I-590Refugee resettlement

Overview

◈High confidence Refugee status lets people outside the United States who were persecuted, or have a well-founded fear of future persecution, because of their race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership in a particular social group be resettled in the United States, if they also meet the other requirements below. You need a referral to USRAP to be considered, and the decision to approve you and admit you as a refugee is discretionary. Each year, after consultations with cabinet representatives and Congress, a Presidential Determination is drafted for the President's signature; it sets the overall refugee admissions levels and regional allocations for the upcoming fiscal year, and no refugees may be admitted in a new fiscal year until it has been signed.^[1,4]

Who qualifies

If you qualify as an immediate relative or as a special immigrant, the regulation says you are not processed as a refugee unless that is in the public interest; you are advised to obtain an immediate relative or special immigrant visa instead and given the petition forms to send to anyone who might petition for you. If you may be eligible for classification under INA 203(a) or 203(b) and a visa number is available now, you are told about it but are not required to apply.^[6]

How the refugee process works

1. 1

   Referral

   You must be referred to USRAP. USCIS lists these processing priorities as currently in use: Priority 1, cases identified and referred by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), a U.S. embassy or a designated non-governmental organization (NGO); Priority 2, groups of special humanitarian concern identified by the U.S. refugee program; Priority 3, family reunification cases for the spouses, unmarried children under 21 and parents of people lawfully admitted to the United States as refugees or asylees, or of green card holders or U.S. citizens who previously had refugee or asylum status, for the nationalities the State Department currently lists as eligible; and Priority 4, cases referred by private sponsors in the United States through the Welcome Corps program, who receive post-arrival support and services from those sponsors.^[1,4]

2. 2

   Interview and security checks

   A specially trained USCIS officer interviews you and decides eligibility case by case, considering the conditions in your country of origin and evaluating your credibility. USCIS officers also complete background and security checks and review the results. Resettlement Support Centers, run by international or non-governmental organizations under agreement with the State Department, handle work such as file preparation and storage and data collection.^[1,4]

3. 3

   Travel and arrival

   The International Organization for Migration (IOM) coordinates travel for approved refugee applicants under contract with the State Department. If you are approved, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has the final authority to admit you as a refugee when you arrive at a U.S. port of entry. After arrival, the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) in the Department of Health and Human Services administers resettlement benefits, and non-governmental organizations provide resettlement assistance and services.^[1,4]

Working and traveling after you arrive

For principal refugees and family members admitted with them, USCIS creates a digital Form I-765 (work permit application) and decides it after admission; USCIS says you should receive your EAD within a few weeks after you arrive, depending on delivery times. Until then, for your employer's Form I-9 (Employment Eligibility Verification), your Form I-94 (Arrival/Departure Record) is acceptable evidence of work authorization and identity for 90 days after you arrive; after 90 days you must present an unexpired EAD or another combination of documents, such as a state-issued driver's license and an unrestricted Social Security card. Family members who join you later on an approved Form I-730 file a paper Form I-765 after they are admitted, and you renew a refugee EAD under category "(a)(3)" with no fee.^[3]

◈High confidence If you have refugee status and are in the United States, you must apply for a refugee travel document on Form I-131, and appear for any required biometrics appointment, before you leave. If you are already abroad, USCIS may, in its discretion, let you file Form I-131 within 1 year of your last departure, with an explanation of why you did not apply before you left. If you return to the country you fled from, you must also explain how you were able to return there safely. A refugee travel document application cannot be filed online and has no fee.^[1,2,7]

Your spouse and children

◈High confidence Your refugee case may include your legally recognized spouse and your unmarried children under 21, and, in some extremely limited circumstances, other family members. To decide whether your marriage is valid for immigration purposes, USCIS generally looks to the law of the place where the marriage took place. A spouse or child who does not come with you may be admitted later as a following-to-join beneficiary of an approved Form I-730, Refugee/Asylee Relative Petition, which has no filing fee.^[1,2,3]

Getting your green card

◈High confidence Refugees are required to apply for permanent residence 1 year after entry, on Form I-485 (adjustment of status). To qualify, you must have been admitted as a refugee under INA section 207, be physically present in the United States when you file, have at least 1 year of physical presence in the United States after your admission as a refugee, still have refugee status (not terminated), not already be a permanent resident, and be admissible or eligible for a waiver of inadmissibility or other relief. A spouse or child who received derivative refugee status through you files their own Form I-485, must meet the same requirements and must still be your spouse or child.^[3,8]

◈High confidence Refugees do not pay the Form I-485 filing fee or the biometric services fee. With your I-485 you include proof of your admission as a refugee (such as a copy of your Form I-94) and evidence of 1 year of physical presence. All refugee-based applicants submit the vaccination record portion of Form I-693 (the immigration medical exam report); a principal applicant must repeat the medical exam and submit a complete I-693 only with a "Class A" medical condition, and USCIS says only certain derivative applicants must. USCIS decides case by case whether you need an interview.^[3,8]

◈High confidence Some reasons a person can be refused a green card (grounds of inadmissibility, listed in INA 212(a)) work differently for refugees. USCIS decides your admissibility without regard to INA 212(a)(4), (5) and (7)(A). It may waive other grounds for humanitarian purposes, to ensure family unity or when it is otherwise in the public interest, except the grounds in INA 212(a)(2)(C) and 212(a)(3)(A), (B), (C) and (E); you can request the waiver on Form I-602, which has no fee, with your I-485. An immigration attorney can tell you whether a ground applies to you.^[2,3,8]

Fees

Recent policy changes

Ask WELIVEINUSA Visa