Office for Refugees & Immigrants

ORI’s mission is to promote the full participation of refugees and immigrants as self-sufficient individuals and families in the economic, social, and civic life of Massachusetts.

Gov. Patrick signed Executive Order No. 503 in July 2008, calling for the Governor's Advisory Council on Refugees and Immigrants (GACRI) to develop recommendations for better integrating refugees and immigrants into the economy and Commonwealth. The GACRI delivered the final New Americans Agenda report and recommendations to the Governor's Office on October 1, 2009. The Governor publicly released the report on Nov. 17, 2009 and announced the creation of an inter-governmental work group to develop a state action plan for implementation.

The Office for Refugees and Immigrants supports the State Refugee Coordinator in managing a portfolio of grants to a state-wide network of voluntary agencies, funded by the Department of State's Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration, and the Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Refugee Resettlement. Persons eligible for services through ORI have been lawfully admitted to the United States on humanitarian grounds, often following conflict, displacement or persecution in their country of origin. These time-limited grants facilitate the resettlement of refugees, asylees, certified victims of human trafficking, and Cuban/Haitian entrants in Massachusetts, and provide a broad spectrum of support services designed with self-sufficiency as the goal.

If you are looking for information on becoming a United States citizen or are looking for the former US Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). The USCIS Boston office telephone is 1 (800) 375-5283.