The document discusses the intensive vetting process refugees undergo which can take 18 months or more and involves extensive background checks, biometric data collection, interviews, and medical screenings. Once approved, when refugees arrive they undergo additional security checks. The process refugees experience to reach safety is long and arduous, with many facing physical hardship, separation from family, and prejudice. Legal assistance organizations like IRAP help refugees prepare documentation and legal status, which is critical for their survival.

1. as a refugee. The vetting process is intense and protracted, and can last anywhere from
18 months to several years after referral.
Refugee processing involves eligibility screening with paperwork, background checks, bio-
data (fingerprints, iris scans, etc. are all checked through the FBI, the Department of
Homeland Security, and the Department of Defense), interviews, medical screening, travel
loans, flight plans and resettlement -- which is another entire process.
Once a refugee passes all the security checks and is allowed passage to the U.S., a
Customs and Border Protection officer reviews their documentation and conducts
additional security checks against its National Targeting Center-Passenger program and
the Transportation Security Administration’s Secure Flight program. CBP ensures that
the arriving refugee is the same person who was screened and approved for admission
to the United States.
The Struggles are Real
The hurdles for refugees and their families are high and many, starting with language
barriers, frequently being separated from their loved ones, terror of being sent back, the
hunger, thirst, cold and exhaustion that comes with trekking and surviving the flight out
of their country of origin. Many die and many more are on the brink of physical collapse
at times. All this, just to get to the country of first asylum where they are often herded
into fenced retention camps and live in flimsy tents and given very few freedoms. Many
face prejudice and anger from the natives in the country of first asylum.
IRAP is one of the first organizations to support a refugee by helping them prepare their
documentation and legal status. For refugees, access to this legal assistance is just as
important as access to food and shelter. Legal assistance is literally life or death for
them.
The world is facing a refugee crisis the likes of which we have not witnessed since
World War II. Refugees around the world continue to be neglected, victimized, and
denied the procedural safeguards that are the hallmarks of a just society. IRAP is
RESPONDING TO THE
REFUGEE CRISISTHE INTERNATIONAL REFUGEE ASSISTANCE PROJECT
continued
providing safe passage and new beginnings for the most at-risk refugees. At the
same time, they are also providing crucial support and building capacity in their
field.
They are always interested in finding more people to support them. If you are
interested in learning more or supporting the noble work of IRAP, please visit
https://refugeerights.org/
Special thanks to Henrike Dessaules, Communications Manager for IRAP, New
York for her help with developing this story and providing comprehensive
documentation of the refugee process.
REFUGEERIGHTS.ORG
• Are refugees mostly working or unemployed?
The U.S. refugee resettlement system
emphasizes self-sufficiency through employment,
and most refugees are employed.
• Do refugees improve their economic position
after they are resettled?
Refugees generally arrive
with very limited
resources. Many arrive
penniless. Over time,
however, they find jobs,
advance economically,
and become self-sufficient.
• Is the U.S. Refugee Resettlement Program a
conduit for terrorists?
Refugees are intensively vetted for security
threats before being resettled in the United States.
• Does the federal government absorb the full
costs of settling refugees?
Although the federal government funds refugee
resettlement assistance, funding has been limited.
The program is a public-private partnership by
design. Private agencies, NGOs and community
organizations provide substantial support for
refugees.
• Do refugees embrace their new country?
Refugees are on a fast track for permanent
residency and citizenship, and a large majority
become citizens.
• Do refugees depend on public benefits?
Although many refugees initially depend on public
benefits, most quickly become self-sufficient.
• Do refugees come to the United States with low
levels of education?
Refugees are more likely to have a high school
degree than other immigrants, and just as likely as
the U.S. born to have graduated from college.
• Is the United States likely to experience flows of
would-be asylum seekers similar to Europe?
Due to its
geographical
location, the United
States is unlikely to
experience large
flows of asylum
seekers or other migrants from Syria or elsewhere
in Africa or the Middle East.
Source: The Migration Policy Institute,
1400 16th St NW Ste. 300 Wash DC 20036
Eight Facts About U.S. Refugee Resettlement