OPE/Accra Staff
Staff of the Overseas Processing Entity/Accra.
Photo: OPE/Accra |
Refugees may access the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program through an application process that includes referrals.
Individuals may be referred by the UNHCR (the United Nations refugee agency), an NGO, or a U.S. embassy. In addition, qualifying family members from designated nationalities may be referred by a close relative in the United States. Other refugees are referred as a member of a group of special humanitarian concern to the United States.
The nearly 100 staff of the Accra Overseas Processing Entity work with refugees at several steps along the path to departure for resettlement in the United States. This work is carried out in partnership with the UNHCR, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), International Organization for Migration (IOM), and U.S. embassies.
Pre-CIS Staff
Pre-CIS staff at OPE/Accra carry out circuit rides to camps throughout Western and Central Africa to interview refugees and further prepare case files to be presented in the interview with the USCIS.
OPE also interviews refugees on the basis of Affidavits of Relationship (AORs) that U.S. relatives file with local refugee resettlement agencies in the United States. These AORs are reviewed for accuracy by national voluntary agency staff and must be accepted by the Refugee Processing Center (RPC) and USCIS unit in Washington, D.C., before they can be sent on to JVA/Nairobi, where staff create a file for each refugee family.
Post-CIS Staff
After a refugee has received final approval for resettlement by the USCIS, OPE staff work to prepare the refugee for departure. This includes obtaining security clearances, requesting a medical exam from the IOM, offering Cultural Orientation to assist refugees in acclimating to resettlement in the United States, and preparing a packet of travel documents for each refugee family for IOM purposes.
Cultural Orientation
The Cultural Orientation (CO) Department, which is headed by an American expatriate, provides training to approved refugees before they travel to the United States. Ghanaian trainers with experience in the United States conduct classes in the field, emphasizing early self-sufficiency and employment throughout the course.
CWS News
Gordon,
Krause join OPE/Accra and Vicky Knight moves up