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Asylum Seekers

Asylum seekers often have a bit more leeway, depending on where they are coming from and whether a significant danger of imprisonment, torture, or execution awaits them if they are returned to their home country. Asylum seekers who wish to obtain a waiver of inadmissibility do not need to disprove the grounds of inadmissibility, but they do have to prove that their particular situation warrants a waiver.

Anyone who seeks asylum in the United States must be able to prove that he or she will be subject to persecution if returned home. That persecution may be based on race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or political beliefs. Sometimes, an alien in danger of being deported will make a claim of “credible fear of persecution” in his or her native country. INS is required to make information about this option available to those who may be able to avail themselves of it. An INS asylum officer determines whether each such case warrants further action.

If it does, the claimant will appear before an immigration judge to make a case during a full hearing. It should be understood that a credible fear of persecution ruling is not the same as being granted asy-lum. The credible fear ruling is merely the first step in the process; it may or may not result in a granting of asylum.

In addition, an alien seeking asylum may be granted a “withholding of deportation” instead. This is similar to asylum, except that it does not allow the alien to apply for permanent resident in the United States, and it only prohibits deportation to the country in question.


Inside Asylum Seekers