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U.S. Government to Expedite Refugee Processing Since September 11, 2001
Fact Sheet
Released by the Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration
Washington, DC
July 18, 2003
The attacks of September 11, 2001 had a major impact on the FY 2002 and 2003 refugee admissions programs. Since then, U.S.
Government (USG) efforts have focused on responding to new security features and to strengthening the program to expand our
ability to speedily identify and admit refugees for whom resettlement is the preferred durable solution.
Following the attacks of September 11, the USG conducted a thorough security review of refugee admissions processing. The
review developed new security procedures for the processing and admission of refugees. These procedures were designed to
ensure the protection of the American public and the integrity of the admissions program. The retroactive implementation of some
of the new security steps sharply constrained movements.
In addition, initial overseas security concerns severely limited Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) adjudications in the
field. INS (now Department of Homeland Security/Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services DHS/BCIS) interviews
overseas resumed in force in February 2002, but then were constrained again by security threats in East Africa, civil unrest in West
Africa, and the war in Iraq. To meet these new challenges, the Department of State s Bureau of Population, Refugees and
Migration (PRM) formed an interagency task force involving personnel of the Departments of State, Justice, Health and Human
Services as well as the National Security Council.
The goal of the Task Force was to overcome obstacles to maximizing refugee admissions in FY 2002 and to develop an
expanded pipeline of cases of persons or groups for future years within the context of the new security environment. We have
intensified these efforts in FY 2003 through bi-weekly meetings with the DHS/BCIS.
FY 2002 Actions Taken by PRM and INS
* INS identified, trained, and scheduled 60 new refugee adjudicators to augment their ability to conduct interviews
overseas and determine eligibility for resettlement.
* PRM funded the hiring of over 200 additional overseas non-governmental and International Organization staff and
leased additional space overseas to complete out-processing FY 2001 cases and prepare thousands of
backlogged cases for INS interviews in FY 2002.
* In response to the need to expedite already delayed refugee travel, PRM provided additional funding to the
International Organization for Migration (IOM) to hire additional staff to manage increasingly complex travel
arrangements of refugees to the U.S. and to implement new requirements to photograph all refugees and confirm
their identity at points of embarkation.
* INS increased staffing and authorized overtime to expedite its Refugee Access Verification Unit (RAVU) review of
documentation in 18,000 family reunification cases.
* PRM funded the relocation overseas of some 20,000 refugees in the hope of permitting INS interviews to take place
in a secure environment (over 12,000 Somali Bantu from Dadaab to Kakuma camp in Kenya and some 7,000
Liberians from Danane to Abidjan in the Ivory Coast.)
* PRM detailed staff to INS and DOS Bureau of Consular Affairs to facilitate the RAVU and SAO communications
processes.
* INS hired contractors to expedite fingerprinting of refugees at Ports of Entry (POEs) and installed many new
live-scan fingerprint machines.
* INS and PRM deployed live-scan fingerprinting equipment at high volume refugee processing posts (Nairobi,
Moscow, and Vienna) to further reduce delays at POEs.
* INS opened Newark as an authorized refugee POE and has identified others to be used as needed.
* PRM provided funding to ensure the survival of NGO resettlement network capacity within the United States during
this period of reduced refugee admissions.
* INS authorized refugee processing for immediate relatives of U.S. citizens and special immigrants if they otherwise
qualify for the U.S. Refugee Program.
* PRM established working groups with the Voluntary Agency community. These groups tackled a number of issues
including identification of vulnerable populations in need of resettlement and fraud in the family reunion program.
Ongoing PRM Efforts in FY 2003
* PRM conducted a first NGO referral workshop in Nairobi to systematically train refugee assistance agencies on
how to refer vulnerable refugees to the USRP. While this may not dramatically increase the numbers of persons
identified for resettlement, it provides another means of access to particularly vulnerable refugees in East Africa. This
is a pilot program, which will be evaluated after 6 months for possible expansion to other locations.
* PRM has funded a major UNHCR resettlement initiative to increase its resettlement capacity in Africa and Latin
America. With an initial tranche of $4 million in new funding, UNHCR has hired 18 resettlement officers in Africa and
Latin America. Future funding will be tied to performance and referral submissions.
* PRM is also actively engaging UNHCR on the implementation of a refugee registration system globally -- needed
to identify resettlement populations and safeguard assistance resources.
* PRM assumed operational responsibility for many name check and Security Advisory Opinion functions from
Consular Affairs. This has resulted in increased refugee admissions this year.
* Over the past year, PRM staff has traveled overseas in order to identify groups of refugees who may be in need of
resettlement, including:
+ to Russia to move forward on an initiative to offer resettlement to the 10-15,000 Meskhetian Turks in
Krasnodar Krai in southern Russia who have been unable to obtain Russian citizenship;
+ to Central and South America to develop mechanisms for addressing resettlement needs of
Colombians; and
+ throughout East and West Africa to identify new vulnerable refugee populations for which resettlement
is the best solution, e.g., certain vulnerable Liberians living in Sierra Leone.
Following a recent intensive off-site review of the program, PRM, DHS/BCIS, and HHS have identified a number of further initiatives
we will advance in the coming year. These include:
* Engaging interested members of the public through regular meetings to identify additional resettlement needs
worldwide;
* Expanding the nationalities eligible for refugee interviews based on close family relationships in the U.S.;
* In coordination with UNHCR, addressing the special needs of Unaccompanied Refugee Children, including
resettlement;
* Standardizing and improving refugee case processing efficiencies by completing implementation of the Worldwide
Refugee Admissions Processing System and issuing a case processing manual;
* Supporting a comprehensive study of the Refugee Admissions Program by a well-known academic expert in the
field of refugee and immigration law and policy;
* In coordination with UNHCR, developing solutions -- including resettlement -- to the problem of refugees living in
protracted situations in both urban and refugee camp environments;
* Developing a non-governmental response capacity by identifying experienced professionals with knowledge of
humanitarian relief and resettlement policy and practice whose assistance would be available in emergency
situations and/or for strategic planning; and
* Providing expanded information to local health authorities on health-related issues of incoming populations such as
the Somali Bantu.
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