	American Citizen Services U.S. Visa Information Immigrant Visa Section Travel to the U.S. Study in the U.S. Doing Business with the U.S. GEI/SNAP Recruitment Services Foreign Agricultural Service America.gov Press and Culture U.S. Embassy Programs American Reference Center Publications Fulbright Commission Frequently Asked Questions
	Contact Us

U.S. Refugee Program Worldwide

Expert Roundtable Session

Amerika Haus
Vienna, February 19, 2008

Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (U.S. Department of State)
International Organization for Migration (IOM)
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (U.S. Department of Homeland Security)

Expanded Refugee Resettlement Program for Iraqis in Jordan and Egypt with U.S. Affiliations, Fact Sheet, U.S. Department of State, February 20, 2008
Refugee Admissions Program for Africa, Fact Sheet, U.S. Department of State, February 14, 2008
Refugee Admissions Program for East Asia, Fact Sheet, U.S. Department of State, February 14, 2008
Refugee Admissions Program for Europe and Central Asia, Fact Sheet, U.S. Department of State, February 14, 2008
Refugee Admissions Program for Latin America and the Caribbean, Fact Sheet, U.S. Department of State, February 14, 2008
Refugee Admissions Program for Near East and South Asia, Fact Sheet, U.S. Department of State, February 14, 2008
Refugee Admissions Reception and Placement Program, Fact Sheet, U.S. Department of State, December 18, 2007
Special Meeting at the Organization of American States on Refugee Protection, Remarks by Kelly Ryan, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM), January 29, 2008
"Refugees and Asylees: 2006", by Kelly Jefferys, Annual Flow Report, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Office of Immigration Statistics, May 2007

Remarks by Counselor for Public Affairs Robert Hugins, U.S. Embassy Vienna

An expert roundtable session on the U.S. refugee program worldwide, organized by the Public Affairs Section, U.S. Embassy Vienna, took place on February 25 at the Amerika Haus Vienna. Theresa Rusch, Director of Refugee Admissions at State's Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM) and John Lafferty, the Department of Homeland Security's new U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services District Director for its Rome District, spoke with 15 NGO representatives. The Vienna office of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) was the co-sponsor, and the senior IOM representative Peter von Bethlenfalvy pointed to lessons from the U.S. experience for Europeans. The EU, including Austria, has renewed efforts to better coordinate refugee policies of its member states.


Theresa Rusch, Director of the Office of Admissions, Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (U.S. Department of State, left), Robert Hugins, Counselor for Public Affairs, U.S. Embassy Vienna (right)	Peter von Bethlenfalvy, Director, International Organization for Migration


John Lafferty, District Director, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

Remarks by Counselor for Public Affairs Robert Hugins

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Amerika Haus. I'm Robert Hugins, the Counselor for Public Affairs at the U.S. Embassy. It's a great pleasure to have Terry Rusch here today. Terry is the Director of the Office of Admissions in the State Department's Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration, better known as PRM.

She is an experienced expert on all aspects of U.S. refugee programs. I know this first hand since I had the pleasure of working with Terry in Washington.

Terry earned a bachelor's degree in Russian and a master's degree in Library Science from the University of Wisconsin. In 1997 she was awarded a master's degree in National Security Studies by the National Defense University in Washington.

She worked for the United States Information Agency - the USIA - in the former Soviet Union and the Philippines.

In 1980 Terry joined the State Department with the Bureau of Human Rights as an asylum officer, and since 1983 she has been working for the PRM. For nearly 2 decades she has served as the Director of Refugee Admissions, overseeing the annual admissions program.

Let me also welcome John Lafferty who is the Rome District Director of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Welcome to Amerika Haus, John.

Our co-host today is the IOM, the International Organization for Migration. I would like to thank Peter von Bethlenfalvy - the Director of IOM in Austria - and his team for the excellent cooperation in making this event happen today. Now please allow me to turn it straight over to Peter, and after Peter's remarks Terry will give you an overview of the U.S. refugee programs worldwide.

Thank you.