Refugee Application Adjudication

Programs that accept and make decisions regarding petitions by individuals who have fled their country of nationality because of persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution based on their race, religion, political opinion, membership in a particular social group, or nationality; who have not firmly resettled in a third country; who are admissible as immigrants and who are seeking refugee status and the right to settle permanently in the United States. Applicants are generally referred to the U.S. Refugee Program (USRP) by officials of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) or by a U.S. Embassy or Consulate, and are interviewed by officials in one of the three U.S. Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Service (CIS) overseas offices to determine their eligibility for resettlement. Nongovernmental processing agencies are responsible for preparation and casework relative to individual applications. They conduct interviews, help prepare the applications for the CIS, arrange for medical examinations and background checks for those refugees who are approved and obtain information about individuals/families that is relevant to determining the best settlement arrangements. A limited number of refugees are resettled in the U.S. each year.