refugee? You may include your spouse or any unmarried children
under the age of 21 as derivatives of your own refugee application.
If you have already been granted refugee status and would like
to get refugee status for your spouse and children, please see
How Do I Apply for Derivative Refugee Status for my Spouse or Child? Please also see Application
Procedures: Settling a Child as a Derivative Refugee in the U.S., and Application Procedures:
Settling a Spouse as a Derivative Refugee in the U.S..
Can I Travel Outside the United States? In order to retain your refugee status in the United States,
you may not travel outside of the United States unless, before
your travel, you first obtain permission to return. If you choose
to travel, you should first apply for a Refugee Travel Document.
This document will allow you to travel abroad and return to the
United States. For more information, see How
Do I Get a Travel Document?. Can I Become a Legal Permanent Resident of the United States? You will be able to apply for permanent resident status
one year after you are admitted to the United States as a refugee.
For more information, please see How
Do I Become a Legal Permanent Resident while in the United States?.
Will I Get a Work Permit?
You are authorized to work incident to your status as a refugee.
To receive Form I-766 (Employment Authorization Document)
from the USCIS, you must apply on Form I-765 (Application for Employment Authorization). While
you are waiting for your USCIS-issued Employment Authorization Document
or a social security account number card (issued by the Social Security
Administration), which can also be used to show your work
authorization, you can present Form I-94 (Arrival-Departure
Record) to your employer. When you are admitted to the United
States, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services will issue
you the departure portion of Form I-94 that contains a refugee
admission stamp. This unexpired refugee admission stamp will show
your employer that you are authorized to work. However, within
90 days of your hire you will have to present to your employer
either an unexpired Form I-766, or an unrestricted social security
account number card together with an identity document that is
listed on the back of the Employment Eligibility Verification
Form (Form I-9)
to continue your employment. For more information, please see
How Do I Get a Work Permit?.
