Policies and Procedures for Admission of Refugees Eligibility for Refugee Benefits

National policies for the admission of refugees were de veloped after World “War II, and culminated in the adoption of the comprehensive Refugee Act of 19801 Under the terms of that statute separate allocations for the admission of refugees are made by the President each year, after consul tation with Congress.

The benefits of the statute may be extended to refugees in all parts of the world, other than to those who become firmly resettled in a third country or who have participated in persecution.

Qualified refugees will be accepted only if they are admissible to the United States, but the statute specifically waives exclusion grounds relating to labor certifications, public charge, documents, literacy, and foreign medical graduates, and authorizes the Attorney General to waive any other ground for exclusion on their behalf, except those relating to national security, Nazis, and trafficking in narcotics.