June 2016 – President Barack Obama has set a goal of resettling 10,000 or more Syrian refugees in the U.S. by September 30. On April 7, an announcement was made that a newly established “surge operation” would greatly reduce the time required to vet incoming refugees.
“While the resettlement process usually takes 18 to 24 months, the surge operation will reduce the time to three months,” said Gina Kassem, regional refugee coordinator at the U.S. Embassy in Amman, Jordan. “The 10,000 [figure] is a floor and not a ceiling, and it is possible to increase the number.”
According to Refugee Resettlement Watch, 99% of the refugees resettled in the U.S. are Sunni Muslims. Under the new surge operation, they expect that trend to continue.
