[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 39, Number 43 (Monday, October 27, 2003)]
[Pages 1441-1442]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Presidential Determination on FY 2004 Refugee Admissions Numbers and 
Authorizations of In-Country Refugee Status

October 21, 2003

Presidential Determination No. 2004-06

Memorandum for the Secretary of State

Subject: Presidential Determination on FY 2004 Refugee Admissions 
Numbers and Authorizations of In-Country Refugee Status Consistent with 
Sections 207 and 101(a)(42), respectively, of the Immigration and 
Nationality Act, and Determination Consistent with Section 2(b)(2) of 
the Migration and Refugee Assistance Act, as Amended

    Consistent with section 207 of the Immigration and Nationality Act 
(the ``Act'') (8 U.S.C. 1157), as amended, and after appropriate 
consultations with the Congress, I hereby make the following 
determinations and authorize the following actions:
    The admission of up to 70,000 refugees to the United States during 
FY 2004 is justified by humanitarian concerns or is otherwise in the 
national interest; provided, however, that this number shall be 
understood as including persons admitted to the United States during FY 
2004 with Federal refugee resettlement assistance under the Amerasian 
immigrant admissions program, as provided below.
    The 70,000 admissions numbers shall be allocated among refugees of 
special humanitarian concern to the United States in accordance with the 
following regional allocations;

[[Page 1442]]

provided, however, that the number allocated to the East Asia region 
shall include persons admitted to the United States during FY 2004 with 
Federal refugee resettlement assistance under section 584 of the Foreign 
Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act of 
1988, as contained in section 101(e) of Public Law 100-202 (Amerasian 
immigrants and their family members); provided further that the number 
allocated to the former Soviet Union shall include persons admitted who 
were nationals of the former Soviet Union, or in the case of persons 
having no nationality, who were habitual residents of the former Soviet 
Union, prior to September 2, 1991:

  Africa......................................................    25,000
  East Asia...................................................     6,500
  Europe and Central Asia.....................................    13,000
  Latin America/Caribbean.....................................     3,500
  Near East/South Asia........................................     2,000
  Unallocated Reserve.........................................    20,000
 

    The 20,000 unallocated refugee numbers shall be allocated to 
regional ceilings as needed. Upon providing notification to the 
Judiciary Committees of the Congress, you are hereby authorized to use 
unallocated numbers in regions where the need for additional numbers 
arises.
    Additionally, upon notification to the Judiciary Committees of the 
Congress, you are further authorized to transfer unused admission 
numbers allocated to a particular region to one or more other regions, 
if there is a need for greater numbers for the region or regions to 
which the numbers are being transferred. Consistent with section 2(b)(2) 
of the Migration and Refugee Assistance Act of 1962, as amended, I 
hereby determine that assistance to or on behalf of persons applying for 
admission to the United States as part of the overseas refugee 
admissions program will contribute to the foreign policy interests of 
the United States and designate such persons for this purpose.
    An additional 10,000 refugee admissions numbers shall be made 
available during FY 2004 for the adjustment to permanent resident status 
under section 209(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 
1159(b)) of aliens who have been granted asylum in the United States 
under section 208 of the Act (8 U.S.C. 1158), as this is justified by 
humanitarian concerns or is otherwise in the national interest.
    Consistent with section 101(a)(42) of the Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(42)) 
and after appropriate consultation with the Congress, I also specify 
that, for FY 2004, the following persons may, if otherwise qualified, be 
considered refugees for the purpose of admission to the United States 
within their countries of nationality or habitual residence:
 a.          Persons in Vietnam
 b.          Persons in Cuba
 c.          Persons in the former Soviet Union
    You are authorized and directed to report this determination to the 
Congress immediately and to publish it in the Federal Register.
                                                George W. Bush

Note: This memorandum was released by the Office of the Press Secretary 
on October 22.