Refugee Services

North Carolina's State Refugee Office (SRO) administers a wide range of programs that are part of the implementation of the Refugee Resettlement Program funded under Title IV of the Immigration and Nationality Act, a federal program of public assistance and services to refugees resettling in the United States. NC SRO consist of three service areas: Refugee Public Assistance, Refugee Service Programs, and Refugee Support Activities.

Refugee Public Assistance

Refugee Public Assistance (RPA) provides assistance for up to twelve (12) months after a refugee's date of eligibility and/or date of entry in the United States for two programs.

  • Refugee Cash Assistance (RCA) is short-term financial support provided to eligible individuals who participate in employment services in accordance with an Employability Plan.
  • Refugee Medical Assistance (RMA) is a short-term medical assistance program available to eligible individuals in order to stabilize their health shortly after arrival in the US.

Refugee Services Programs

Refugee Services Programs (RSP) provide transitional assistance to help refugees become economically self-sufficient and to assist them in becoming integrated members of their communities. Services include:

  • Employment services
  • Case management
  • Transportation
  • Skills recertification
  • English language training
  • Vocational skills training
  • Citizenship and immigration services
  • Translation and interpretation services
  • Social adjustment services

Private-non-profit service provider agencies, under contract with the state of North Carolina, also provide specialized services to eligible refugees such as interpretation and or transportation services if available. There are no income eligibility criteria for RSP, but services must be provided in accordance with a written service plan. Refugees are generally not eligible for RSP once they have lived in the US for five years or become US citizens.

Refugee Support Activities

Refugee Support Activities (RSA) include oversight and promotion of coordinated and collaborative efforts to provide a broad range of support to refugee residents of NC.

Individuals eligible for approved ORR-Eligible Populations include:

  • Refugees
  • Asylees
  • Certain Cuban and Haitian entrants and Parolees
  • Certain Amerasians (from Vietnam)
  • Victims of Human Trafficking
  • Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) Holders from Iraq and Afghanistan.

    Note: SIV's transition to Lawful Permanent Residents (LPR) who hold one of the above statues prior to adjusting to LPR status e.g. Typically, SIV Holders transition to LPR status within the first ninety (90) days, after date of arrival into the United States.

  • Afghan Special Immigrant Parole SI/SQ Parolees
  • Afghan individuals with Special Immigrant (SI) Conditional Permanent Residence (CPR)
  • Afghan Humanitarian Parolees
  • Ukrainian Humanitarian Parolees
  • Other Non-Ukrainian individual displaced from Ukraine

How to Apply

Apply for refugee services at your local Department of Social Services.
More information can be found in the DSS Refugee Assistance Manual.

Contact

Phone: 919-527-6300
Fax: 919-334-1265

Admission and Resettlement Process

To learn more about the admission and resettlement process visit the US Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS) website.

More information and support on Refugee Resettlement and Services.