Welcome Corps on Campus is a project of the U.S. Department of State’s Welcome Corps initiative that seeks private sponsors for refugees to attend universities across the United States. ¹ The program was launched in 2023 in an event at Georgetown University hosted by the Department of State, Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration, and other partners. ²

The Welcome Corps on Campus program is a part of a broader Welcome Corps private refugee sponsorship program that was launched by the Department of State in January 2023. ^{3 4} It will pilot with 300 students from Kenya and Jordan in the 2024-2025 school year. ⁵ Participants in the program are considered eligible non-citizens for federal financial aid and are eligible for legal permanent residence after one year and naturalization after five years. ⁶

The Biden administration Department of State is committed to expand access to permanent residency and a pathway to citizenship through this program. ⁷ Biden administration Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said with the Welcome Corps on Campus that the Biden administration goal of admitting 125,000 refugees per year is now within reach. ⁸ Welcome Corps on Campus program manager Jacqui Pilch has said the pilot program is currently focused on single youth, but expanding the program for family unification is also under consideration. She is hopeful that hundreds—or thousands—of campuses will participate in the program within ten years. ⁹

History and Leadership

Welcome Corps on Campus was launched by the U.S. Department of State on July 6, 2023, as a project of Welcome Corps, a U.S. Department of State initiative to privately sponsor refugees seeking entry into the United States. ¹⁰

Jacqui Pilch is the program manager of Welcome Corps at the U.S. Department of State. Prior to joining the program, Pilch was the director for refugees at the Biden administration White House National Security Council. She has also worked as a career official in various refugee- and humanitarian-related roles at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Department of State, and Department of Homeland Security. ¹¹

Nele Feldmann is the Associate Director of Welcome Corps on Campus through her position at the Community Sponsorship Hub, which leads broader Welcome Corps efforts. ^{12 13}

Activities and Funding

Welcome Corps on Campus is a project of the U.S. Department of State Welcome Corps initiative that seeks private sponsors for refugees to attend universities across the United States. ¹⁴

Welcome Corps on Campus is a public-private partnership that is a program of the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM). Implemented by PRM, ¹⁵ the program is a part of a broader private refugee sponsorship program that was launched by the Department of State in January 2023 for refugees admitted through the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP). ^{16 17}

According to left-of-center Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration founder and executive director Miriam Feldblum, the concept of Welcome Corps on Campus was first pitched to the Biden administration Department of State in 2021 as a part of a report that included 60 organizations and institutions. ¹⁸

Community Sponsorship Hub leads the consortium that administers the Welcome Corps program. ¹⁹ Members of the consortium include Every Campus A Refuge, the Institute of International Education, the National Association of System Heads (NASH), the Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration, and World University Service of Canada (WUSC). ²⁰

Program Launch and Biden Administration Support

In September 2023, Georgetown University hosted an event with the Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration to publicly launch the Welcome Corps on Campus. Speakers at this event included representatives from the Biden administration Department of State, Georgetown University, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration, Welcome Corps on Campus, and others. ²¹

At the event, organizers announced that the pilot program will connect 300 refugees ²² from Kenya and Jordan in the 2024-2025 academic year. ²³ Refugees that arrive through the Welcome Corps Program are recruited by, supported, and overseen by private sponsor organizations (PSOs). The U.S. Department of State funds the consortium of organizations that will implement the program while universities secure separate funding for the educational and living costs of the students. ²⁴

PSOs must be 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(4) organizations, agree to support and oversee a minimum of 50 affiliated and/or unaffiliated PSGs each year. As of September 2023, participating PSOs include Alight, Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Syracuse, Church World Service, Ethiopian Community Development Council, Exodus World Service, HIAS, International Institute, Home for Refugees, Rescue.org, Integrated Refugee and Immigrant Services, World Relief, Rainbow Railroad, Welcome NST, and the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA). ²⁵

Higher education institutions participating in the program must form a sponsorship group that represents five or more individuals. Students participating in the program must be proficient in spoken and written English. They are considered eligible non-citizens for federal financial aid and are eligible legal permanent residence after one year and naturalization after five years. These students will be enrolled in degree programs and supported by Campus Private Sponsorship Groups. ²⁶

Biden Administration Support

The Biden administration Department of State is committed to expand access to permanent residency and a pathway to citizenship through this program. ²⁷ Biden administration representatives want the program to become a “household name” on campuses across the nation ²⁸ and Biden administration Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said with the Welcome Corps on Campus that the Biden administration goal of admitting 125,000 refugees annually is now within reach. ²⁹

Welcome Corps on Campus program manager Jacqui Pilch has said the pilot program is focused on single youth, but expanding the program for family unification is also under consideration. Pilch is hopeful that hundreds—or thousands—of campuses will participate in the program within ten years. ³⁰

As of September 2023 at least 149 institutions have expressed support for the program. ³¹   Supporting organizations include African Communities Together, Alight, Bard College, Bryn Mawr College, Center for Migration and the Global City at Rutgers University-Newark, Church World Service, Community Sponsorship Hub, EnglishUSA, Every Campus a Refuge, Exodus World Service, Georgetown University, Hello Neighbor, Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS), Home for Refugees USA, Institute of International Education, NAFSA: Association of International Educators, One Refugee, Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration, Rainbow Railroad, Re-Imagining Migration, Refugee and Migrant Education Network, Refugee Congress, Refugee Council USA, Refugees International, We Are All America, Welcome.Us, Welcoming America, and others. ³²

Funding

Welcome Corps on Campus is funded by the United States federal government. ³³

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2. “Welcome Corps on Campus: Building Sustainable Pathways for Refugee Access to Higher Education.” Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration. September 12, 2023. Accessed September 30, 2023. https://www.presidentsalliance.org/welcome-corps-building-sustainable-pathways-event/.
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15. “Home.” Welcome Corps. Accessed September 30, 2023. https://welcomecorps.org/.
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23. Adkins, Lenore T. “Welcome Corps will help refugee students on U.S. college campuses.” Share America. August 17, 2023. Accessed September 30, 2023. https://share.america.gov/welcome-corps-will-help-refugee-students-at-us-colleges/.
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27. “Welcome Corps on Campus: Building Sustainable Pathways for Refugee Students.” Welcome Corps YouTube Channel. September 12, 2023. Accessed September 30, 2023. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZVfvPiRq3E.
28. “Welcome Corps on Campus: Building Sustainable Pathways for Refugee Students.” Welcome Corps YouTube Channel. September 12, 2023. Accessed September 30, 2023. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZVfvPiRq3E.
29. ^[1] “The Presidential Determination on Refugee Admissions for Fiscal Year 2024.” U.S. Department of State. September 29, 2023. Accessed September 30, 2023. https://www.state.gov/the-presidential-determination-on-refugee-admissions-for-fiscal-year-2024/.
30. “Jacqui Pilch.” LinkedIn. Accessed September 30, 2023. https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacquipilch/.
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32. “The Welcome Corps Expands to Facilitate Sponsorship of Refugee Students by Campus Communities and Higher Education Institutions.” Welcome Corps. July 6, 2023. Accessed September 30, 2023. https://welcomecorps.org/wp-content/uploads/Announcement_Welcome-Corps-on-Campus.pdf.
33. “Information for Organizations.” Welcome Corps. Accessed September 30, 2023. https://welcomecorps.org/information-for-organizations/.