Refugee Refugee admission
The refugee programme resettles people who are outside the United States and outside their own country and who cannot go home because of persecution. It is the mirror image of asylum: same legal definition, applied to someone abroad, processed by referral rather than by application. The President sets a ceiling each year after consulting Congress, and in FY2026 that ceiling and its allocation are unlike anything in the programme's history.
- Срок
- Refugee status is indefinite and does not expire. The person is admitted to the United States as a refugee and is required by statute to apply for permanent residence after one year, though the status itself continues if they do not.
- Продление
- Nothing to extend. The status runs until the refugee adjusts to permanent residence or the status is terminated.
- Работа
- Yes, immediately and incident to status on admission. A refugee may work from the day of arrival; USCIS issues an employment authorisation document in category (a)(3) as documentary proof, at no filing fee.
- Члены семьи
- A spouse and unmarried children under 21 may be included in the case or petitioned on Form I-730 within two years of the principal's admission, at no fee.
- Путь к грин-карте
- A refugee is required to apply for adjustment of status on Form I-485 one year after admission. There is no fee, no annual limit and no priority date, and the residence date is rolled back to the date of admission as a refugee, so the five-year clock to naturalisation starts from arrival rather than from the green card.
- Срок рассмотрения
- Effectively suspended for most of the world. Executive Order 14163, signed 20 January 2025 and published at 90 FR 8459, suspended refugee entry effective 27 January 2025 and suspended DHS decisions on refugee applications, with case-by-case national interest exceptions. It remains in force. Actual admissions tell the story: FY2025 finished at 38,102 against a 125,000 ceiling, with more than 98% of those - 37,596 - arriving between October 2024 and January 2025. FY2026 through 31 July 2026 recorded 10,258 admissions against a ceiling of 17,500, from two nationalities: South Africa 10,255 and Afghanistan 3.
- Годовая квота и очереди
- Set annually by Presidential Determination after congressional consultation, not by the Visa Bulletin. For FY2026 the ceiling was initially 7,500 - the lowest in the programme's history - under Presidential Determination 2025-13, signed 30 September 2025 and published at 90 FR 49005 on 31 October 2025, with no regional allocations and admissions to be allocated primarily among Afrikaners from South Africa pursuant to Executive Order 14204, and other victims of illegal or unjust discrimination in their homelands. Emergency Presidential Determination 2026-14, signed 21 May 2026 and published at 91 FR 31645 on 27 May 2026, raised the FY2026 ceiling to 17,500, with the entire 10,000-place increase allocated to Afrikaners from South Africa. For contrast, the FY2025 ceiling under Presidential Determination 2024-13 was 125,000 with conventional regional allocations. No FY2027 determination had issued as of 5 September 2026.
Кто подходит
- A person outside the United States, and normally outside their country of nationality, who is unable or unwilling to return because of persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership in a particular social group
- A person the President has designated for in-country processing under INA 101(a)(42)(B). For FY2026, Presidential Determination 2026-14 invoked that authority to designate Afrikaners for processing inside South Africa
- A person referred to the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program - normally by UNHCR, a U.S. embassy or a designated non-governmental organisation - or eligible through a designated access category
- The spouse and unmarried children under 21 of a refugee, as derivatives, whether accompanying or following to join on Form I-730
- Barred: persecutors of others, and those subject to the criminal, security and terrorism-related grounds
Требования
- Meeting the refugee definition in INA 101(a)(42)
- Access to the programme through a referral or a designated processing priority
- A refugee interview by a USCIS officer abroad
- Security and background vetting, and a medical examination
- Not being firmly resettled in another country
- Admissibility, with several grounds waived or inapplicable for refugees - notably the public charge ground, which does not apply
Как подать
- 1
You cannot apply directly. Access comes through a referral - from UNHCR, a U.S. embassy or a designated non-governmental organisation - or through a designated access category or in-country processing designation.
- 2
A resettlement support centre prepares the case and USCIS interviews the applicant abroad.
- 3
Pass security vetting and the medical examination.
- 4
Travel to the United States and be admitted as a refugee. Reception and placement services moved from the Department of State to the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Refugee Resettlement at the end of FY2025 and now run as the Program of Initial Resettlement.
- 5
Apply for the employment authorisation document in category (a)(3) if you want documentary proof; you may work from arrival regardless.
- 6
File Form I-730 within two years for a spouse or children left behind.
- 7
File Form I-485 one year after admission, at no fee.
Сборы и формы
| Form I-590, Registration for Classification as Refugee | $0 |
| Form I-730, Refugee/Asylee Relative Petition | $0 |
| Form I-765 employment authorisation, category (a)(3), initial | $0 filing fee, plus a $560 H.R. 1 fee for the (a)(4) refugee-parolee initial category |
| Form I-765 renewal, category (a)(4) refugee-parolee | $0 filing fee plus a $280 H.R. 1 fee |
| Form I-131 refugee travel document, refugee-based | $0 |
| Form I-485 adjustment of status one year after admission | $0 - refugees are fee exempt |
| USCIS Immigrant Fee | not applicable |
| Medical examination abroad | arranged through the programme |
Что изменилось в 2025 и 2026 годах
- 20 January 2025 - Executive Order 14163, Realigning the United States Refugee Admissions Program (90 FR 8459), suspended refugee entry effective 27 January 2025, suspended DHS decisions on refugee applications, allowed case-by-case national interest admissions, and required DHS reports every 90 days. It did not revoke the FY2025 determination, so the 125,000 ceiling stayed nominally in force while entry was suspended. The order remains in force.
- 7 February 2025 - Executive Order 14204, Addressing Egregious Actions of the Republic of South Africa (90 FR 9497), created the policy basis for the Afrikaner allocation that follows.
- 30 September 2025 - Presidential Determination 2025-13 set the FY2026 ceiling at 7,500, the lowest in the programme's history, with no regional allocations and admissions to be allocated primarily among Afrikaners from South Africa and other victims of illegal or unjust discrimination.
- End of FY2025 - reception and placement moved from the Department of State to the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Refugee Resettlement, and now operates as the Program of Initial Resettlement.
- 5 March 2026 - the Ninth Circuit issued its merits opinion in Pacito v. Trump, Nos. 25-1313 and 25-1939. It held that the plaintiffs were not likely to succeed on the claim that Executive Order 14163 exceeds the President's authority under INA 212(f) and the Refugee Act, that nothing in the Refugee Act requires continued processing during a suspension, and that defunding overseas operations was not an APA violation. It affirmed relief as to the failure to provide statutorily mandated services to already-admitted refugees and held termination of resettlement support centre agreements likely arbitrary and capricious.
- 21 May 2026 - Emergency Presidential Determination 2026-14 raised the FY2026 ceiling from 7,500 to 17,500, allocated the entire 10,000-place increase to Afrikaners from South Africa, and invoked INA 101(a)(42)(B) to designate Afrikaners for in-country processing inside South Africa.
- 15 June 2026 - an amended complaint was permitted in Pacito alleging that the South-Africans-only policy is driven by racial animus. A motion to dismiss was fully briefed on 11 August 2026 and had not been decided as of 5 September 2026.
- As of 5 September 2026 no FY2027 Presidential Determination had issued, and whether the statutory congressional consultations have taken place is unverified.
- Refugees remain exempt from the public charge ground, which the 20 July 2026 final rule effective 18 September 2026 does not disturb.
Где чаще всего ошибаются
- Trying to apply. There is no application form a person abroad can file on their own initiative; access is by referral or designated processing category, and the absence of a route is not something an applicant can fix.
- Confusing refugee status with asylum. The legal test is the same but the process is not, and a person already in the United States cannot become a refugee - they must apply for asylum.
- Assuming the ceiling is a floor. FY2025 ran at 38,102 against a ceiling of 125,000, and almost all of that came in the first four months.
- Reading the FY2026 ceiling of 17,500 as general capacity. Every one of the 10,000 places added in May 2026 is allocated to Afrikaners from South Africa, and admissions through July 2026 were from two nationalities.
- Missing the two-year window for Form I-730. A spouse or child left behind must be petitioned within two years of the principal's admission.
- Forgetting to file the I-485 after a year. It is a statutory requirement, it is free, and it starts the clock properly because the residence date rolls back to admission.
Также в категории Protection
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