Syrian refugee crisis and USA

There is a huge battle of wars raging in USA and the cause of debate – should they take in Syrian refugees, especially now in the aftermath of the Paris attacks, which has cast a dark cloud over the entire fate of these refugees.

USA has not be as generous as Germany or other European countries when it comes to providing a safe haven to these Syrian refugees. Germany alone has admitted some 93,000 refugees  since 2012 till Sept 2015 while USA has taken in only 1854 refugees. Obama has said that USA will open its doors to 10,000 Syrian refugees. Naturally a large faction of the Americans are not happy with his decision and plan to resist this. But whether they resist or no, the entire process of Syrians finding refugee in USA is so tough that it could take years.

The process - First they have to register with U.N. Then an interview with U.N and only it is satisfied that they get a refugee status from U.N. This then gives them a referral to the United States. Then begins the interview with State Dept. They do a really thorough and long check – they first do a background check and if needed, a higher-level background check. That does not end there - another background check is done. The comes fingerprint screenings, followed by a review by U.S. immigration. Post this, there could be another new review is the US immigration is not satisfied. After this, there is a Homeland Security in-person review and then comes a approval. Following this, there is a detailed check-up for contagious disease screening. They then undergo a cultural orientation and resettlement agency match. After all this, there is a multi-agency security check and if they get through all this, there is a final security check at airport. And the whole process takes a minimum of two years.