If you want to seek asylum in the United States, chances are that you have heard the term “Convention Against Torture” in passing. It is possible that you may be subject to persecution and/or torture if you were to return to the country you are seeking asylum from. Convention Against Torture, or CAT, provides some protections to asylum seeker which are in some ways different from asylum. In that case, it is worth knowing what constitutes “torture” and whether you are eligible to seek protection against such possibilities. We will discuss these eligibility requirements as well as how you can seek this protection in this article.
The Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (the “Torture Convention”), often shortened to “CAT”, was adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on 10 December 1984. The Convention was subsequently ratified by 20 States, and entered into force on 26 June 1987.
States that have signed the convention are obliged to respect and ensure the right of all persons to be free from torture and ill treatment. This means that if a person applies for CAT protection to a state that has signed the convention, and that person qualifies all the requirements for CAT protection to be granted, the state cannot deny that person protection. The states must also ensure that the mechanisms that allow people to obtain this protection are always funded. As a signatory of the convention, the US upholds these obligations. Now let’s take a look at what CAT protection actually is.
Definition of CAT Protection:
For a person seeking asylum in the US, CAT protection is a mandatory form of relief if they meet all of the required elements. That is, the U.S. government cannot return an asylum seeker to their home country if there are substantial reasons for believing that the asylum seeker will be in danger of being subjected to torture in their home country. To be qualified for this protection, however, the person in question must at first satisfy a few requirements.
If you are seeking CAT protection, in order to qualify you have to show that if you are returned to the country which you are seeking protection from, you will probably be subjected to harm. It is very important that this harm falls firmly under the definition of “torture” that is specified in the CAT. You might be denied protection if the harm you are fearing does not constitute torture according to the CAT, so the best idea at this point is probably to consider taking counsel from an attorney.
It is important to remember that the goal of CAT protection is not concerned with finding out whether or not a person was tortured in their home country before seeking asylum in the US, it is to prohibit a person’s return to a country where they will be in danger of probably facing torture and/or inhuman treatment in the future. For this reason, even if you were tortured in the past, it does not give you the certainty that you will absolutely be granted CAT protection.
If you need CAT protection, it is more important to prove that you will face torture if you are returned to your home country. To that end, it is necessary to submit objective evidence. Country reports and news articles might prove to be helpful in indicating that you really are more than likely to be tortured or faced with inhuman treatment. Unlike with an asylum claim, you will not be granted protection under CAT if you just present proof of past tortures. Now let’s take a look at how you can apply for CAT protection.
Applying for CAT Protection:
You do not need any formal application to apply for CAT protection. The Form I-589, titled “Application for Asylum and Withholding of Removal”, already contains the necessary steps to apply for CAT protection as well. While you are applying for asylum using Form I-589, you just need to make sure to mark off the relevant boxes in Part B of the form.
It is important to note that if you are applying for CAT protection, you need to include additional information and supporting documents that are needed to satisfy the requirements for obtaining CAT protection. To sum up, you do not need an additional application, but you do need to include additional supporting documents.
Note that it is not mandatory that you apply for CAT at the same time when you are applying for asylum. You can add a request for CAT protection later if you did not apply for it when you filed your asylum application. To do this you can simply add a request for CAT by “supplementing” your asylum application.
Unlike asylum claims, there is no time limit for applying for CAT protection. In fact, even if a person has been issued a court order for deportation or removal, they can still apply for CAT protection. There are some advantages and limitations that you should know before you apply for the CAT. Read below to know more about these.
Advantages and Limitations of CAT:
Why do you need to know about CAT protection if you already know about asylum claims and how they work? You need to know because there are some advantages to CAT protection that are not offered by asylum claims. The main advantages of CAT protection are:
- Unlike asylum claims, granting CAT protection is mandatory for the US. Your asylum claim might be declined even if you are eligible, but if you are eligible for CAT protection, the US must grant you protection.
- that none of the bars to asylum, that is, the issues that stop a person from obtaining asylum in the US, would prevent you from being granted this form of relief.
- Moreover, the torture you would face in your country of origin does not need to be on account of one of the five protected grounds.
- the U.S. government cannot return you to your home country if you can provide proof that you will be tortured there.
- you can apply for U.S. work authorization with ICE.
While there are some significant advantages of CAT, its benefits are not absolute. In fact, CAT protection offers fewer benefits than asylum. These benefits are also somewhat conditional compared to benefits offered by asylum.
One of the limitations of CAT is that it stops the US from sending you back to your home country where you faced torture, but the US can still send you somewhere else. If a third country is willing to take you, and the US Government believes that you will not face torture there, it can send you there.
Another point to be noted is that CAT protection is not permanent. The Court can terminate this protection if it deems that you are no longer at risk in your country of origin. The Department of Homeland Security can try to convince an Immigration Judge (IJ) to send you back to your home country, if it has reasons to believe that you will no longer face torture if you return. Also, while CAT protection does allow you to apply for work authorization, it does not make you eligible for a green card or U.S. Citizenship. CAT protection also only applies to you, it does not include your family members.
This is how the CAT protection on one hand offers better advantages than asylum in some aspects, but on the other hand also limits the kinds of benefits that you receive. However, when you apply for both asylum and CAT using I-589, if you qualify for both, you will be granted asylum; which is a far better option than CAT, despite CAT having a few advantages. Therefore, do not apply only for CAT protection unless you absolutely have to.
Applying for the CAT and obtaining it might be a complex process if you are not prepared for it. It is very important to have clear ideas about the prerequisites of CAT protection. While making the application itself might be as simple as ticking a box in a form, it is a lot more difficult to provide supporting documents that satisfy the requirements of the application. It is therefore the safest choice to take assistance from an attorney who specializes in asylum cases.
