The ongoing crisis in Syria resulted in many Syrians leaving the conflict zone. Began several years ago, refugees are fleeing to neighboring countries including Lebanon and Turkey from Syria. Started as an uprising against the Bashar al-Assad government, Syrian conflict now attracts foreign fighters and hardline Islamic State fighters.
It has been a long standing tradition of the US to accept refugees with open arms. Since 2011, the United States has admitted 524 Syrian refugees and expects to admit many more in coming years. Some expect the number to reach around 2,000 by 2016. The US expects to admit a total of 70,000 refugees from all over the world in Fiscal Year 2015. Closer to one half of them (33,000) will be from Near East and South East Asia. The process can take several months once an application is submitted to the appropriate US agency. The applicants will undergo vigorous scrutiny by multiple US agencies before granting the refugee status.
American’s are getting increasingly worried about the likelihood of foreign fighters especially from Syria get into the country through the refugee program. Some politicians in Washington have expressed similar concerns too.
