Reference Citation

INA Section 207 - ANNUAL ADMISSION OF REFUGEES AND ADMISSION OF
EMERGENCY SITUATION REFUGEES
Sec. 207. [8 U.S.C. 1157]
(a) (1) Except as provided in subsection (b), the number of refugees who may be admitted
under this section in fiscal year 1980, 1981, or 1982, may not exceed fifty thousand
unless the President determines, before the beginning of the fiscal year and after
appropriate consultation (as defined in subsection (e)), that admission of a specific
number of refugees in excess of such number is justified by humanitarian concerns or is
otherwise in the national interest.
(2) Except as provided in subsection (b), the number of refugees who may be admitted
under this section in any fiscal year after fiscal year 1982 shall be such number as the
President determines, before the beginning of the fiscal year and after appropriate
consultation, is justified by humanitarian concerns or is otherwise in the national interest.
(3) Admissions under this subsection shall be allocated among refugees of special
humanitarian concern to the United States in accordance with a determination made by
the President after appropriate consultation.
(4) In the determination made under this subsection for each fiscal year (beginning with
fiscal year 1992), the President shall enumerate, with the respective number of refugees
so determined, the number of aliens who were granted asylum in the previous year.
(b) If the President determines, after appropriate consultation, that (1) an unforeseen
emergency refugee situation exists, (2) the admission of certain refugees in response to
the emergency refugee situation is justified by grave humanitarian concerns or is
otherwise in the national interest, and (3) the admission to the United States of these
refugees cannot be accomplished under subsection (a), the President may fix a number of
refugees to be admitted to the United States during the succeeding period (not to exceed
twelve months) in response to the emergency refugee situation and such admissions shall
be allocated among refugees of special humanitarian concern to the United States in
accordance with a determination made by the President after the appropriate consultation
provided under this subsection.
(c) (1) Subject to the numerical limitations established pursuant to subsections (a) and
(b), the Attorney General may, in the Attorney General's discretion and pursuant to such
regulations as the Attorney General may prescribe, admit any refugee who is not firmly
resettled in any foreign country, is determined to be of special humanitarian concern to
the United States, and is admissible (except as otherwise provided under paragraph (3))
as an immigrant under this Act.

(2) (A) A spouse or child (as defined in section 101(b)(1)(A) , (B) , (C) , (D) , or (E) ) of
any refugee who qualifies for admission under paragraph (1) shall, if not otherwise

entitled to admission under paragraph (1) and if not a person described in the second
sentence of section 101(a)(42) , be entitled to the same admission status as such refugee
if accompanying, or following to join, such refugee and if the spouse or child is
admissible (except as otherwise provided under paragraph (3)) as an immigrant under this
Act. Upon the spouse's or child's admission to the United States, such admission shall be
charged against the numerical limitation established in accordance with the appropriate
subsection under which the refugee's admission is charged.

(B) An unmarried alien who seeks to accompany, or follow to join, a parent granted
admission as a refugee under this subsection, and who was under 21 years of age on the
date on which such parent applied for refugee status under this section, shall continue to
be classified as a child for purposes of this paragraph, if the alien attained 21 years of age
after such application was filed but while it was pending.
(3) The provisions of paragraphs (4), (5), and (7)(A) of section 212(a) shall not be
applicable to any alien seeking admission to the United States under this subsection, and
the Attorney General may waive any other provision of such section (other than
paragraph (2)(C) or subparagraph (A), (B), (C), or (E) of paragraph (3)) with respect to
such an alien for humanitarian purposes, to assure family unity, or when it is otherwise in
the public interest. Any such waiver by the Attorney General shall be in writing and shall
be granted only on an individual basis following an investigation. The Attorney General
shall provide for the annual reporting to Congress of the number of waivers granted under
this paragraph in the previous fiscal year and a summary of the reasons for granting such
waivers.

(4) The refugee status of any alien (and of the spouse or child of the alien) may be
terminated by the Attorney General pursuant to such regulations as the Attorney General
may prescribe if the Attorney General determines that the alien was not in fact a refugee
within the meaning of section 101(a)(42) at the time of the alien's admission.
(d) (1) Before the start of each fiscal year the President shall report to the Committee on
the Judiciary of the House of Representatives and of the Senate regarding the foreseeable
number of refugees who will be in need of resettlement during the fiscal year and the
anticipated allocation of refugee admissions during the fiscal year. The President shall
provide for periodic discussions between designated representatives of the President and
members of such committees regarding changes in the worldwide refugee situation, the
progress of refugee admissions, and the possible need for adjustments in the allocation of
admissions among refugees.
(2) As soon as possible after representatives of the President initiate appropriate
consultation with respect to the number of refugee admissions under subsection (a) or
with respect to the admission of refugees in response to an emergency refugee situation
under subsection (b), the Committees on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives

and of the Senate shall cause to have printed in the Congressional Record the substance
of such consultation.
(3) (A) After the President initiates appropriate consultation prior to making a
determination under subsection (a), a hearing to review the proposed determination shall
be held unless public disclosure of the details of the proposal would jeopardize the lives
or safety of individuals.
(B) After the President initiates appropriate consultation prior to making a determination,
under subsection (b), that the number of refugee admissions should be increased because
of an unforeseen emergency refugee situation, to the extent that time and the nature of the
emergency refugee situation permit, a hearing to review the proposal to increase refugee
admissions shall be held unless public disclosure of the details of the proposal would
jeopardize the lives or safety of individuals.
(e) For purposes of this section, the term "appropriate consultation" means, with respect
to the admission of refugees and allocation of refugee admissions, discussions in person
by designated Cabinet-level representatives of the President with members of the
Committees on the Judiciary of the Senate and of the House of Representatives to review
the refugee situation or emergency refugee situation, to project the extent of possible
participation of the United States therein, to discuss the reasons f or believing that the
proposed admission of refugees is justified by humanitarian concerns or grave
humanitarian concerns or is otherwise in the national interest, and to provide such
members with the following information:
(1) A description of the nature of the refugee situation.
(2) A description of the number and allocation of the refugees to be admitted and an
analysis of conditions within the countries from which they came.
(3) A description of the proposed plans for their movement and resettlement and the
estimated cost of their movement and resettlement.
(4) An analysis of the anticipated social, economic, and demographic impact of their
admission to the United States.
(5) A description of the extent to which other countries will admit and assist in the
resettlement of such refugees.
(6) An analysis of the impact of the participation of the United States in the resettlement
of such refugees on the foreign policy interests of the United States.
(7) Such additional information as may be appropriate or requested by such members.

To the extent possible, information described in this subsection shall be provided at least

two weeks in advance of discussions in person by designated representatives of the
President with such members.

(f)(1) The Attorney General, in consultation with the Secretary of State, shall provide all
United States officials adjudicating refugee cases under this section with the same
training as that provided to officers adjudicating asylum cases under section 208.
(2) Such training shall include country-specific conditions, instruction on the
internationally recognized right to freedom of religion, instruction on methods of
religious persecution practiced in foreign countries, and applicable distinctions within a
country between the nature of and treatment of various religious practices and believers.

INA Section 209 -ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS OF REFUGEES
Sec. 209. [8 U.S.C. 1159]
(a) (1) Any alien who has been admitted to the United States under section 207 (A) whose admission has not been terminated by the Secretary of Homeland Security or
the Attorney General pursuant to such regulations as the Secretary of Homeland Security
or the Attorney General may prescribe,

(B) who has been physically present in the United States for at least one year, and
(C) who has not acquired permanent resident status, shall, at the end of such year period,
return or be returned to the custody of the Department of Homeland Security for
inspection and examination for admission to the United States as an immigrant in
accordance with the provisions of sections 235 , 240 , and 241 .
(2) Any alien who is found upon inspection and examination by an immigration officer
pursuant to paragraph (1) or after a hearing before an immigration judge to be admissible
(except as otherwise provided under subsection (c)) as an immigrant under this Act at the
time of the alien's inspection and examination shall, notwithstanding any numerical
limitation specified in this Act, be regarded as lawfully admitted to the United States for
permanent residence as of the date of such alien's arrival into the United States.
(b) The Secretary of Homeland Security or the Attorney General, in the Secretary's or the
Attorney General's discretion and under such regulations as the Secretary or the Attorney
General may prescribe, may adjust to the status of an alien lawfully admitted for
permanent residence the status of any alien granted asylum who—
(1) applies for such adjustment,

(2) has been physically present in the United States for at least one year after being
granted asylum,
(3) continues to be a refugee within the meaning of section 101(a)(42)(A) or a spouse or
child of such a refugee,
(4) is not firmly resettled in any foreign country, and
(5) is admissible (except as otherwise provided under subsection (c)) as an immigrant
under this Act at the time of examination for adjustment of such alien. Upon approval of
an application under this subsection, the Secretary of Homeland Security or the Attorney
General shall establish a record of the alien's admission for lawful permanent residence as
of the date one year before the date of the approval of the application.

(c) The provisions of paragraphs (4), (5), and (7)(A) of section 212(a) shall not be
applicable to any alien seeking adjustment of status under this section, and the Secretary
of Homeland Security or the Attorney General may waive any other provision of such
section (other than paragraph (2)(C) or subparagraph (A), (B), (C), or (E) of paragraph
(3)) with respect to such an alien for humanitarian purposes, to assure family unity, or
when it is otherwise in the public interest.

INA Section 212 - GENERAL CLASSES OF ALIENS INELIGIBLE TO RECEIVE
VISAS AND INELIGIBLE FOR ADMISSION; WAIVERS OF INADMISSIBILLITY
Sec. 212. [8 U.S.C. 1182]
(a) Classes of Aliens Ineligible for Visas or Admission.-Except as otherwise provided in
this Act, aliens who are inadmissible under the following paragraphs are ineligible to
receive visas and ineligible to be admitted to the United States:
(1) Health-related grounds.(A) In general.-Any alien(i) who is determined (in accordance with regulations prescribed by
the Secretary of Health and Human Services) to have a communicable
disease of public health significance; 1b
(ii) 1 except as provided in subparagraph (C) 1a who seeks admission as
an immigrant, or who seeks adjustment of status to the status of an
alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence, and who has failed to
present documentation of having received vaccination against vaccinepreventable diseases, which shall include at least the following

diseases: mumps, measles, rubella, polio, tetanus and diphtheria
toxoids, pertussis, influenza type B and hepatitis B, and any other
vaccinations against vaccine-preventable diseases recommended by
the Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices,
(iii) who is determined (in accordance with regulations prescribed by
the Secretary of Health and Human Services in consultation with the
Attorney General)(I) to have a physical or mental disorder and behavior associated
with the disorder that may pose, or has posed, a threat to the
property, safety, or welfare of the alien or others, or
(II) to have had a physical or mental disorder and a history of
behavior associated with the disorder, which behavior has posed
a threat to the property, safety, or welfare of the alien or others
and which behavior is likely to recur or to lead to other harmful
behavior, or
(iv) who is determined (in accordance with regulations prescribed by
the Secretary of Health and Human Services) to be a drug abuser or
addict, is inadmissible.

8 CFR 207.3 Waivers of inadmissibility.
(a) Authority. Section 207(c)(3) of the Act sets forth grounds of inadmissibility
under section 212(a) of the Act which are not applicable and those which may be waived
in the case of an otherwise qualified refugee and the conditions under which such waivers
may be approved.
(b) Filing requirements. An applicant may request a waiver by submitting an
application for a waiver in accordance with the form instructions. The burden is on the
applicant to show that the waiver should be granted based upon humanitarian grounds,
family unity, or the public interest. The applicant shall be notified in writing of the
decision, including the reasons for denial if the application is denied. There is no appeal
from such decision.
[76 FR 53783, Aug. 29, 2011]