The United States Refugee Admissions Programme (USRAP)

Funded by the United States Department of State’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration, the United States Refugee Admissions Programme (USRAP) is aimed at selecting refugees who are unable or unwilling to return to their country of origin and whose situation cannot be addressed in the country of asylum to resettle and start life anew in the United States (US).

The USRAP entails the processing of refugee cases referred by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). IOM Malta is responsible for the preparation of refugee cases, arrangements for interviewing and fingerprinting missions, and pre-departure procedures (including medical checks, travel arrangements and cultural orientation) once the applicants are accepted as refugees by the US.

The total number of refugees resettled from Malta to the US from 2008 until the end of Calendar Year 2017 exceeds 3200 (including more than 250 families), mostly Somali and Eritrean nationals. Moreover, in 2007, before the official start of the USRAP, the United States accepted 27 refugees from Malta. The program is still ongoing.