How the New Biden-Harris ‘Welcome Corps’ for Refugees Works

You don’t have to already be officially a refugee to be sponsored for resettlement, and your sponsor doesn’t even have to be a citizen

By Nayla Rush on October 10, 2024

Summary

The Welcome Corps is a private sponsorship program designed by the Biden-Harris administration to create opportunities for private individuals in the United States to select their own “refugees” and future American citizens. Sponsored individuals do not need to actually be refugees according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Refugee Status Determination, let alone in that subset of refugees determined by the UN to be in “need of resettlement”. And the sponsors can themselves be earlier refugees or other newcomers.

In fact, this administration has opened the door to non-refugees to be picked for resettlement by private sponsors. Anyone can be sponsored for resettlement as a “refugee” under the Welcome Corps, not just those holding UN refugee status but also asylum seekers, and applicants for “parole” or Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) status who meet certain criteria. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) component agency, is left to determine eligibility for refugee status after review of the cases (prepared by an NGO or international organization funded by the U.S. government) and a one-time interview with the applicant. Moreover, the Welcome Corps program offers exemptions to clear applicants from any form of registration documentation.

True, USCIS refugee officers are the ones who, in the end, decide whether applicants are eligible for refugee status and resettlement, but this can be a formality. A Syrian in Lebanon, for instance, who is sponsored by a Syrian green card holder in the United States (possibly himself a recent refugee) is not likely to be denied refugee status by the USCIS officer if the Syrian claims persecution and fear of return to Syria.

In short: You do not need to be a refugee to be sponsored into the United States under the Welcome Corps program, but you can claim persecution and become one to be admitted.

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The Welcome Corps program started in January 2023 with phase one, known as the “matching phase”, allowing U.S.-based sponsors to be matched with refugees whose cases were already approved for resettlement under the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP). Sponsors can be American citizens but also permanent residents, including even those with conditional two-year green cards. U.S-based sponsors could request to be “paired with someone from a particular country or who speaks a certain language”.

The program really got started with the move to phase two, the “naming phase”, on December 29, 2023, under which sponsors can select their own “refugees” and future American citizens, a first in the history of USRAP.

The Welcome Corps program saw limited success during its first, matching phase (with only some 500 sponsors signing up), but picked up under phase two, as sponsors became able to select who they want to bring to the United States. Three months into the naming phase, more than 65,000 individuals in all 50 states plus D.C. had signed up to welcome as refugees people they know or are related to. By September 2024, the number of sponsors was up to 100,000.

Traditionally, the United States relied on UNHCR for the selection of refugees to be referred for resettlement here. UNHCR has the international mandate to determine who is (and who is not) attributed refugee status, to provide them assistance, and to decide who among those deemed refugees is eligible for resettlement in a third country.

With the Welcome Corps, any individual of any nationality who falls within the program’s eligibility criteria can be referred for resettlement, but to be admitted to the United States, they need to meet the definition of a refugee under U.S. law. USCIS determines eligibility for refugee status after review of their cases during a scheduled interview.

When an individual abroad is referred for resettlement in the United States, the case is first received and processed by a Resettlement Support Center (RSC). Here’s a brief sequence of the general adjudication process under the Welcome Corps’ naming phase:

  • Referral to an RSC by a group of private sponsors of an applicant they know (it used to be the UNHCR who referred people it had registered as refugees for resettlement based on vulnerability and eligibility assessment);
  • RSC staff conduct a prescreening interview with the resettlement applicant, initiate biographic checks, enter case in the system, etc.;
  • A USCIS refugee officer reviews checks, collects biometrics, conducts eligibility interview with the applicant during a circuit ride (a trip organized to interview numerous refugee applicants abroad);
  • USCIS refugee officer (member of the Refugee Corps) adjudicates Form I-590 (Registration for Classification as Refugee), after reviewing admissibility and eligibility for refugee classification;
  • RSC processes approved cases for travel, including medical exams and cultural orientation.

The Role of the Refugee Corps

USCIS formed the Refugee Corps within the Refugee, Asylum and International Operations Directorate (RAIO) in 2005 to adjudicate applications for refugee status overseas and determine whether refugee applicants are eligible for resettlement in the United States.

The Refugee Corps is composed of specially trained officers who spend most of their time in international refugee processing locations interviewing resettlement applicants and adjudicating refugee claims. Refugee officers not only play a key role within USRAP, but their assessment has also a “great impact on the life of the applicant”.

No educational requirement is needed to become a refugee officer but one must attend a mandatory paid RAIO Foundations training course. Training (conducted virtually or in-person) can last up to 12 weeks. A residential paid basic immigration officer training program (an approximately six-week course at a USCIS training facility) may also be required.

The refugee officer position requires frequent travel, including circuit rides to international locations that usually last between 45 and 60 days. Some locations “may be physically challenging and may involve working in inhospitable climates, in remote camp settings, or in environments of high security”. Working conditions may be very demanding, involving “extreme temperatures, harsh working environments, austere living facilities, and long arduous travel”.

As part of expanding the U.S. Refugee Resettlement program, the Biden-Harris administration has hired more than 300 refugee officers. The size of DHS’s refugee officer corps has more than tripled. Over 80,000 refugee applicants overseas were interviewed by refugee officers in the first half of 2024.

The Role of the RSCs

The State Department’s Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration (PRM) funds and manages seven RSCs abroad, operated by international and non-governmental organizations:

  1. RSC Africa (based in Nairobi, Kenya), run by the Church World Service (CWS);
  2. RSC Asia (based in Bangkok, Thailand), run by the International Rescue Committee (IRC);
  3. RSC Austria (based in Vienna, Austria), run by HIAS);
  4. RSC Eurasia a (based in Warsaw, Poland), run by the International Organization for Migration (IOM);
  5. RSC Latin America (based in San Salvador, El Salvador), run by IOM;
  6. RSC Middle East and North Africa (based in Amman, Jordan), run by IOM;
  7. RSC Turkey & the Middle East (based in Istanbul, Turkey), run by the International Catholic Migration Commission (ICMC).

Three of these RSCs — CWS, IRC, and HIAS — are also “resettlement agencies” that are funded by the State Department to receive, place, and assist refugees inside the United States, creating a possible conflict of interest.

IOM is part of the United Nations system. As the leading intergovernmental organization in the field of migration, it “is committed to the principle that humane and orderly migration benefits migrants and society.” ICMC provides “assistance and protection to vulnerable people on the move and advocates for sustainable solutions for refugees and migrants.”

The role of RSCs in the application and case processing of potential refugees under the USRAP is crucial.

Under PRM’s guidance, RSCs collect biographic and other information from the applicants to prepare cases for security screening, interview, and adjudication by DHS’s USCIS. The secretary of Homeland Security has delegated to USCIS the authority to determine eligibility for refugee status under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) — refugee determinations under the INA are “entirely discretionary”.

RSC staff conduct in-depth pre-screening interviews with applicants; assist them in completing their case files, and enter their required documentation into the Department of State’s Worldwide Refugee Admission Processing System (WRAPS); and verify data and send information to other U.S. agencies for background and security checks. They also schedule USCIS refugee eligibility interviews for the applicants.

USCIS refugee officers review all the information that the RSC has collected and the results of security screening processes and conduct an in-person interview with each refugee applicant before deciding whether to approve him or her for classification as a refugee and deem him or her eligible for resettlement.

During the adjudication interview, the USCIS officer will ask many of the same or similar questions answered in the prescreening interview conducted by RSC staff. Applicants will need to explain again their fear of persecution in their own country. Additional questions may be asked to determine refugee eligibility. Applicants are obligated to be honest and will be asked to swear under oath that everything they say during this interview is true.

RSCs play a central role in the process of vetting potential refugees for security threats — as mentioned, they collect biographic and other information from the applicants to prepare for the adjudication process and security screening:

U.S. national security agencies, including the National Counterterrorism Center, FBI, Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Department of Defense, and the Department of State, as well as the intelligence community, begin screening the applicant using the data transmitted from the RSCs. [Emphasis added.]

RSC staff (who are generally citizens of the countries they are stationed in) are entrusted with an important part of the resettlement process. Many work in difficult conditions and are citizens of unsettled countries where corruption is at times deemed an acceptable, even necessary, means of survival. Allegations of fraud, bribery, and corruption taking place within RSCs have been reported in numerous countries.

By UNHCR’s own admission, "Refugee status and resettlement places are valuable commodities, particularly in countries with acute poverty, where the temptation to make money by whatever means is strong. This makes the resettlement process a target for abuse.”

RSC staff screening and appraisals can be at best complaisant and at worst open to the highest bidder.

A U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) review in 2017 of USRAP’s screening process and vulnerability to fraud uncovered major concerns with RSC case preparations, including staff fraud. GAO staff observed RSC caseworkers as they reviewed applicants’ identification documents (passport, birth certificate, marriage certificate), recorded name variations (alternate spellings) and family tree information, and took note of the applicants’ flight journey and persecution stories (information later used by USCIS officers in their interviews).

GAO found that measures put in place by the U.S. State Department to monitor RSCs’ performance and evaluate their key activities like pre-screening and preparation of case files for resettlement applicants were insufficient. Of the 70 Refugee Affairs Division (RAD) trip reports GAO analyzed that contained feedback on RSC activities, only 10 (14 percent) showed satisfaction with RSC case preparations; 45 (64 percent) identified major concerns. Other concerns such as staff fraud and applicant fraud were also underlined by GAO in that review.

The GAO highlighted refugee officers’ training shortcomings as well.

Even if measures have been taken since to monitor RSCs’ performance and address refugee officers’ challenges, program vulnerabilities and personnel subjectivities should not be dismissed, especially under the Welcome Corps, a possible open door to preferential treatment and biases. This new “customized” program is, by its nature, favoring the subjective, personalized selection of individuals to be resettled here. It allows for the preferential selection of “refugees” by their friends/family already here.

The UNHCR refugee designation and resettlement referral processes are far from perfect, but they fall under an internationally recognized system. While the UNHCR touts resettlement is a “critical lifeline” for some, it acknowledges that it is not the best option for most refugees; of the 43.4 million refugees under UNHCR’s mandate, it says only 2.4 million are in need of resettlement in 2024. And out of those 2.4 million, only a small proportion of refugees will end up being resettled, whether in the United States or other countries.

Instead of following UNHCR referral guidelines, the Biden-Harris administration chose to trust and empower private individuals here (including newcomers) with this ostensible “life-saving lifeline”.

Who Can Be Sponsored under the Welcome Corps?

Beneficiaries can be individuals of any nationality provided they meet the definition of a refugee under U.S. law before their application is accepted (USCIS determines eligibility for refugee status). They must also meet the following criteria:

  • They must be 18 years old or, if younger, they need to be referred with a biological parent or legal guardian.
  • They must live outside their home country; they must not live in the United States.
  • They must live in a country where the U.S. government is able to interview them and process their cases. The Welcome Corps is currently not available for people living in certain countries following a list provided by the Biden-Harris administration. This list is subject to revision as country conditions change.
  • If a Private Sponsor Group (PSG) is applying to sponsor more than one person, all must be living in the same country and plan to live in the same household once they get to the United States.
  • To be admitted into the United States, applicants must pass the U.S. government’s refugee screening and vetting process. Those previously denied for resettlement to the United States through the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program cannot be sponsored under the Welcome Corps.
  • If individuals have an existing case number with USRAP or the Afghan SIV program, they can be sponsored regardless of their current location.
  • Every refugee listed on an application needs proof of registration or a refugee identification card to be eligible for this program (registration exemptions exist).
  • Refugees of Cuban, Haitian, Nicaraguan, or Venezuelan nationality can upload a Form I-134 or I-134A (Online Request to be a Supporter and Declaration of Financial Report) already filed on their behalf by September 30, 2023, instead of proof of registration. They must have been outside their country of nationality by the time the form was filed.

Registration Documents

To be able to be sponsored under the Welcome Corps, individuals must have one of the following registration documents (see below for information on how to request registration exemptions):

  • A refugee or asylum seeker registration confirmation with UNHCR or the government where they currently live. Individuals must have registered by September 30, 2023.
  • A Movilidad Segura (Safe Mobility Initiative) Registration. Registered individuals must be in Latin America. The Safe Mobility (SMO) initiative is one of many initiatives undertaken by the Biden-Harris administration to expand “lawful pathways” to the United States for refugees and vulnerable migrants in South and Central America. This initiative is supposed to reduce unlawful migration and discourage individuals from undertaking dangerous journeys “in search of safety and better opportunities”.

    With the assistance of the UNHCR, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), and other partners, the United States has established Safe Mobility Offices (SMOs) in Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, and Guatemala, which “direct refugees and migrants to lawful pathways and help them avoid the risks associated with onward movement”. The Safe Mobility Initiative not only facilitates expedited refugee processing via USRAP but gives access to other means of coming to the United States, including humanitarian parole, family reunification, and labor opportunities.

  • A pending Form I-134 or I-134A, Online Request to be a Supporter and Declaration of Financial Report. Individuals of Cuban, Haitian, Nicaraguan, or Venezuelan nationality can upload a Form I-134 or I-134A already filed on their behalf under the “Processes for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans (CHNV)” by September 30, 2023, instead of proof of registration. They must have been outside their country of nationality by the time the form was filed.

    CHNV is another program designed by the Biden-Harris administration to facilitate “lawful” access to the United States in order to deter illegal entries. The program allows Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans and their family members (of any nationality) to be released into the United States on parole (for an initial period of two years) and apply for employment authorization, provided U.S.-based supporters agree to sponsor them during their initial stay here (90 days).

    Under CHNV, foreign nationals (of any nationality) who have “temporary authorization” to remain in the United States — such as on parole — can sponsor other foreign nationals in turn to come here on parole. Under this program, U.S.-based sponsors do not need to be U.S. citizens or permanent residents (i.e. green card holders) or even have a formal legal immigration status. Foreign nationals who are on U.S. ground under parole, Temporary Protected Status (TPS) (including those granted an initial TPS and have re-registered for TPS but are waiting the final approval as well as those who have TPS and are in removal proceedings), Deferred Enforced Departure (DED), or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) can also act as private sponsors and select who gets to follow them to the United States.

Individuals with none of the above registration documents can still be considered for resettlement under the Welcome Corps. Registrations exemptions are allowed “on an extremely limited basis after a case-specific review”.

Topics: Refugees