Family Reunification Application

There are numerous different programs for family reunification. Each program has different requirements regarding who is eligible to apply, which relatives you can apply for, and how to file the application. WRS’s Resettlement team assists with the vetting, filing, and tracking for these applications at no cost to individuals within 100 miles of Sacramento. Please note that World Relief does not a play a role in adjudicating applications, deciding processing timelines, or setting program requirements. Eligibility for each program varies, see below for more details.

Email sacAOR@wr.org with any questions.

Update June 3rd, 2024: WRS is not currently accepting new clients for Family Reunification, please check back in October 2024 to join the waitlist.

Family Reunification Programs & Details

The Lautenburg Program

What is the Lautenberg AOR program?
The Lautenberg Amendment was enacted in 1989 by Sen. Frank Lautenberg with the aim to establish in-country refugee processing and eligibility criteria to allow religious minorities from the Former Soviet Union (FSU) to resettle in the US as refugees.

Who can file?
A legal resident of the US who is at least 18 years of age and approaches a Field Office to apply on behalf of their family members who are FSU citizens that qualify to participate in the Family Reunification Lautenberg Program.

Who is eligible for the program?
A citizen and permanent resident of an FSU country who falls under one of the program outlined religious minorities and has a qualifying relationship to the individual filing on their behalf.

What documents are needed?

RIF - Refugee Information Form

What is the RIF AOR program?
The Iranian RIF program was created as an extension of the Lautenberg Amendment in 2004 specifically for Iranian religious minorities.

Who can file?
A legal resident of the US who is at least 18 years of age and approaches a Field Office to apply on behalf of an individual with whom they have personal relationship who are Iranian citizens that qualify to participate in the Family Reunification RIF Program.

Who is eligible for the program?
A citizen and permanent resident of Iran who falls under one of the program outlined religious minorities and has a qualifying relationship to the individual filing on their behalf.

What documents are needed?

CAM - Central American Minors

What is the CAM AOR program?
The CAM program was created to benefit minors who are nationals from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras with the purpose of reunification to their parent who is living in the U.S.

Who can file?
A legal resident of the US who is at least 18 years of age and approaches a Field Office to apply on behalf of their unmarried, minor children that qualify to participate in the Family Reunification CAM Program.

Who is eligible for the program?
An unmarried, minor who is biologically or legally the child of the Qualifying Parent who is a citizen and permanent resident of El Salvador, Guatemala, or Honduras.

*Note: Additional family members may be eligible as Add-on or Derivative applicants
based on their relationship to the Qualifying Child.

What documents are needed?

KIND - Kids In Need of Defense

What is Kids in Need of Defense (KIND)?
"KIND is a U.S.-based nongovernmental organization devoted to the protection of unaccompanied and separated children” that has been authorized by PRM to assist RAs with the filing of CAM AORs.

What is the process?
KIND files the CAM AOR with the RPC rather than a field office and, once submitted, transfers the AOR to an RA that has an affiliate in the area of the QP. Once KIND transfers the AOR, home office will notify the field that the AOR now belongs to that office.

What is the field responsible for?
Once the field is notified of a KIND CAM being assigned to their office, the field should initiate contact with the QP to advise a POC at their office for the rest of the AOR’s processing timeline.

P-3 AOR - Affidavit of Relationship

What is the P3 AOR program?
The P3 program is an access route to USRAP for refugees overseas who have immediate family members who entered the United States as a refugee or were granted asylum.

Who is ineligible to participate?
Applicants living in: Bangladesh, Canada, Iran, Libya, Norway, Syria, Turkey, Yemen, or the EU.

Who can file?
A legal resident of the US who is at least 18 years of age and approaches a Field Office within 5 years of entering the U.S. to apply on behalf of their family members that qualify to participate in the Family Reunification P3 Program.

Who is eligible for the program?
A Parent, Spouse, or Child of the Anchor who meets the definition of a refugee and is
registered as a refugee with the UNHCR in their present host country.

*Note: Additional family members may be eligible as Add-on or Derivative applicants
based on their relationship to the Qualifying Family Member.

What documents are needed?