According to the International Organization for Migration, the February 2006 bombing of the Al-Askari Mosque in Samara triggered sectarian violence, which increased the number of displaced Iraqis. Although military operations, crime, and general insecurity remained factors, sectarian violence became the primary driver for population displacement. Many Iraqis fled their country and immigrated to neighboring countries, particularly to Syria and Jordan. According to United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the 1951 United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol provide the foundation for modern refugee protection. According to the Convention, a refugee is someone who, “owing to a well- founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality, and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country.…” UNHCR is mandated to find solutions to the plight of refugees. According to UNHCR, three solutions are available: First, voluntary repatriation is the preferred solution for the majority of refugees. Most refugees prefer to return home as soon as circumstances permit (generally when a conflict has ended and a degree of stability has been restored). UNHCR promotes, supports, and facilitates voluntary repatriation as the best solution for displaced people, provided it is safe and reintegration is viable. Second, UNHCR may help refugees integrate and settle in the “asylum,” or host, country where they reside as refugees. Some refugees cannot or are unwilling to return because they would face persecution. According to UNHCR, relatively few host countries allow refugees to settle. Third, UNHCR may assist refugees in permanently resettling in third countries. According to UNHCR, only a small number of nations take part in UNHCR resettlement programs worldwide and accept annual quotas of refugees. According to State, historically, less than 1 percent of registered refugees are resettled in third countries. Of the Iraqis resettling in third countries in 2009, UNHCR referred 75 percent (about 62,000) for resettlement in the United States. This report focuses on the third solution—those Iraqis resettled in the United States. When Iraqi refugees and SIV holders arrive in the United States, they have access to federal- and state-funded assistance to help them reach self-sufficiency in their new communities. State has primary responsibility for funding and administering initial reception and placement benefits for refugees and SIV holders upon their arrival in the United States. State’s PRM has cooperative agreements with 10 resettlement agencies that coordinate with local affiliates across the country to make referrals and to administer resettlement services and other assistance. HHS’s ORR administers cash and medical assistance, and employment and other social services through the states and resettlement agencies that coordinate services for refugees across the country. Regarding federal government employment, individuals are generally employed in the competitive, excepted, or Senior Executive Service. When hiring for competitive service positions, agencies use a competitive examination process set forth in Title 5 of the U.S. Code. Some agencies have excepted service positions for which they are not required to follow OPM’s competitive examination process; instead, the agencies have the authority to establish their own hiring procedures. When agencies hire for career senior executive positions—top-level policy, supervisory, and managerial positions—the individual’s executive and managerial qualifications must be reviewed and approved by an OPM-administered Senior Executive Service Qualifications Review Board. According to OPM data, the majority of civil service employees in the United States are in the competitive service. Between fiscal years 2006 and 2009, the United States has admitted 34,470 Iraqi refugees under State’s Refugee Admissions Program. Since fiscal year 2007, State has issued 4,634 SIVs to Iraqis. Resettlement agencies, working under cooperative agreements with State, have resettled Iraqis throughout the United States, but particularly in California and Michigan. These agencies have found that Iraqis arrive in the United States with high levels of trauma, injury, and illness, which contribute to the challenges they face in resettling in a new country. In addition, entry-level jobs normally available to refugees are scarce and more competitive in the current economic downturn. State’s PRM manages the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP)— the U.S. government’s program for accepting and processing refugee applications for resettlement in the United States. PRM’s regional refugee coordinator accepts referrals from UNHCR, embassies, and certain nongovernmental organizations (NGO). Certain categories of Iraqis with U.S. affiliations do not need a referral and may apply directly for refugee consideration under a direct access program in Jordan, Egypt, and Iraq. Overseas processing entities (OPE), working under a cooperative agreement with State, prescreen the referrals and prepare application forms by collecting and verifying personal and family information, obtaining details of persecution or feared harm, and initiating security name checks. Once the OPE prescreens the case, it is provided to DHS’s U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), which makes periodic visits to the region to interview refugees and adjudicate their applications for resettlement in the United States. Once USCIS preliminarily approves cases, they are returned to the OPE, which continues processing medical screenings, sponsorship (i.e., the identification of the U.S.-based resettlement agency that will provide initial resettlement benefits), travel arrangements, and cultural orientation, among other things. The cultural orientation, which is a voluntary course for all refugees over the age of 15, addresses essential topics related to processing, travel, and resettlement, such as the role of the resettlement agency, housing, employment, health, and money management. While the OPE coordinates outprocessing, PRM secures a sponsoring resettlement agency in the United States. From fiscal years 2006 through 2009, the United States admitted 34,470 Iraqi refugees (see table 1). DHS and State’s Bureau of Consular Affairs also have implemented two SIV programs, established by Congress, to further assist qualified Iraqis who worked for or on behalf of the U.S. government and who want to immigrate to the United States. Both programs cover the principal Iraqi applicants and their dependents. Iraqi SIV holders are admitted into the United States as lawful permanent residents. The first SIV program, established under section 1059 of the NDAA for fiscal year 2006, targets Iraqi and Afghan translators and their dependents. The second SIV program, established under section 1244 of the NDAA for fiscal year 2008, targets certain Iraqis who had been U.S. government employees, contractors, or subcontractors and their dependents. In January 2008, Congress authorized that up to 5,000 Iraqis per year for the next 5 fiscal years, who had worked for or on behalf of the U.S. government in Iraq and had experienced or were experiencing an ongoing serious threat as a consequence, can receive SIVs. Some Iraqi refugees may also qualify for the SIV programs. To apply for special immigrant status, eligible Iraqis may file a petition, including a favorable recommendation from their U.S. civilian or military supervisor documenting their service. USCIS sends approved petitions to State’s National Visa Center, which contacts applicants to set up an in- person interview at an embassy or a consulate. Consular officials interview applicants, review the submitted documents and security and medical clearances, and issue an immigrant visa if candidates satisfy all criteria. At the end of fiscal year 2009, State had issued 2,389 SIVs to principal Iraqi applicants out of a maximum authorized 11,050 principal- applicant visas. Under the two programs, the United States issued 4,634 Iraqi SIVs from fiscal years 2007 through 2009 (see table 2). It is unclear how many Iraqis with SIVs have entered the United States. USCIS provided us with data on the number of Iraqi and Afghan SIV holders who were admitted into the United States as permanent residents (or green card holders) between fiscal years 2007 and 2009. Iraqi and Afghan SIVs are issued based on an applicant’s nationality. USCIS provided us these data by applicants’ country of birth, but could not provide the data by nationality. Therefore, we report only Iraqi SIV issuance data. Since fiscal year 2006, Iraqi refugees and SIV holders have resettled in communities across the United States. Placement decisions consider the location of an individual’s family members, potential medical needs, and municipal and sponsoring agency capacity to accept and provide for refugees and SIV holders. The largest populations of recently resettled Iraqis are in California, Michigan, Texas, Arizona, Illinois, and Virginia (see fig. 1 and app. II for more information). According to NGOs and resettlement agencies, the U.S. refugee resettlement program has been strained by a growing number of Iraqi and Afghan refugees and the economic downturn in the United States. In June 2009, the International Rescue Committee reported that the high levels of trauma, injury, and illness among Iraqi refugees contribute to the precarious nature of their resettlement. Moreover, unemployment and homelessness threaten Iraqi refugees and other populations recently resettled in the United States, according to NGOs and resettlement agencies. In October 2009, the Georgetown Law School reported that a Michigan resettlement office received funding in 2008 for 300 refugees, but served more than 1,200. Caseworkers, dealing with an average of 120 cases at a time—up from 30 the year before—could not provide what they considered sufficient employment services.