REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT
ANGELA M. FOX, PROGRAM SUPERVISOR
CATHOLIC CHARITIES OF ST. PAUL AND MINNEAPOLIS
FEBRUARY 3, 2015
Terms


Immigration classifies people in two categories- Citizens
and Aliens
Aliens:
Immigrants- Documented & Undocumented
 Nonimmigrants- Student Visas, Visitor Visas
 ‘Refugees’:

Refugees
 Asylees
 Cuban/Haitian Entrants
 Special Immigrant Visas (SIVS)
 Certified Victims of Trafficking

-Work authorized
-Permanent Status
-Path to citizenship
-Eligible for public benefits
Who is a refugee?

Someone who has fled their country and cannot
return because of persecution due to:
 Race
 Religion
 Nationality
 Political
opinion
 Social group membership
-The UN 1951 Convention
How many refugees are there?

About 16.7 million
 80%
women & children
 50% under 18 years old


50 million refugees, asylum seekers and internally
displaced people (IDP) in the world
During 2013, conflict & persecution forced an avg.
of 32,200 persons per day to leave their homes
and seek protection elsewhere, either within the
borders of their countries or in other countries
Who are they?
Where are they?
What are the options for refugees?


Voluntary Repatriation
Local Integration


In the “refugee-hosting” country
Third-Country Resettlement
Only 1% of the refugees worldwide are ever resettled
 15 countries have official resettlement programs: Argentina,
Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Denmark, Finland, Iceland,
Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden,
the United Kingdom, and the United States
 The US receives the largest number of refugees

Presidential Determination- USRAP
U.S. Refugee Admissions Program
FY 2014 Ceilings
FY2014 Actual
Arrivals
FY2015 Ceilings
Africa
15,000
17,476
17,000
East Asia
14,000
14,784
13,000
Europe/Central Asia
1,000
959
1,000
Latin America/Caribbean
5,000
4,318
4,000
Near East/South Asia
33,000
32,450
33,000
Unallocated Reserve
2,000
0
2,000
Total
70,000
69,987
70,000
The Overseas Resettlement Process
HHS/ORR
DOS/PRM
USCIS/DHS
Processing Priority System
Priority One
• Individual Referrals by US Embassy, UNHCR, NGO
• Legal & physical protection needs; survivors of violence & torture;
medical needs; women at risk; family reunification; children & youth
Priority Two
• Designated groups of concern to the U.S./specific groups within
certain nationalities
• i.e. Bhutanese from Nepal, Iraqi P2s, Burmese
Priority Three
• Family Reunification (P3 AOR Program/ I730 Petitions)
• For designated nationalities, for qualifying family members, can be
filed by someone who entered as refugee/granted asylum in U.S.
The Process
Group P-2
Referral
Individual P-1
Referral
Resettlement
Support
Center
Family
Reunification P-3
Referral
Pre-screening interview
SAO/CLASS Name Check and IAC1
USCIS Interview
The USCIS Interview

Four-Step Process




Access- Does applicant qualify under a priority?
Definition- Does applicant meet defn. of refugee in INA?
Firm Resettlement- Does applicant have legal status elsewhere?
Inadmissibility- Do any exclusion grounds apply?


5-6 inadmissibility categories including fraud, criminal-related,
health-related, security-related….
Case Composition



Principal Applicant (PA)
Derivative: spouse or unmarried child under 21 y.o.
Add-on: In certain exceptional or compelling circumstances, a nonderivative may be added to the PA’s case if they were part of
the same economic unit and household
USCIS Interview Results

Denial  Requests for Review
Medical Screening
220
days
avg.
Sponsorship Assurance
Cultural Orientation
Allocations & Sponsorship Assurance

DOS/PRM &9 national HQ meet weekly to allocate
approved cases to a resettlement site
 US
Tie- relative or friend they have identified during
interview process; will get sent by the zip code to the
closest VOLAG (then divided amongst agencies in that city)
 Non-US Tie/ “Free” Cases- sent to agencies with capacity
(language, staffing, medical resources if app, a refugee
community, housing costs, employment rates)

Sponsorship Assurance
 Contact
US Tie, confirm contact information & relationship;
do some very loose pre-arrival planning
Group P-2
Referral
Individual
P-1
Referral
Family
Reunification
P-3 Referral
Resettlement
Support
Center
Pre-screening Interview
SAO/CLASS Name Check and IAC1
USCIS Interview
Approval
Denial
Sponsorship
Assurance
Medical
Screening
Cultural
Orientation
Travel
booked
by IOM
IAC2 (7 days before departure)
Welcome to MN!!!!