Get involved with Catholic Charities’

Refugee Services

FAQ

  • A refugee is someone who has left his or her country because of a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, social group, or political affiliation. A distinct legal status, eligibility is determined by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

  • Has a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion, has entered the United States on their own and then apply for asylum from within the U.S. Then, a U.S.C.I.S judge will approve or deny their case.

  • A foreign-born individual who voluntarily leaves his/her country of origin and has been admitted to reside permanently in the U.S. as a Legal Permanent Resident.

    Learn more about our Immigration Services.

  • The President, in consultation with Congress, establishes the number of refugees, by geographic region, eligible for admission each fiscal year.

  • The agency began the resettlement program in 1975, after the fall of South Vietnam. Since then, we have resettled people from more than 20 counties around the world.

  • Yes. If an individual is resettled through the federal Refugee Resettlement program and has the refugee legal status, they must complete a security clearance check by the Department of State and Homeland Security before entering the U.S.

  • Yes. Before entering the U.S.A. individuals must complete a health screening in their country of origin. Once in the U.S.A., they must report to the local Department of Health for additional screenings.

  • No. Catholic Charities is the only federally recognized resettlement agency in northern Indiana.

  • Pre-arrival and arrival services, assistance with housing, and utilities, applying for public assistance, transportation and interpretation for medical appointments, job readiness, acculturation skills, job search and placement, youth and older refugee services, financial literacy, ESL classes, school enrollment for children, and other educational services as needed.

  • Our program is focused on obtaining economic self-sufficiency and successful community integration.

Our Program Operations

Catholic Charities is a federally recognized resettlement agency in northern Indiana. 

Working with the USCCB and the Office of Refugee Resettlement, Catholic Charities resettles refugees on the local level after they have passed a clearance check from Homeland Security.

After picking them up at the airport, we then follow the rigorous federal resettlement process for the next 90 days as detailed below in the pre-arrival, post-arrival, and self-sufficiency pathways.

Families receive a small stipend from the federal program for the first 90 to 240 days to cover basic necessities. Our agency relies on donated goods, furnishings, and volunteers to help the client until they are employed. 

Our program is focused on obtaining economic self-sufficiency and successful community integration.

Refugee Process

Before a refugee is resettled in the U.S., they must follow the refugee process, as shown here:

  1. Must flee to a third-party country

  2. Register with UNHCR to begin the steps of obtaining refugee status

  3. Fear of persecution case is submitted to the resettlement country

  4. Interview, security check, and health screening completed

  5. Travel to the receiving country

  6. Greeted by the local resettlement agency at the airport

Once a refugee is in the pipeline for resettlement, they are enrolled in our Refugee Services programming:

As a leader in resettling refugees and the only refugee resettlement agency in northern Indiana, we welcome volunteers to work with refugees as they integrate into our community.

How You Can Get Involved With Catholic Charities

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Time

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Community

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Support

Welcome Corps

Welcome Corps is a federal program that allows private sponsorship. This program differs from our Resettlement Program because households provide all the financial and material support without the help of a local resettlement agency for 90+ days.

Other Ways to Help

welcome circles refugees

Welcome Circles

Facilitate the creation of Welcome Circles for displaced families from places such as Ukraine, Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, providing them with the tools, connections, information, and financial support they need to become self-sufficient and settle into American communities. 

Sponsorship Opportunities

based on involvement level

Below are non-Catholic Charities programs that are allowing volunteers to open their homes to refugees. These programs are independent from local resettlement agencies. Catholic Charities staff is available for as-needed advisory support for sponsors of Welcome Corps and Welcome Circles.

  • Humanitarian parolees can enter the U.S. under the Welcome Circles program.

    1) Must be from Ukraine, Cuba, Haiti, Venezuela, or Nicaragua.

    2) Need a financial sponsor in the U.S.

    3) May not qualify for any public benefits

    4) May qualify for work authorization.

    Beneficiaries must change their legal status from parolee within two years of arrival date.

  • Welcome Corps is a federal program that helps refugees.

    Sponsors can be paired with refugees already in the refugee pipeline.

    To become a sponsor, you must be a group of 5+ and fundraise $2,375 per refugee before being approved. Since the refugee is not coming through the traditional resettlement program, sponsors will be required to fulfill 90 days of required services for the refugee family.

  • Maybe.

    Depending on when they came to the U.S. and their country of origin, they may be eligible for some public benefits.

    Find out more.

  • Yes.

    Since the beneficiaries of this program have refugee status, they can receive help from a local resettlement agency and are entitled to all public benefits that refugees receive.

  • Welcome Corps is a government program. Currently, sponsors do not get to choose who they are paired with. Beneficiaries of the program are refugees and therefore are entitled to more assistance and services.

    Welcome Circles is a private program. You must know the person you are sponsoring or have otherwise been paired. The beneficiaries of this program are parolees and can only come from specified countries. Most do not qualify for public assistance.

    Both, however, require financial and material sponsorship by the American sponsor.

  • Form I-134 is a form filled out by a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident promising to financially support a parolee applicant during their time in the United States.

    Sponsors must fill out this for before being approved for the Welcome Circles program.

    The U.S.C.I.S. provides additional details on how to fill out the form in this video.

FAQ