The U.S. and the UNHCR will begin next week to take applications for resettlement in the U.S. from some 15,000 Hmong refugees living at Wat Thamkrabok in Thailand's Sarabury province, says US Ambassador to Thailand Darryl Johnson.
The process is expected to take six months.
The refugees who are allowed to apply are the ones who have registered with the Thai government.
There are currently about 30,000 Hmong refugees at Wat Thamkrabok, which means some 15,000 have not registered with the Thai government. Thai authorities say those will be relocated as planned.