Refugee

What is the difference between a refugee and an immigrant?
Usually, immigrants are admitted because they have a US citizen relative or permanent resident (green card holder). They must complete a complex and lengthy application process to be approved. Refugees are admitted by act of Congress because of a well-founded fear of persecution. Less than ½ of one percent of the world’s refugees are admitted for resettlement to the US annually.

Is it true that refugees get thousands of dollars when they are resettled in America and that they get interest free loans from the US government?
Absolutely untrue. When they first arrive, refugees get about $400 per person for housing, security deposit, food and the like. After that, they must qualify for the same government programs/subsidies available to all Americans -- at the same rates and with the same eligibility requirements. They receive no preference for loans.

How do refugees and immigrants contribute to our local economy?
Newcomers begin paying taxes as soon as they get their first job. In addition to paying taxes, immigrants and refugees bring a strong set of work skills into the local economy. Indeed, many employers depend heavily on such newcomers to build their businesses, so that our local economy thrives. (Most of the undocumented who are illegally working in the US also pay taxes. In 1994 the Urban Institute reported that even the undocumented annually pay $7 billion in taxes, supporting such programs as Social Security and Unemployment Compensation for which they themselves are not eligible.)

Why do refugees pick St. Louis for their new home?
Refugees don’t actually pick. A complex system operated by the US Department of State matches potential resettlement cases with local agencies like the International Institute. So, unless a refugee already has a relative somewhere in the US, local resettlement agencies actually do the picking.

What is a secondary migrant?
After refugees arrive at their initial destination, they can choose to move elsewhere in the US where they perceive that there is greater resettlement opportunity (lower cost of living, more affordable housing, etc.). More “secondary migrants” move to St. Louis than away to other cities.

General Information

Who pays for the Institute’s services?
A variety of sources including charitable contributions; the United Way; federal, state and local grants; the Adult Education and Literacy Program of the City of St. Louis Schools; and program service fees. Local foundations and corporations are another important source of support.

Recently, television and newspaper ads have been linking terrorism with immigration. What’s the truth?
The truth is that none of the terrorists who committed the September 11 atrocities entered the US as immigrants. So, limiting lawful immigration to the US will not decrease the risk of terrorism within our borders. The ads, sponsored by a coalition called United to Secure America, focus on newcomers who are playing by the rules. These newcomers are, in fact, the shopkeepers, doctors and engineers around you – families seeking to make better lives for themselves while becoming good citizens.

The anti-immigrant message of the coalition is not new – it’s just got a new angle by feeding on our fears of terrorism. The coalition’s members have historically supported English-only legislation, zero population growth and the like. Don’t let them profit from the September 11 tragedies to achieve their purpose of limiting immigration, when immigrants had nothing to do with the abominable tragedies in New York, Pennsylvania and Washington DC.

Why wouldn’t terrorists consider legal immigration as a reasonable way to get into America?
The legal immigration system is based primarily on family reunification. It is so complex and slow-moving that no terrorist would waste time on this admissions route when other, easier ones exist. Even after a valid application is filed, processing by the INS is slow and full of frustration. The number of applications far exceeds the number of available visas. For instance, once the INS approves an application for the Filipino brother or sister of an adult US citizen, the applicant still has to wait more than 20 years to obtain a US immigrant visa.

Refugee resettlement is another immigration subset. Terrorists are even less likely to come as refugees. An applicant must demonstrate that he or she has a well-founded fear of persecution in order to qualify for the US resettlement program. Even then, only a small percent of those who qualify are actually selected. For instance, a Congolese family who arrived in St. Louis last September was one of nine families selected for the US program from a refugee camp of 1,200. And because the refugee program is a humanitarian admissions program, its focus is on resettling the most vulnerable among refugees – war widows and their children, the elderly, and the like.

There are a few additional categories within legal immigration, including a complex labor (employment) certification process. None of these subsets is easy to negotiate, and the odds of successfully obtaining a visa are small.

How did the terrorists actually come?
In a nutshell, they all entered the US through TEMPORARY rather than immigrant visa processes. They came as visitors or students or even without documents. Annually, about a million people are admitted to the US as immigrants. However, millions of others come to America on a variety of temporary visas, including visitors, foreign students and temporary workers (a different category from those coming with labor certification). While most of the arrivals are not terrorist threats, it is relatively simple for terrorists to use temporary visas for entry, because we have inadequate tracking and reporting systems. Thus, it’s simple for evil-doers to overstay their visas and to disappear if they have the financial means to do so. And since neither our Canadian nor our Mexican borders are secure, terrorists can slip into the US without any documentation at all.

What can we do to better protect ourselves from future attacks?
The Post Dispatch has reported that more than 31 million people legally enter the US annually on temporary visas – as visitors, foreign students, temporary workers and the like. These temporary visa holders pose a far greater risk to America’s safety, since relatively little information is available about them. Once these visa holders enter the US, tracking and reporting systems, furthermore, are virtually non-existent. The US government should focus its limited time and funds on removing loopholes and developing tracking and reporting systems to meet the problems already identified in the temporary visa processes.

Volunteering

How can I volunteer for the International Institute?
There are many ways by which you can volunteer for the International Institute.
Please click here to see how you can get involved.

About Interpreting and Translation Need

Why do I need to contract a professional language interpreter or translation service?
What languages do you provide?
What is the difference between interpretation and translation?
What are the skills of a good translator vs. the skills of a good interpreter?
Do you certify your translations?

Why do I need to contract a professional language interpreter or translation service?
A trained and qualified interpreter is there to help you provide your service and to ensure that you and your organization meet your quality standards and legal responsibilities. Also, an untrained interpreter can have a critical impact on your communication. If your organization receives federal financial assistance of any kind, you may be legally obligated by the Title VI of the Civil Rights Act to provide professional interpreters.

What languages do you provide?
For in-person interpretation*, we provide the following languages at the time of writing: Af-May, Albanian, Amharic, Arabic, Azeri, Bengali, Bosnian, Bulgarian, Cantonese, Czech, Slovak, Dari, Farsi, Filipino, Japanese, French, French Creole, German, Greek, Gujarati, Hindi, Hebrew, Hungarian, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Korean, Mandarin, Oromo, Somali, Swahili, Pashto, Persian, Punjabi, Russian, Romanian, Spanish, Tagalog, Tamil, Telugu, Thai, Tigrinya, Turkish, Ukrainian, Urdu and Vietnamese. The list is growing daily, so if you don’t see the language you need on the list, you should still contact us.

* For translation services we are capable of working in almost any language you need. Our project manager has access to translation specialists from around the world.

* For telephonic interpreting, we have professionally trained telephonic interpreters in 150+ languages.

What is the difference between interpretation and translation?
Interpretation is the conversion of a spoken message from one language to another.
Translation is the conversion of written text from one language to another.

What are the skills of a good translator vs. the skills of a good interpreter?
The skill sets are similar but not identical. Of course, both interpreters and translators must be fully bilingual. Being familiar with the intricacies of both languages, they are able to convert the message, preserving all of its nuances, idiomatic expressions, and colloquialisms. However, bilingualism is not enough. Interpreters and translators must be familiar with the culture of the source and target language speakers as well. This also includes general and specialized vocabulary.

Interpreters must be “people-persons.” They must have good “people skills,” but they must also be able to think quickly and have strong memory skills. They must be well-spoken, well-dressed and well-mannered -Interpreters should look and act as professional as their client's senior executive’s act. Language Services strives to match the perfect interpreter for your particular setting, considering the interpreters technical language knowledge, cultural background, and experience in the field.

A good translator, on the other hand, must be a good writer. A translator must transfer the original written message into a text that reads well in the target language, with equivalent style and terminology. They must have a library of monolingual and bilingual dictionaries, encyclopedias, and the Internet as well as knowing how to use these reference materials. As in interpreting, Language Services strives to match the perfect translator with the subject matter of the document translation. We consider the translator’s technical knowledge of the field and cultural background, as well as his or her related experience and expertise.

Do you certify your translations?
Language Services will supply notarized certificates of accuracy for all translations we produce, at your request. These notarizations confirm our confidence in the quality of our work and will satisfy the requirements of government offices and courts, in the US and abroad.

Return To Top