Refugees Waiting Overseas Are in Limbo as U.S. Shutdown Continues

Refugees Waiting Overseas Are in Limbo as U.S. Shutdown Continues

The U.S. government shutdown has temporarily frozen resettlement of refugees in some parts of the United States. Dozens from Africa, Asia, and the Middle East who hoped to arrive in the Midwest state of Missouri in October are in limbo abroad. Family members anxiously awaiting their arrival fear the longer the shutdown goes on, the less likely they will reach their destination.

When Man Subba arrived in St. Louis last year, it was the final stop on his flight from Bhutan that began more than a decade earlier.

“It was a hard life,” said Subba.

A life spent mostly in a refugee camp in Nepal, where he lived with his parents and siblings. They belong to an ethnic minority that was politically persecuted in Bhutan.

Now, his family has resettled in the United States - all except his parents. They are currently in a transition center in Nepal's capital, Kathmandu.

They were scheduled to leave for the United States on October 8, but because money for their travel is mostly funded by the U.S. government, those funds are not available while the government is closed.