How many refugees are resettled in the United States?

Under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), a refugee is an alien who, generally, has experienced past persecution or has a well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion. Individuals who meet this definition may be considered for either refugee status under Section 207 of the INA if they are outside the United States, or asylum status under Section 208 of the INA, if they are already in the United States.

Since the passage of the Refugee Act in 1980, which incorporated this definition of refugee into the INA, the United States has admitted more than 3 million refugees and granted asylum status to over 721,000 individuals.

In FY 2020, the United States expects to resettle up to 18,000 refugees, as well as processing more than 350,000 individuals included in new asylum claims. They will join more than one million asylum seekers who are already inside the United States and who are awaiting adjudication of their claims.