Department of State

Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration

The United States leads the world in providing assistance to refugees and victims of conflict The U.S. resettles about one-half of the refugees referred by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) for resettlement each year. The Department of State's Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM) has primary responsibility for formulating U.S. policies on these issues and for administering U.S. refugee assistance and admissions programs overseas.

Of the 68,426 refugees admitted to the U.S. in FY 2001, the largest number came from Africa (18,979), and the former Yugoslavia (15,776). As in previous years, the President authorized in-country processing in the former Soviet Union, Vietnam and Cuba for persons who would qualify as refugees if they live outside their country of origin. In addition, the U.S. offered resettlement to refugees outside their countries of origin who were deemed to be of "special humanitarian concern" to the U.S. Highest priority for resettlement was given to refugees referred by UNHCR and by U.S. Embassies. A number of particularly vulnerable groups, including persecuted religious and ethnic minorities, were determined to be of special concern to the U.S. and given priority processing.

Department of Justice

The Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) administers immigration and naturalization laws relating to the interview, determination, admission, and naturalization of refugees and asylees. Overseas, INS is responsible for the interview of refugee applicants and the subsequent approval or denial of requests for refugee classification. Last year, immigration officers posted at overseas locations and asylum officers on detail conducted refugee determination interviews in approximately forty different countries. INS also inspects and admits approved refugee applicants to the U.S. and processes refugees' applications for adjustment of status to lawful permanent resident. In FY 2001, 68,426 refugees were admitted to the U.S., representing more than 67 nationalities, with refugees from Africa, the former Soviet Union, and the former Yugoslavia constituting the largest proportion of refugee admissions.

Domestically, officers in eight asylum offices interview and make determinations on the cases of asylum seekers that have reached the United States. In FY 2001, the Asylum Corps completed 69,113 cases, granting 20,487. Applications were received from 157 different countries. The countries with the greatest number of asylum approvals were China, Colombia, Burma, Somalia, and Armenia.

The INS Headquarters main office building is located at 425 I Street, N.W., Washington, DC. Information about INS is available on the Internet web site http://www.ins.usdoj.gov.

Office of International and Refugee Health

FY 2001 marked a significant expansion of preventive health services beyond health assessments. The expansion was based on an analysis of needs conducted in 1999 and 2000. The analysis was led by the DHHS Office of International and Refugee Health and brought together State Refugee Coordinators, State Refugee Health Coordinators, voluntary agencies, health care providers and refugees. As a result, State refugee preventive health programs today provide health education, health promotion, and referral and follow-up services to newly arriving refugees in addition to health assessments.

Forty States in FY 2001 applied for and received ORR Preventive Health Grants. Ten States (Arizona, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Carolina and West Virginia) do not participate. Arizona and South Dakota reported that they had provided health assessments. The others did not report any refugee health assessments. Idaho, Louisiana, New Mexico, South Dakota and Tennessee received Preventive Health Grants, but reported no health assessments conducted.

Nearly 67,000 refugees, asylees and Cuban parolees received health assessments in FY 2001.

Health assessments conducted in the U.S. are voluntary. Health assessments of refugees serve important public and personal health purposes. They help to identify individuals who have been exposed to TB and treat them, assuring that they will not develop infectious TB at some later time. They identify Hepatitis B and sexually transmitted diseases, as well as other infectious diseases that were not identified overseas. Health assessments provided to asylees are the only public health screening that they receive until they adjust status to permanent residents. Adjustment of status occurs at least one year after they are granted asylum. Health assessments provide needed immunizations to adults and children. Many refugees have health conditions which do not prevent them from entering the U.S. and are not of public health concern, but which negatively affect their ability to become self-sufficient in the U.S. Health assessments identify these and assure that refugees are appropriately treated.