US Announces 2 Categories of People Not Allowed to Apply for Asylum
- The US Citizenship and Immigration Services published guidelines stating that asylum applications can only be filed by a specific group of people
- People who are not physically present in the United States are barred from filing for asylum, regardless of their circumstances
- US citizens are also listed among those completely ineligible to apply for asylum in the country
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The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services has spelled out two firm categories of people who are entirely ineligible to file for asylum, in guidelines published on its official website.
According to USCIS, the asylum application process, which involves filing a Form I-589, is only open to people who meet two basic conditions.
Source: UGC
Who Cannot Apply for US Asylum
The first category that is completely shut out from the process is anyone who is not physically present on American soil at the time of application.
This means that a person still living in their home country, or in any third country, cannot file for asylum from abroad.
The applicant must have already entered the United States before any application can be considered.
The second category is US citizens. Because asylum is a form of protection offered to foreign nationals facing persecution, American citizens have no legal basis to apply for it. The protection simply does not apply to them.
USCIS states that every year, people travel to the United States seeking protection due to persecution, or the fear of persecution, based on race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.
However, eligibility to seek that protection depends entirely on meeting the two conditions above.
Key Rules for Eligible Applicants
For those who do qualify, USCIS requires that a Form I-589 be submitted within one year of arriving in the United States.
Eligible applicants may also include their spouse and unmarried children under the age of 21 who are physically present in the country as dependants on the same application.
The guidelines also note that applicants who are granted asylum may be permitted to remain in the United States, and may eventually file for permanent residence.
US announces 1 green card route
Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that US government's EB-1 visa category covers three types of applicants, but only one allows individuals to file their own petition without employer involvement.
Applicants under the Extraordinary Ability category must satisfy at least 3 of 10 set criteria, or present evidence of a major internationally recognised achievement.
Source: Legit.ng
