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Case Presentation to
USCIS
Eligibility Determination
Post-Interview Processing
Case Presentation to
USCIS
The steps that refugee applicants follow before their eligibility interviews with Immigration
officers vary. Many applicants are referred to the United States Refugee Program (USRP)
for resettlement consideration by officials of the United Nations High Commissioner
for Refugees (UNHCR), while a smaller number are referred by a U.S. Embassy or
Consulate. Other applicants are eligible to apply for the USRP directly because they are
of nationalities designated as being of special humanitarian concern and in processing
priorities eligible for resettlement consideration. Generally, Overseas Processing Entities (OPEs) or OPE representatives conduct pre-screening interviews with applicants and prepare
cases for submission to USCIS; the OPE completes the required application forms and compiles any necessary
documents prior to the refugee eligibility interview. In the in-country processing programs, applicants usually register their
interest in refugee resettlement by mailing completed preliminary questionnaires to the
appropriate processing entity.
Eligibility Determination
Eligibility for refugee status is decided on an individual, or case-by-case, basis. A
personal interview of the applicant is held by an immigration officer. The interview is
non-adversarial and is designed to elicit information about the applicant's claim for
refugee status.
The immigration officer must determine whether the applicant has suffered past persecution, or has
a well-founded fear of future persecution, on the basis of political opinion, religion,
nationality, race, or membership in a particular social group. This determination requires
the examination of objective and subjective elements of an applicant's claim. Conditions
in the country of origin are taken into consideration and the applicant's credibility is
assessed. Refugee status determinations are made according to a uniformly applied worldwide
standard. Generally, all refugee applicants, with certain exceptions, are subject to the
same adjudication criteria.
Legislation has altered the refugee adjudication process in certain cases. The Lautenberg
Amendment (a provision of the Foreign Operations Appropriations Act for Fiscal years 1990
through 1994 and subsequently extended) mandated that the Attorney General (Secretary) identify
categories of former Soviets (specifically Jews, Evangelical Christians, Ukrainian
Catholics, and Ukrainian Orthodox), Vietnamese, Lao, and Khmer, who are likely targets of
persecution. Under this legislation, a category applicant may establish a well-founded
fear of persecution by asserting a fear of persecution and asserting a credible basis for
concern about such fear.
Under the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRIRA),
the definition of refugee was expanded to include persons who have resisted or been
subjected to, or have a well-founded fear of being subjected to coercive population
control measures.
Last Modified 12/01/2003