The economic crisis and almost 9 percent unemployment rate in the United States has made it difficult for Iraqi refugees - one of the fastest growing refugee populations in the world - to settle here.

James Foley, the U.S. State Department senior coordinator for Iraqi refugees, is meeting with Middle East officials this week to discuss Iraqi refugee needs in the region and, ultimately, to speed up the process of admitting Iraqi refugees to the U.S.

In May, the United States accepted 1,141 Iraqi refugees--the most the U.S. has accepted in a given month. The Bush administration projected it could admit almost 8,000 more refugees by the end of September, closing in on (but not guaranteeing) its goal of 12,000 refugees by fiscal year-end.