| Who
is a refugee? Generally, a refugee is a person who has fled his/her country because of fear of persecution. The United States (US) incorporated into its laws the definition of a refugee as written in the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees (Adopted in Geneva, Switzerland in 1951). This Convention defines a refugee as a person who, "...owing to a well founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country; or who, not having a nationality and being outside the country of his former habitual residence as a result of such events, is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to return to it." Top |
| What
is the difference between refugees and immigrants? Refugees have fled their home country because of persecution; immigrants have left their home countries for non-persecution reasons. Top |
| What
is an alien? An alien is a person from another country residing legally in the US. This person does not hold a US citizenship. An alien may either be a refugee or an immigrant. Top |
| What
is a classified alien? A classified alien is a refugee or an immigrant who, upon entry into the US, is determined to have a medical condition. The medical conditions are classified as B1, B2 and Class A (occurs rarely). can be an immigrant or a refugee. Classifications based on medical condition are during the refugee or immigrant's required health examination in a country outside the United States. Top |
| How
does the Virginia Newcomer Health Program (NHP) receive notification of
arrival of a refugee or an immigrant into Virginia? The US Public Health Service Quarantine Stations submit Notifications of Arrival and medical information for all refugees and any immigrant with a classified health condition entering Virginia. There are 8 such stations in the US. Since 1997, the NHP has entered demographic information from these notifications into a database; these notifications are then distributed to the local health districts. This database allows for tracking of refugee/immigrant arrivals to the various health districts within Virginia. The database also contains basic health information of refugees and immigrants entering Virginia, and an analysis of these data identifies emerging health trends in this population. Top |
| Why
does the United States receive refugees? The United States signed the 1967 Protocol on the Status of Refugees, obliging it to not return refugees to their native countries. The United States has humanitarian and democratic traditions for receiving refugees and participating in international work to assist refugees. U.S. citizens have long supported these traditions. The United States is obliged to carry out part of its global responsibility for refugees because of its affiliation with international conventions and agreements. Top |
| How
much does the United States spend on helping refugees? In 2001, the United States was the top contributor ($244.7 million) to programs that assisted refugees overseas. The U.S. Government's Migration and Refugee Assistance proposed budget was $760.2 million for the 2004 fiscal year. Top |
| Where
are most of the world's refugees? The vast majority of the world's estimated 19.8 million refugees are in the developing world. Africa currently hosts 3.1 million refugees and 13.7 million other Africans are internally displaced. At the end of 2001, approximately 4.5 million Afghans were living as refugees in other countries. Bosnia had about 210,000 refugees outside the country in need of durable solutions and about 438,500 internally displaced persons inside Bosnia. Top |
| How
many refugees come to Virginia each year? In fiscal years 1997-2002, Virginia received 10,488 refugees through the overseas admissions program. Top |
| Where
do most of the refugees in Virginia come from? In fiscal years 1997-2002, Virginia accepted 1,257 refugees from Somalia, 820 from Sudan, 571 from Ethiopia, 761 from Vietnam, 321 from Liberia, 429 from Cuba, 436 from Iraq, 106 from Congo, 353 from Iran, 2,050 from Bosnia & Hercegovina, and 565 from Serbia. Top |
| How
do refugees come to the United States? Some refugees travel to the United States on their own and apply for asylum when they arrive on U.S. soil. Many have lost everything before leaving their countries. Every year, the United States also admits refugees through an overseas admissions program. Staff of U.S.-based nongovernmental organizations and the UN's refugee agency help U.S. government officers identify refugees in need of resettlement. Top |
| What
services and benefits does the government provide for refugees who are being
resettled in the US? The US government provides the following for refugees: > zero-interest loan to travel to the US > 8 months of Refugee Cash Assistance (RCA) and Refugee Medical Assistance (RMA) > food stamps > housing assistance, furnishings, food, and clothing > social security card > school registration for children > referrals for medical appointments and other support services > employment services > case management through community based non-profit organizations > adjustment of status from refugee to legal permanent resident Top |