15 Syrian, Iraqi refugees from Jordan receive approval to resettle in US

AMMAN — Fifteen Syrian and Iraqi refugees in Jordan have been granted certificates of approval to be resettled in America under the US Refugee Admissions Programme (USRAP).

The refugees underwent a series of interviews, and security and medical clearances before being granted approval for travel, according to the International Organisation for Migration (IOM). 

During a ceremony on Wednesday, US Ambassador Alice G. Wells called on the approved refugees to integrate into American society, describing them as a “valuable part of America”.

The ambassador addressed concerns about finding jobs in the US by saying, “The unemployment rate in the US stands at only 5 per cent, so you have strong chance to work there.”

The USRAP focuses on resettling the most vulnerable Syrian refugees and aims to meet the Presidential Determination on Refugee Admissions for Fiscal Year 2016, which hopes to resettle 10,000 Syrians by the end of fiscal year 2016, according to a US embassy statement. 

The US Department of Homeland Security decides whether applicants are refugees and eligible for resettlement in the United States under US law.  

Once they are ready to travel, they attend a four-day cultural orientation session to prepare them for their arrival in the United States and for life in their new country. 

Jamal Fakhouri, IOM regional cultural orientation coordinator, said refugees admitted to the US, Australia and the UK are given a cultural orientation and air tickets after they pass the clearance stage.

“Over 1,000 Syrians have already been sent to America from Jordan since the beginning of the Syrian crisis,” he said, adding that it is the UNHCR who decides who the most vulnerable among refugees are.

Anne C. Richard, US assistant secretary of state for population, refugees, and migration, previously said that 70,000 refugees from around the world have been brought to the US under the US Refugee Admissions Programme, adding that the programme for Syrian refugees in particular has been enlarged.