FAQs

• US Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP): According to international law, a refugee is someone who has left their home country because they have a legitimate fear of persecution or death due to some aspect of their identity or beliefs, and whose government is unable or unwilling to protect them from this threat. USRAP vets refugees for 18-24 months before determining their admission to the US.
• Humanitarian Parole: Individuals who are outside of the United States may be able to request parole into the United States based on urgent humanitarian reasons or a significant public benefit. This program allows for temporary stays in the US. If individuals fear for their safety if they were to return to their country, they may file an asylum claim in the US if eligible.
• Asylum: Individuals can legally come to the United States seeking protection because they have suffered persecution or fear that they will suffer persecution due to their race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion. Individuals may only file this application if they are physically present in the United States and are not a U.S. citizen.
• Work Visas: For some, the way out of a country where they are endangered is through a work visa if there is a job opportunity for which they are eligible. Often, only one adult member of the family is eligible and supports the whole family. Since this is also a temporary program, if individuals fear for their safety if they were to return to their country, they may file an asylum claim in the US if eligible.

IWR’s refugee partners are families or individuals who have been displaced from Afghanistan, Burma, Ecuador, Haiti, Nicaragua, South Sudan, and Ukraine, in addition to other countries.

Housing and wait times for work authorization have been and continue to be two of the greatest challenges.

Like many cities supportive of resettling refugees, Ithaca has an affordable housing problem. Refugees rely on IWR’s financial support and public assistance (if eligible) until they can earn enough income to afford their own rent and then, like many people in the community, are rent-burdened, meaning they spend a high percentage of their income on rent. 

Wait times to receive work authorization from the federal government can vary by admission program, rate of migrant arrivals to the US, and country of origin. Refugees entering through the US Refugee Admissions Program are supported by federally-designated refugee resettlement agencies for 90 days, receive work authorization during that time, and are expected to obtain employment during that time. Wait times for humanitarian parolees vary widely; for some, it takes a month or two to arrive, for others it can take over a year. Even when US Citizenship and Immigration Services “expedited” work permit processing times for Ukrainian humanitarian parolees in 2022, most of IWR’s Ukrainian refugee partners waited a year or longer to receive permission to work in the US due to the volume of permits being processed. Asylees are not permitted to apply for work authorization until 180 days have passed since their asylum application has been submitted, and many struggle to meet their basic needs until such time. 

Under the current federal administration, changes to policy and law on refugees and immigrants are introducing new uncertainties and the challenges to our community are evolving at this time.

We have a page for that! Visit the How to Help page to learn more about families’ current needs, how to volunteer, and how to donate. 

IWR’s work with each family or individual is long-term and necessitates precautions for the safety and confidentiality of our refugee partners, such as a background check requirement for all volunteers who work in direct contact with IWR refugee partners. However, there are opportunities for one-time volunteering that supports our programs without direct contact, such as fundraising and events organization. For more information on all volunteering roles, see Volunteer.