U.S. law provides that refugees may be selected from the waiting list in a manner that best supports the policies and interests of the United States and provides that the U.S. Attorney General may adopt the appropriate criteria for selecting refugees and assigning processing priorities for designated groups based on such considerations as reuniting families, close association with the United States, compelling humanitarian concerns, and public interest factors. These criteria along with an individual's priority date will be considered together to determine when an individual will be taken off the waiting list and receive his or her refugee visa. If you are denied refugee status, the Immigration and Nationality Act provides no right of appeal. If your application for refugee status is approved by an immigration officer outside of the United States, the approval authorizes the immigration district director to of the port of entry into the United States to permit entry for a period of 4 months from the date that the I-590 application was approved. If accepted as a refugee, you may then come to the U.S. and receive assistance from the U.S. government s refugee resettlement program.
Refugees are eligible to apply for lawful permanent residency after one year.