Catholic Social Services of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and other area refugee resettlement agencies are helping Kosovar Albanian refugees resettle in the United States. Philadelphia area residents with relatives who have fled to Macedonia are eligible to take part in this emergency program. People interested in bringing family members to the United States from Macedonia are asked to call InterAction at 1-800-727-4420. InterAction is a coalition of more than 160 United States-based private relief, development and refugee assistance agencies. InterAction was contracted by the State Department.

For this emergency resettlement program, the definition of "family member" has been expanded to include immediate family members as well as grandparents, grandchildren, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews and first cousins.

There are several hundred Albanian American families estimated to be living in the Philadelphia area. The Clinton Administration recently announced plans to allow 20,000 Kosovar refugees to enter this country.

Assisting these families locally is a joint effort of all the southeastern Pennsylvania refugee resettlement agencies. These include Catholic Social Services, PRIME-ECR, Nationalities Service Center, Lutheran Children and Family Services, and Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society.

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Editor's Note: Reporters interested in interviewing a family that has already begun the process of bringing family members to the United States should contact the Office for Communications at 215-587-3747.

Contact
John Miller
Broadcast and Media Specialist
215-587-3747