Q: What is the difference between an immigrant and a refugee?
A: Immigrant: A foreign-born individual who voluntarily leaves his/her country of origin and has been admitted to reside permanently in the U.S. as a Lawful Permanent Resident.

Refugee: A person who "owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality, and is unable to or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country."

The key difference is that an immigrant chooses to leave his/her country of origin. A refugee, on the other hand, is compelled to seek asylum in another country.

Q: Are refugees considered "aliens?"
A: Under U.S. law, any person who is not a U.S. citizen (including refugees) and resides in the U.S. is considered an "alien." Most aliens have some form of legal status in the U.S. and can be documented or undocumented.

Q: How is the U.S. refugee admission ceiling established?
A: The President establishes the ceilings each year in consultation with Congress and the State Department. Various organizations are invited to present testimony supporting specific admissions levels and their rationale.

Q: Who confers refugee status on those meeting the definition of refugee admissible to the U.S.?
A: The Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) of the U.S. Department of Justice makes this determination. Cases are presented to INS for its consideration.

Q: When will the refugees arrive?
A: CWS/IRP and the local affiliate have no control over the scheduling of refugee travel to the U.S. It is our responsibility to assure a sponsorship before the refugee can be processed for arrival in this country. At this time, we must wait patiently for the refugee family's arrival.

There are many factors that will influence the estimated time of arrival for refugees who are overseas and in their country of first asylum. The most important factor is the availability of refugee admission numbers that are set by the President and Congress and are allocated by geographic region and ethnicity. Another important factor is the availability of flights from a country. Even after receiving a final arrival notice, there are times when the refugee family does not arrive at the airport. They are then called a "no show."

Q: Who pays for the refugee family's travel?
A: Each refugee receives an interest-free travel loan from the U.S. government. Prior to their departure, the head of the refugee family signs a promissory note to repay their loan. Approximately three months after their arrival, the refugee family receives their first bill to begin repayment of their loan. It is very important that refugees repay their travel loans as these funds are made available for other refugee's travel through a revolving loan fund.

Q: Will the refugees have luggage?
A: Depending upon the circumstance of the individual refugee, some may arrive with a bit of luggage and some may arrive with very little luggage. Some refugees from warmer climates, such as Africa, may be unprepared for cold weather and sponsors should take warm outer clothing to the airport during winter months.

Q: Will the refugee be healthy?
A: Prior to departure, each refugee receives a preliminary health exam, including an HIV test for AIDS, to verify that they do not have any communicable diseases. If the refugee has a serious medical condition, they will be held and treated overseas. Women over seven months pregnant will usually be held until delivery of the newborn baby. However, there have been cases where a refugee arrived with a physical problem without prior notification.

Q: Will the refugee know any English?
A: Most refugees do not know any English unless otherwise indicated on the biographical data form. It is safer to assume that the refugee family does not know English and to have volunteers in place that can speak their language. A bilingual dictionary is also helpful.

Q: Can we select the refugees we want to sponsor?
A: While every effort is made to match congregations with refugees of a desired country or particular family size, we encourage congregations to be open to accepting refugees from any part of the world.

Q: What else will the local congregation know prior to the refugee family's arrival?
A: The information of the biographical data form is all that is available to us. These biographical data forms are prepared by the interviewers of the various overseas processing posts and sent to New York for sponsorship assurance. However, there have been instances when the information is not accurate.

Q: What will the family know about us prior to arriving in the U.S.?
A: Most refugees are not informed of their sponsorship until shortly before their departure for the U.S. It is important to meet with the adult refugees shortly after their arrival to explain that your role as a sponsor is to provide transitional assistance until the refugee is self-sufficient. At this meeting, sponsors will also have the opportunity to discover what expectations the refugees may have for their new life in the U.S. It is important for both refugees and sponsors to confront and clarify any misconceptions or miscommunications early in the resettlement process.