Geneva/Washington – On 14 March, IOM, the UN Migration Agency and the United States Department of State, Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration (PRM) signed an agreement in Geneva, Switzerland, on the admission of refugees and other designated migrants during the period 2018 to 2023.

“IOM is pleased to announce that its 26-year-old resettlement agreement with the US Government has been extended for another five years,” said William Lacy Swing, IOM Director General, on signing the Memorandum of Understanding with PRM at the Organization’s headquarters. “This agreement affirms IOM’s strong programme management role in this key refugee resettlement response,” said Director General Swing.

IOM has a long history of support to the United States Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) and works throughout the world with PRM and its principal refugee processing partners such as the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the Refugee Processing Center (RPC), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as well as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and a variety of non-governmental agencies offering refugee assistance or resettlement services.

Globally, IOM partners with USRAP in four core areas of work: case processing, migration health assessment and travel health assistance, pre-departure orientation, and transportation and movement operations. From the initial selection of refugees to their arrival in the United States, this support helps ensure that refugees are empowered, well informed and properly prepared for resettlement.

For more information, please contact Michel Tonneau at IOM Washington, Tel: +1 202 804 4306, Email: mtonneau@iom.int