Immigration and how the US handles refugees seeking to live in the country of the free has been a hot subject in the news lately. Here are a few facts about refugees many people might not be aware of:

• Refugees must repay the cost of the airfare to the United States. Although the government does pay for the flights of refugees to the US, that money is an interest-free loan which must be repaid as soon as the refugee begins to earn an income. That money is then funneled back into a fund that pays for additional refugees to be brought over.
• Studies show that although there are costs involved in resettling refugees, the positive contribution they make to the economy balances out the expense. Money is spent mostly to provide social services like language and vocational training, healthcare and cash allowances. One study showed that in Cleveland, where 4,518 refugees were resettled between 2000 and 2012, 38 new businesses were started, yielding an additional 175 jobs and $12 million in spending in Cleveland in 2012.
• Refugees must prove their status. International law states that a refugee is someone with a “well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country; or who, not having a nationality and being outside the country of his former habitual residence as a result of such events, is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to return to it.” Being poor is not enough.
• The process of resettlement is a long and arduous one. According to the World Bank Group, the average length of time a refugee waits in “limbo” until he is resettled is 10.3 years. The median is four years until a permanent home is found. Once the process of resettlement in the US begins, the minimum amount of time it takes is 18 months. Immigration lawyers say that it is not unusual for the process to take from four to eight years.