Since passage of the North Korean Human Rights Act (NKHRA) the US government has admitted 63 North Korean defectors into the country. I am no lawyer, but I believe these individuals are classified as refugees, meaning they have more restrictive visa conditions than permanent residents.
The first of this cohort, however, has just received a “green card” (US permanent resident status), which grants the holder most of the privileges of US citizenship with the major exceptions of the right to vote or having the State Department stick up for you if you are detained overseas.
If there are any immigration attorneys out there who can contribute some details, please add them to the comments.
As an aside, the NKHRA statute has a “sunset provision”—meaning it automatically expires this month unless it is again passed by the congress and signed by the president. Joshua at One Free Korea is eager to see this statute renewed. I do not have any strong feelings about the foreign policy implications of this legislation, but as an economist I am in favor of allowing most immingrants into the US for economic reasons alone.
Read the full article below
N. Korean Defector Gets Permanent US Residency
Korea Times
Kim Sue-young
9/16/2008
