The State Department has suspended the Africa Priority Three (P-3) Program because of an investigation into the refugee family reunification program that revealed that less than 20% of the African applicants were able to prove familial ties. Since it began in 2003, nearly 36,000 African nationals have come to the United States as P-3 Program refugees. The State Department report also indicates that nearly 95% of refugees admitted to the United States through the P-3 program are from African countries. (State Department Fact Sheet, November 18, 2008)

According to the State Department, the US Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) uses three designations to distinguish between refugee applicants: P-1, P-2, and P-3. Refugees in the P-1 and P-2 categories are admitted based on "their vulnerability in their native country." (Times-Gazette, November 16, 2008) The State Department has not suspended the P-1 and P-2 categories, which require referral from the United Nations, a U.S. Embassy, or a non-governmental organization and subsequent admission from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). (State Department Fact Sheet, November 18, 2008)

Following repeated reports of fraud in the Africa P-3 Program, the State Department began DNA testing with a sample of 500 Kenyan applicants. After that sample "suggested high levels of fraud," the department expanded the tests to Ethiopia, Uganda, Ghana, Guinea, Gambia and Cote d'Ivoire. (Times-Gazette, November 16, 2008) The P-3 designation is reserved for applicants who are the "parent, spouse, or minor child by certain legal residents in the United States." On October 22, 2008, the State Department stopped accepting applications for the P-3 Program. Furthermore, the Department will be working closely with DHS officials to determine how to handle the applications that have already been submitted this year, as well as the 36,000 refugees who have entered through the program. (State Department Fact Sheet, November 18, 2008)

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