[Code of Federal Regulations]

[Title 8, Volume 1]

[Revised as of January 1, 2006]

From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access

[CITE: 8CFR207.1]



[Page 134-135]

 

                     TITLE 8--ALIENS AND NATIONALITY

 

               CHAPTER I--DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

 

PART 207_ADMISSION OF REFUGEES--Table of Contents

 

Sec. 207.1  Eligibility.









Sec.

207.1 Eligibility.

207.2 Applicant processsing.

207.3 Waivers of inadmissibility.

207.4 Approved application.

207.5 Waiting lists and priority handling.

207.6 Control over approved refugee numbers.

207.7 Derivatives of refugees.

207.8 Physical presence in the United States.

207.9 Termination of refugee status.



    Authority: 8 U.S.C. 1101, 1103, 1151, 1157, 1159, 1182; 8 CFR part 

2.



    Source: 46 FR 45118, Sept. 10, 1981, unless otherwise noted.





    (a) Filing jurisdiction. Any alien who believes he or she is a 

refugee as defined in section 101(a)(42) of the Act, and is included in 

a refugee group identified in section 207(a) of the Act, may apply for 

admission to the United States by filing an application in accordance 

with Sec. 207.2 with the Service office having jurisdiction over the 

area where the applicant is located. In those areas too distant from a 

Service office, the application may be filed at a designated United 

States consular office.

    (b) Firmly resettled. A refugee is considered to be ``firmly 

resettled'' if he/she has been offered resident status,



[[Page 135]]



citizenship, or some other type of permanent resettlement by a country 

other than the United States and has travelled to and entered that 

country as a consequence of his/her flight from persecution. Any 

applicant who has become firmly resettled in a foreign country is not 

eligible for refugee status under this chapter.

    (c) Not firmly resettled. Any applicant who claims not to be firmly 

resettled in a foreign country must establish that the conditions of 

his/her residence in that country are so restrictive as to deny 

resettlement. In determining whether or not an applicant is firmly 

resettled in a foreign country, the officer reviewing the matter shall 

consider the conditions under which other residents of the country live: 

(1) Whether permanent or temporary housing is available to the refugee 

in the foreign country; (2) nature of employment available to the 

refugee in the foreign country; and (3) other benefits offered or denied 

to the refugee by the foreign country which are available to other 

residents, such as (i) right to property ownership, (ii) travel 

documentation, (iii) education, (iv) public welfare, and (v) 

citizenship.

    (d) Immediate relatives and special immigrants. Any applicant for 

refugee status who qualifies as an immediate relative or as a special 

immigrant shall not be processed as a refugee unless it is in the public 

interest. The alien shall be advised to obtain an immediate relative or 

special immigrant visa and shall be provided with the proper petition 

forms to send to any prospective petitioners. An applicant who may be 

eligible for classification under sections 203(a)(1), (2), (3), (4), 

(5), (6), or (7) of the Act, and for whom a visa number is now 

available, shall be advised of such eligibility but is not required to 

apply.



[46 FR 45118, Sept. 10, 1981, as amended at 62 FR 10336, Mar. 6, 1997]