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OO RUEHBC RUEHDA RUEHDE RUEHIHL RUEHKUK
DE RUEHGB #2996/01 2500204
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 070204Z SEP 07 ZDS
FM AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3229
INFO RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE
RUEAHLC/HOMELAND SECURITY CENTER WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 002996 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR NEA/I 
STATE PASS TO DHS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: N/A 
TAGS: PREF PHUM PREL SY JO IZ
SUBJECT: IRAQI REFUGEE PROCESSING: CAN WE SPEED IT UP? 
 
Ref: SECSTATE 123392 
 
BAGHDAD 00002996  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1. (U) Summary:  The U.S. has provided substantial assistance to 
Iraq's two million refugees, over USD 120 million in FY-07, which is 
considerably more than all other donors combined.  Assistance also 
involves resettling some refugees; over 10,000 UNHCR referrals are 
pending.  The process typically takes eight to ten months from the 
time a case is referred to the U.S. by the UN High Commission for 
Refugees (UNHCR) to the time the refugee sets foot in the U.S.  That 
delay is likely to grow considerably.  The major bottlenecks are the 
time it takes for Security Advisory Opinion (SAO) processing, and 
the long wait for an interview by a DHS officer in Jordan or Syria, 
where the majority of the refugees are located.  To address these 
choke points, post suggests considering creating a priority track 
for Iraqi refugee clearance checks, and looking at other ways to 
conduct the DHS interview, including DHS interviewing by DVC from 
Washington or allowing State Dept. officers to conduct the 
interviews in-country.  End Summary. 
 
TWO MILLION REFUGEES 
-------------------- 
 
¶2. (U) There are currently more than two million Iraqi refugees: at 
least 1.2 million in Syria, an estimated (in the absence of hard 
data) 500,000-750,000 in Jordan, and smaller populations in Lebanon, 
Egypt and Yemen.  Jordan has dramatically restricted entry of new 
Iraqi arrivals, but as many as 60,000 Iraqi refugees per month have 
been pouring into Syria.  However, Syria recently announced that it 
will impose visa requirements on some Iraqis; the effect of that is 
yet to be seen. 
 
¶3. (U) Most refugees will eventually return home to Iraq.  In the 
meantime, they and the host countries need assistance, as the 
refugees are putting a huge strain on state-provided services such 
as health care, education, and water in both countries.  The U.S. is 
providing significant aid (over USD 122 million in FY07); the EU 
announced 6.2 million euros for Iraqi refugee assistance earlier 
this year, and the GOI promised USD 25 million in aid to Iraqi 
refugees in Syria and Jordan at a conference hosted by UNHCR in 
Geneva in April, although it has still not made good on its pledge 
(reftel).  More money will be needed, and there are likely to be 
major new health, food and emergency assistance appeals by UNHCR and 
other UN agencies, and the International Committee for the Red Cross 
(ICRC), over the next year. 
 
WHERE ARE THE REFUGEES GOING? 
----------------------------- 
 
¶4. (U) Assistance also consists of admitting some Iraqis to third 
countries as refugees through the UN High Commission for Refugees 
(UNHCR) process.  From January 1 through August 17, 2007, UNHCR 
submitted a total of 12,706 individual Iraqi refugees (4,180 cases) 
to resettlement countries, of which 75 percent have been referred to 
the U.S.  Of the 3,204 individual Iraqis submitted to countries 
other than the U.S., the largest number have been referred to 
Australia and Canada.  Only seven of the 27 EU countries have 
established resettlement programs (Denmark, Finland, Ireland, 
Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden and the UK), which altogether offer 
5,500 places per year for resettlement of all refugees, not just 
Iraqis.  No EU country has offered additional places for 
resettlement of Iraqis.  From January 1 through August 17, 2007, 
1,251 Iraqi refugees have been referred to the seven EU countries. 
 
 
¶5. (U) Since 2003 the U.S. has admitted 1,232 Iraqi refugees, and 
has now received over 10,000 Iraqi refugee referrals for 
consideration for resettlement from UNHCR, U.S. embassies, and 
through our direct access program for Locally Employed Staff (LES) 
and interpreters. The U.S. Refugee Admission Program (USRAP) is in 
the process of being significantly expanded, and in this stepped up 
mode, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) had interviewed 
3,651 refugees as of late August, of whom 2,510 have been 
conditionally or fully approved for resettlement.  Many of the Iraqi 
refugees are located in countries where refugee processing 
infrastructure did not exist until last spring.  Now that the 
necessary facilities and personnel are in place, we expect the 
number of Iraqis being referred, processed and admitted to the 
United States as refugees will only continue to increase. 
 
RESETTLEMENT TAKES TOO LONG 
--------------------------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) It currently takes at least eight months from the time a 
case is referred to the USG by UNHCR to when a refugee actually sets 
foot in the U.S.  In broad terms, this can be broken up into eight 
to ten weeks from UNHCR referral to DHS interview (steps one through 
four below), and another four to six months from DHS interview to 
arrival (steps five through nine).  There is currently one DHS team 
 
BAGHDAD 00002996  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
in Jordan and none in Syria, since the Syrian government has refused 
to issue visas to the DHS officers.  On average, each DHS officer 
interviews 4 Iraqi cases per day, which is fewer than for other 
caseloads because of the more in-depth questioning required.  If we 
assume that there are some 6,300 of the 10,000 cases that still need 
interviews, it would take this team alone almost two years to 
complete the interviews. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Clearly this is too long.  Refugees who have fled Iraq 
continue to be a vulnerable population while living in Jordan and 
Syria.  The basis for UNHCR's referral for resettlement is the 
deteriorating protection environment in these countries of first 
asylum, in addition to the risk that would be posed to the 
individuals were they to return to Iraq. 
 
HOW CAN WE SPEED UP THE PROCESS? 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶8. (SBU) There appear be a number of bottlenecks in the processing 
of Iraqi refugees for admission to the U.S.  We would like to offer 
some observations and suggestions as to how this might be speeded 
up. 
 
-- Namechecks/Security Advisory Opinions (SAOs):  These take 30-45 
days and must be completed before the DHS interview can be 
scheduled.  We would suggest creating a priority track for all 
required clearance checks for Iraqi refugees, with the goal of 
lowering the waiting time to 15 days.  We also understand that DHS 
is considering taking fingerprints before the DHS interview instead 
of at the time of the interview, which would allow some checks to 
begin earlier and which we would support. 
 
-- DHS interviews:  There are not enough DHS interviewing officers 
in the region -- one team in Jordan and none in Syria.  We should at 
least double the number of interviewing officers in Jordan, and 
continue pushing the Syrian government to issue visas so that DHS 
officers can start doing interviews in Syria.  However, we should 
also look at real alternatives.  We would suggest seriously 
exploring the legal and other aspects of allowing a State Dept. 
officer to do the interviews, or having DHS do the interviews by DVC 
from Washington. 
 
-- In-country processing:  We have already asked the Department for 
the authority to do in-country processing for Iraqis who work for 
the Embassy and are requesting refugee status.  This would at least 
speed up the process for those Iraqis who have put themselves and 
their families at risk by working with us. 
 
¶9. (U) Post strongly urges the Department to consider these 
suggestions, or to propose other ways we can reduce the eight to ten 
months it takes for an Iraqi refugee to go through the steps needed 
to enter the United States. 
 
CROCKER