Vienna
HIAS runs the U.S. government's Resettlement Support Center (formerly known as the Overseas Processing Entity) in Vienna, where it helps Jewish and other religious minorities from Iran come to the U.S.
Funded by the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM), HIAS Vienna is the sole refugee processing entity in Austria. HIAS provides processing assistance and cultural orientation to U.S.-bound Iranian religious minorities seeking a safe haven from persecution, including Jews, Baha’is, Christians, Zoroastrians, and Sabaean Mandaeans.
Vienna Resettlement Support Center (RSC)
Religious minorities in Iran (including Jews, Christians, Baha'i and Zoroastrians) report being victims of imprisonment, harassment and intimidation based on their religious beliefs. They face restrictions in government, business, the legal system, marriage, employment and higher education.
Since 1983 the HIAS office in Vienna has been the first stop for Iranian minorities seeking to escape this oppressive way of life for freedom and security in the United States. HIAS holds a contract with the U.S. Department of State to be the sole Resettlement Support Center (RSC) in Vienna for applicants to the U.S. Refugee Program.
The primary activity of the Vienna RSC is to:
- assist applicants to the U.S. Refugee Program in completing applications for consideration;
- assist the U.S. Government in the processing of such applications;
- once an applicant is admitted into the program, coordinate sponsorship arrangements with U.S. resettlement agencies.
Vienna Cultural Orientation Program
Pre-arrival Cultural Orientation training in Vienna provides refugees with the tools and information they will need to begin new lives in the United States.
Classes are designed to dispel misconceptions and unrealistic expectations about the culture and society they are about to join; to provide accurate information about the country of resettlement; and to inform refugees about social and community services available to them. Other topics covered include refugees' rights and responsibilities, laws, cultural norms and values of the receiving country, and information regarding transit.
