DOS Fact Sheet on FY2003 Refugee Admissions from Former Yugoslavia

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE

Fact Sheet
Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration
Washington, DC
November 19, 2002

The Former Yugoslavia Admissions Program

Background

In 1997, the U.S. established a Priority 2 category for Bosnians who were former detainees, targets of torture or violence based on ethnic or religious identity, surviving spouses of these groups, or partners in mixed marriages.  We closed registration for this P-2 category in 2001 because conditions on the ground had improved and the U.S. was encouraging repatriation for ethnic minorities.

P-2 applicants registered prior to the cut off date continued to be processed in FY 2002 and, by the end of the fiscal year, 5480 refugees were admitted from the Balkans. The number of admissions was less than anticipated because the post September 11 moratorium on refugee admissions, the cancellation of INS circuit rides and the increased security screening seriously disrupted the program.

New registration for the U.S. admissions program for refugees from the former Yugoslavia is now limited to P-1 UNHCR referred persons.

FY 2003 Admissions Program

The refugee population requiring resettlement in FY 2003 has decreased due to the changing political landscape in the Balkans. The FY 2003 admissions ceiling for the former Yugoslavia is 2500. This represents the P-2 refugees who were unable to travel in FY 2002 because of the post September 11 disruptions as well as new P-1 cases.