Even so, California now contains more than one Southeast Asian refugee in three, as earlier placements have moved there from other parts of the country to be with relatives and friends. The Vietnamese also cluster n Texas, Washington, Pennsylvania, New York, Louisiana, and the District of Columbia. Concentrations of Laotians can be found in places as far-flung as Minnesota, Rhode Island, and Oregon. There are still well over 100,000 refugees in resettlement camps in Southeast Asia, and the U.S. government plans to admit 50,000 more to the United States in 1985. In addition, about 12,000 Vietnamese are eligible to enter the United States each year under the Orderly Departure Program agreed to by the U.S. and Vietnam.
Most refugees apply for permanent immigrant status when they become eligible to do so.
Once they gain citizenship, they are able to bring family members here under the quotas established by immigration law. Thus, the U.S. is likely to continue gaining new immigrants from Vietnam, and also from Cambodia and Laos.