1. www.postersession.com
What is a Refugee?
A refugee is someone who has fled from his or her home country
and cannot return because he or she has a well-founded fear of
persecution based on religion, race, nationality, political opinion or
membership in a particular social group.
How many refugees are there in the world?
• In 2014, there were 59.5 million forcibly displaced people
worldwide, with 19.5 million declared refugees.
• 51% of the world’s refugees are under 18 years old.
• Of those 19.5 million , only 1% are resettled in a third country.
How many refugees are resettled in the United States?
Each year, the president sets a “resettlement ceiling” , with the
2015 ceiling set at 70,000, actual current resettlement numbers are
69,933.
The Process
In order for refugees to be resettled in the United States, they must
go through an extensive process called “the vetting process”. This
is an intense 13 step process that takes on average 18-24 months.
Step one: Refugee Status Determination
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
conducts an interview with each applicant, and determines if the
applicant can be classified as a refugee under international law.
Step two: Referral to the United States
A refugee that meets one of the criteria for resettlement in the
United States is referred to the U.S. government by UNHCR, a
U.S. Embassy, or a trained Non-Governmental Organization.
Refugees are referred to the United States via a priority system.
• Priority one: Individual cases are referred based on their
circumstances and obvious need for resettlement.
• Priority two: Groups of cases. Includes processing programs for
minors in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras; Iraqi’s
employed by the U.S. government in Iraq; and Cubans facing
harsh political prosecution.
• Priority three: Individual cases for purposes of reunification
with a family member already resettled in the U.S.
Step three: Resettlement Support Center
A Resettlement Support Center (RSC), compiles the refugee’s
personal data and background information for the security
clearance process and to present to the U.S. Department of
Homeland Security (DHS) for an in-person interview.
St. Vincent Catholic
Charities (STVCC)
Refugee Resettlement in the United States
Briana Ramos
My Internship at St. Vincent Catholic Charities, Refugee Services
Bibliography
1. http://www.rcusa.org/uploads/pdfs/Refugee%20resettlement
%20-%20step%20by%20step%20USCRI.pdf
2. http://www.unhcr.org/pages/4a16b1d06.html
3. http://www.state.gov/j/prm/releases/factsheets/2013/210135.
htm
4. http://www.uscis.gov/refugeescreening
5. http://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/refugees-and-asylees-
united-states
6. http://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/us-refugee-
resettlement-program#11
7. http://www.unhcr.org.uk/about-us/key-facts-and-figures.html
8. http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/orr/resource/the-us-
refugee-resettlement-program-an-overview
9. http://stvcc.org/services/refugee-services/
There are nine Voluntary Agencies (Volags) whose core mandate is
to assist with the resettlement of refugees once they arrive in the
United States. These Volags include:
• U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops- largest Volag, settles
25-30% of all refugees
• Lutheran Immigrant Aid Society
• International Rescue Committee
• World Relief Corporation
• Immigrant and Refugee Services of America
• Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society
• Church World Service
• Domestic and Foreign Missionary Service of the Episcopal
Church of the USA
• International Catholic Migration Commission
The Volag that handles the refugee resettlement in the Lansing area
is the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. STVCC Refugee Services team
• Consists of 35 members
• 22 languages are represented, including:
• Amharic, Arabic, Burmese, Chin, Falam, Farsi, French,
Hakka Lai, Karen, Karenni (Kayah), Kirundi, Lingala,
Kinyamulenge, Mai Mai, Matu, Nepali, Oromo, Sgaw,
Somali, Spanish, Swahili and Vietnamese
• Composed of the management team, employment team, case
managers, case manager assistants, Preventive Health Liaison,
Housing Specialist, Resettlement clerk
Voluntary AgenciesStep four: Security Clearance Process (Required)
With information collected by the RSC, a number of security
checks are conducted. The State Department runs the names of
all refugees referred to the U.S. for resettlement through a
standard CLASS (Consular Lookout and Support System)
name check.
Step five: Security Clearance Process (if needed)
Certain refugees undergo an additional security review called a
Security Advisory Opinion (SAO). These cases require a
positive SAO clearance from a number of U.S. law
enforcement and intelligence agencies in order to continue the
resettlement process.
Step six: Security Clearance Process (Required)
Refugees 18 and older have their fingerprints and photograph
taken. The fingerprints are then checked against various U.S.
government databases and information on any matches is
reviewed by DHS.
Step seven: In-person Interview
All refugee applicants are interviewed by an officer from
DHS’s U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
The officer will travel to the country of asylum to conduct a
face-to- face interview with each applicant. Based on this
information, the DHS officer will determine if the individual
qualifies as a refugee and is admissible under U.S. law.
Step eight: DHS Approval
If the USCIS officer finds that the individual qualifies as a
refugee and meets U.S. admission criteria, the officer approves
the refugee’s application for resettlement and submits it to the
U.S. Department of State for final processing.
Step nine: Medical Screening
All refugees approved for resettlement must undergo medical
screening conducted by the International Organization for
Migration.
Step ten: Matching Refugees with a Sponsor Agency
Every refugee is assigned to a Voluntary Agency, or “Volags”,
in the U.S. that will place refugees with a local office that will
assist refugees upon their arrival in the U.S. (St. Vincent
Catholic Charities is the local office of the Volag, The U.S.
Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB)).
Step eleven: Cultural Orientation
Refugees approved for resettlement are offered cultural
orientation while waiting for final processing.
Step twelve: Security Clearance Process (Required, again)
Prior to departure to the U.S., a second interagency check is
conducted to check for any new information.
Step thirteen: Admission to the United States
Upon arrival at one of five U.S. airports designated as ports of
entry for refugee admissions, a Customs and Border Protection
(CBP) officer will review the refugee documentation and
conduct additional security checks.
The vetting process starts in camps such as this one, where
refugees spend an average of 17 years.
‘The local office of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops is St.
Vincent Catholic Charities (STVCC). STVCC receives the
Reception and Placement grant to help settle refugees into the
community. In return for the grant, they are required to provide the
following things for incoming refugees:
• Sponsorship
• Pre-arrival resettlement plan (including housing)
• Reception upon arrival
• Basic needs support for at least 30 days including housing,
food, furnishing and clothing
• Community Orientation
• Referral to social service providers
• Case management and tracking for 90-180 days
On the day of arrival:
• Refugees arrive at Lansing airport and are met by their case
manager and an interpreter, if needed.
• Case managers bring coats, hats, gloves and other
necessary clothing
• Refugees are taken to their new home, which is fully
furnished. While there they:
• Sign lease
• Receive a hot, culturally appropriate meal
• Have groceries already purchased
• Learn need-to-know information from the case manager
like, how to lock the doors, flush the toilet, etc.
In 2015, STVCC received and resettled 625 individual refugees
from a total of 20 countries, the most popular being Somali,
Burma, Iraq and the Democratic Republic of the Congo