[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 33, Number 31 (Monday, August 4, 1997)]
[Page 1168]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

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Memorandum on Refugee Admissions Consultations

July 31, 1997

Memorandum for the Secretary of State

Subject: FY 1998 Refugee Admissions Consultations

    In accordance with section 207 of the Immigration and Nationality 
Act (INA), you are authorized to consult with the appropriate committees 
of the Congress concerning refugee admissions as follows:
    1. The authorization of 78,000 refugee admissions during FY 1998, 
which would be allocated by specific region as follows: 7,000 for 
Africa; 14,000 for East Asia (including Amerasians); 4,000 for Latin 
America and the Caribbean; 4,000 for the Near East; 46,000 for the 
former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe; and 3,000 for the Unallocated 
Reserve. The recommended level of funded admissions is equal to the 
level assumed in the FY 1998 budget request.
    2. The authorization of an additional 10,000 refugee admission 
numbers to be made available for the adjustment to permanent resident 
status of persons who have been granted asylum in the United States.
    3. The designation, pursuant to section 101(a) 42(B) of the 
Immigration and Nationality Act, of persons in Cuba, Vietnam, and the 
former Soviet Union who, if they otherwise qualify for admission as 
refugees, may be considered refugees under the INA even though they are 
still within their country of nationality or habitual residence.
                                            William J. Clinton