Adjustment of Refugee status in the United States of America

It is a long process that refugees go through in order to be admitted to the U.S. Once they get there, do they remain refugees for the rest of their lives? According to the Immigration and Nationality Act, Tittle II, Chapter 1, Act209, a refugee status may be adjusted to permanent residence.  They have to go through some scrutiny for this to be done.

Each year, there are about 70,000 refugees resettled in the U.S. out of these, only 10,000 can be presented for status adjustment. Of the 10,000, only those who qualify will have their status adjusted to permanent residence. Permanent residence is done one year after admission to the U.S. For one to qualify for permanent residence, they must have been physically present in the US for the past year, be legally admitted and be found fit for status adjustment by either an immigration officer or immigration judge.

 Permanent residence is also known as the Green Card. It is upon the refugee to apply for the Green Card. This can be done through the Unites States Citizenship and Immigration Services website here. It is important to note that all refugees are required by Law to apply for the Green Card one year after admission to the US as a refugee. No fee is charged for this application. Once the Green Card is granted, the applicant should familiarize themselves with the Rights and Responsibilities of aPermanent Resident.

Five years after admission to the U.S., a refugee can apply for citizenship. This is also known as Naturalization. One qualification for this is that the refugee must be a permanent residence. The five years are counted from the time the refugee landed into the United States and not from the day they got permanent residency. During this time, they will still need to be put through some inspection and examination to determine whether they qualify or not.

There are ten steps that the applicant needs to follow for this process. It is highly recommended that before making the application, one should ensure that they meet the eligibility criteria. Application for citizenship is done by filing Form N-400,Application for Naturalization. In preparation for the process, an applicant may attend the free Naturalization sessions as well as study for naturalization test. For more information on this or to apply for citizenship, go to the USCIS Website.