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FAQs About Refugees Overeas Click on a question below to view the answer or scroll down to see all the questions and answers.
1. I am a refugee overseas. How can I come to the United States? You must flee your country of origin in order to be considered a refugee. You must contact local U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) personnel to become officially recognized as a refugee. If UNHCR refers you for resettlement in the United States, you must then be interviewed by representatives of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). A local Joint Voluntary Agency (JVA) or, in rare instances, a U.S. Embassy, can also refer you to USCIS. If you pass the USCIS interview, USCIS may refer you to the U.S. Resettlement Program. The U.S. Resettlement Program uses the following processing priority system for resettlement selection:
The groups eligible for each priority level change each year. For more information about the worldwide processing priority system for fiscal year 2007, click here. 2. Can LIRS help me through this process? LIRS can assist only those who have already qualified for admittance to the United States through the U.S. Refugee Program and been referred to LIRS for resettlement. 3. I have a family member in the United States. How can I come to join my relative there? You must qualify for the family reunification process. To qualify, you must meet all of the following criteria:
If you think you qualify, go to the UNHCR office and tell them that you have a close family member in the United States. Ask your family member in the United States to contact a local resettlement office to find out what forms they should file for you. (Click here for a list of LIRS’s local affiliates. Click here for a list of other U.S. resettlement agencies. 4. What if my country is not on the family reunification list? If you do not qualify for the family reunification program, you can only try to qualify for P1 status (see question 1 above). 5. How long will it take for me to be able to come to the United States? Unfortunately, we have no way of predicting how long the process will take. Each case is evaluated by UNHCR and various U.S. governmental and nongovernmental agencies. LIRS does not have the power to refer individuals for resettlement, so we cannot directly expedite your case. 6. I am a refugee who needs health care, education or other direct assistance. Can you help? Unfortunately, LIRS is unable to provide any money or other direct assistance to persons overseas. You will need to look for local resources on your own.. 7. Are there special programs for people in my country? Cuba — Cuban nationals are eligible for in-country processing if they can demonstrate that they belong to at least one of the following groups:
Iran — Iranian nationals who are members of certain religious minorities (Baha’is, Jews, Zoroastrians, Christians, etc.) are of special humanitarian concern to the United States and may apply for resettlement through the U.S. Refugee Program in locations where refugee processing is available. The Overseas Processing Entity in Vienna, Austria, a Program of the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, is especially well equipped to handle such cases. Click here for more information. Former Soviet Union — The U.S. Embassy in Moscow will review applications from all qualified citizens of the former Soviet Union, giving preference for refugee status interviews to specific categories of applicants who have been identified by the U.S. Congress as likely targets of persecution. Applicants who fall into one of the categories and who have close relatives in the United States are granted scheduling priority.8. What is a Visa 92/93 application (I-730)? If you are a resettled refugee or asylee in the United States, you can apply for visas for close relatives to join you here. You must have been resettled as a refugee or have been granted asylum status within the past two years. You can apply for visas only for your spouse and for your unmarried children under age 21. Use form I-730, Refugee/Asylee Relative Petition, to apply for each visa. The same form is used to apply for both Visa 92 and Visa 93. Visa 92 is for relatives of asylees and Visa 93 is for relatives of refugees. (Click here to download form I-730.)
9. I filed an Affidavit of Relationship, Interest, or Visa 92/93 Application with an LIRS affiliate for my relative overseas. How can I find out the status of the case? You must contact the affiliate office where you filed the case. (Click here for a list of LIRS’s local affiliates.)
10. I filed an Affidavit of Relationship, Interest, or Visa 92/93 Application with an LIRS affiliate for my relative overseas, and then I moved to another state. Who can help me now? You must contact an affiliate office in your new state and ask them to transfer your paperwork from the office where you originally filed the case. (Click here for a list of LIRS’s local affiliates.)
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