Each year thousands of people escape violence and conflict at home, fleeing across their country's border into a country where they are safe from harm. Some of these people then seek resettlement in the United States where they will never again have to face the persecution they suffered in their home country.
People escaping violence and conflict have to go through a long process before they can be resettled in the US. First, they must be recognized as refugees by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). If they can show that they fear persecution based on their race, religion, nationality, membership in a social group, or political opinion in their home country, the UNHCR will recognize them as refugees. The UNHCR then decides whether they need to be resettled in another country or if they can one day return home after their fear of persecution has gone away. All in all, only 1% of refugees each year are chosen for resettlement, the rest either return home or stay in the country they fled to. Refugees chosen for resettlement are then referred to the U.S. Embassy which decides if they will resettle them. Once chosen for resettlement, refugees are prepared for their new life in the US. Upon arrival in the US, refugees have the opportunity to become citizens within 6 years.
By Carly Stadum
 |
| United States ( USA ) / resettled Somali Bantus / Amina Osman, 21, buying apples at the supermarket, Utica , New York. July 2003. UNHCR / H. Caux |
