This study explores the process of Iraqis' incorporation into the United States. The geopolitical context of the Iraq War and subsequent unrest has led to the creation of a new group of 'contemporary' refugees. Through in-depth qualitative interviews and participant observation with recently-arrived Iraqi refugees in Sacramento and service providers at a local refugee resettlement NGO, I explore the modes of Iraqis' incorporation into the U.S. and how Iraqi refugees respond to each other and to the context of their reception. Iraqi newcomers shatter the preconceived notion of the refugee as rural, poor, uneducated, and lacking agency. As educated, professional urbanites from higher socioeconomic classes, Iraqi refugees do not fit the stereotypical image of the ‘traditional’ refugee, which subsequently affects their interaction with local refugee service providers and the larger experience of resettlement in the United States. This research may contribute to the construction of alternative resettlement models targeted toward Iraqi and other ‘non-traditional’ refugees in the United States.