To ease integration, Syrian refugees have been placed in communities where there are other Syrian immigrants.

More than 150,000 Syrians already live in the United States, according to census figures, and refugees who have relatives in the country are likely to be resettled with or near them. Those who do not have family in the United States are placed where jobs are more plentiful and the cost of housing is low.Refugees receive help finding work and housing, but they are expected to become self-sufficient within a year. The agencies in charge of resettlement take into account how earlier waves of refugees often assist new arrivals with the moving process, with food and with explanations about the United States. “It’s like taking someone from a very small, dark room to a very, very big world,” said Hussam Al Roustom, who arrived in Jersey City in June after fleeing Syria for Jordan. “This is why I want to help others go through what I have gone through.”