In a Presidential Document, written on the last day of September of
this year and published in the Federal Register yesterday, the
President provided guidance to the Secretary of State to provide for
the admission of up to 80,000 refugees to the U.S. during Fiscal Year
2010. The President’s publication allocated certain amounts of refugee
numbers to each region of the world, as stated below:
Africa: 15,500
East Asia: 17,000
Europe and Central Asia: 2,500
Latin America/Caribbean: 5,000
Near East/South Asia: 35,000
Unallocated Reserve: 5,000
The unallocated refugee numbers are to be “allocated to regional
ceilings, as needed,” wrote the President, and are to be used in
regions where the need for additional refugee admissions occurs.
Further, refugee numbers can be moved from one region to one or more
other regions, when greater numbers for admission are needed in those
other regions.
Finally, the President specified that, for Fiscal Year 2010,
individuals from the following countries, if otherwise qualified, can
“be considered refugees for the purpose of admission to the United
States within their countries of nationality or habitual residence:”
(1)People in Cuba
(2)People in the former Soviet Union
(3)People in Iraq
In exceptional cases, people identified by a U.S. Embassy in any
location may also be considered a refugee within their country of
nationality/habitual residence.
