State Letter #02-33
TO: STATE REFUGEE COORDINATORS
VOLUNTARY AGENCIES
MUTUAL ASSISTANCE ASSOCIATIONS
FROM: Nguyen Van Hanh, Ph.D.
Director
Office of Refugee Resettlement
SUBJECT: Presidential Determination on the Refugee Admissions Ceiling for FY-2003
On October 16, 2002, President Bush signed Presidential Determination #2003-02 that authorizes the admission of up to 70,000 refugees during Federal Fiscal Year 2003.
The admissions ceiling allocates 50,000 refugees from six geographical regions of the world as follows:
Africa 20,000
East Asia 4,000
Eastern Europe 2,500
Former Soviet Union 14,000
Latin America/Caribbean 2,500
Near East/South Asia 7,000
The remaining 20,000 numbers shall be held as an unallocated reserve to be used as needed within the six geographical regions.
The Presidential Determination also provides for an additional 10,000 numbers for the adjustment to permanent resident status to be made available to aliens who have been granted asylum in the United States. Attached is the formal document from the White House.