Refugee

What It Means

Refugee status is defined at INA section 101(a)(42) and implemented through the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP), which was established by the Refugee Act of 1980 to codify and standardize post-Vietnam refugee resettlement. Unlike asylum seekers, refugees are processed from outside the U.S., typically through a referral by UNHCR, a U.S. embassy, or a designated NGO. Applicants complete Form I-590 and undergo an extensive screening pipeline including biometric collection, interagency security checks by the FBI, DHS, NCTC, and DOD, medical examinations, and cultural orientation. The total processing timeline has historically averaged 18 to 24 months. Each fiscal year the President, in consultation with Congress, sets a refugee admissions ceiling via a Presidential Determination under INA section 207(a)(2). Actual admissions have varied dramatically: from a post-1980 high of over 200,000 in the early 1980s to a low of 11,411 in FY2021, with recent ceilings set at 125,000. After one year of continuous physical presence in the U.S., refugees are required by INA section 209(a) to apply for adjustment to LPR status on Form I-485. Derivatives (spouses and unmarried children under 21) may follow to join principal refugees on Form I-730. Refugees receive immediate work authorization, access to the Office of Refugee Resettlement's cash and medical assistance programs, and resettlement support through nine national voluntary agencies (Volags) that contract with the State Department's PRM bureau.

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