KATHMANDU: The United States will begin accepting applications for the resettlement of at least 60,000 refugees from Bhutan living in camps in Nepal in September, the US ambassador said on Friday.

“Resettlement in the US may not be the best option for every Bhutanese refugee, and only those of you who freely choose resettlement in the US will be considered,” Ambassador James Moriarty said during a visit to one of seven refugee camps.

Around 107,000 Bhutanese refugees of Nepali origin have been languishing in United Nations-run camps in south eastern Nepal since the early 1990s.

The US has offered to resettle “60,000 or more” of the refugees, the ambassador said. “Once the resettlement processing begins, it will take a minimum of six months from a family's first interview until their travel to the United States,” Moriarty said. “During the resettlement process, the US government, and I am sure other donor governments, will continue to advocate for the refugee's right of return to their homeland,” Moriarty said. Canada has offered to resettle another 5,000 of the refugees.—AFP