President Issues Refugee Admission Determination
Posted Nov 10, 2006
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In October 2006, President George W. Bush issued a presidential determination in the U.S. Federal Register setting the number of refugees that can be admitted to the United States during Fiscal Year (FY) 2007 (October 1, 2006 until September 30, 2007).
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Background on U.S. Refugee Policy
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The admission of refugees is in keeping with U.S. immigration policy to provide safe haven for humanitarian and other similar reasons. It is related to asylum, but involves persons who are outside of the United States. Individuals seeking to escape persecution based upon race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership to a social group, who are within the U.S., potentially are able to apply for asylum relief. Those who are outside the U.S. and are seeking to escape persecution are classified as refugees, as they seek refuge in the U.S. This is a limited program, involving allocations of numbers that are entirely separate from the family- and employment-based visa number limits.
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Maximum Allocation for Refugees in FY2007
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The limit for refugees this year is 70,000, which is broken down as follows:
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Africa - 22,000
East Asia - 11,000
Europe and Central Asia - 6,500
Latin America / Caribbean - 5,000
Near East / South Asia - 5,500
Unallocated - 20,000
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Unallocated numbers can be allocated to regional ceilings, as needed. These numbers represent a maximum, not a minimum.
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UNHCR / U.S. Policy
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The designation of an individual or group of individuals as refugee/s is a matter for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the U.S. Embassies to implement U.S. foreign policy and U.S. immigration policy in this regard. More information on this process is available on the USCIS WebSite.