USCIS Authority in Refugee Processing

The Secretary of Homeland Security has statutory discretionary authority to admit any refugee who is not firmly resettled in a third country, who is determined to be of special humanitarian concern, and who is admissible as an immigrant. The Secretary has delegated this authority to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). In both overseas refugee processing and domestic asylum proceedings, USCIS has the statutory role of being the decision-maker, determining who meets the requirements for refugee status.