Termination of Asylum (Part: 1)

Termination of Asylum (Part: 1)

Grounds of Revocation/Termination of Asylum and Withholding of Removal

Pursuant to INA 208(c)(2) and the regulations, a person granted asylum may have his asylum or withholding of removal revoked under certain circumstances by the AO, 8 C.F.R. 208.24(a) & (b), 1208.24(a) & (b), or the IJ. 8 C.F.R. 1208.28(f), 1208.24(f).

When may Asylee/Withholding status be lost?

Asylee status may be lost in the following circumstances: 

1. 1. Where there is fraud in the application, 
   2. The application is filed after April 1, 1997 and the person meets one of the categories of ineligibility specified in INA s208(c)(2) or 
   3. The application was filed before April 1, 1997 and the applicant no longer has a well-founded fear because there are changed conditions in the country of origin or the alien has committed any act that would have been grounds for a mandatory denial of asylum under 8 C.F.R. 208.13(c)(2).

Application filed on or after April 1, 1997

The Asylum Office initiates a proceeding to terminate asylum status granted by USCIS when prima facie evidence indicates that at least one (1) of the following circumstances is present: 

1. 1. There is a showing of fraud in the alien’s application such that he or she was not eligible for asylum at the time it was granted. 
   2. As to an application filed on or after April 1, 1997, one or more of the conditions described in Section 208(c)(2) of the INA exist, summarized below: 

• • • The alien no longer meets the definition of a refugee due to a fundamental change in circumstances.
    • The alien is a persecutor, danger to the security of the U.S., described in terrorist grounds of inadmissibility, or firmly resettled in another country or
    • The alien was convicted of a particularly serious crime or there are serious reasons to believe the alien committed a serious nonpolitical crime outside the U.S. 
    • The alien may be removed pursuant to a safe third country agreement.
    • The alien voluntarily re-availed him or herself of the protection of the country of feared persecution by returning to such country with the reasonable possibility of obtaining or having obtained permanent resident status with the same rights and obligations of other permanent residents of the country; 
    • The alien has acquired a new nationality and enjoys the protection of that country.

Application filed before April 1, 1997

As to an application filed before April 1, 1997, the alien no longer has a well-founded fear of persecution due to a change of country conditions in the alien’s country of nationality or last habitual residence, or the alien has committed any act that would have been grounds for a mandatory denial of asylum under 8 C.F.R. 208.13(c)(2), summarized below: 

1. 1. The alien was convicted of a particularly serious crime.
   2. The alien was firmly resettled in another country. 
   3. The alien is a danger to national security. 
   4. The alien has been convicted of an aggravated felony. 
   5. The alien order, incited, assisted, or otherwise participated in persecution of others on account of one or more of the five protected grounds. 
   6. The alien is involved in terrorist activities as described in INA Section 212(a)(3)(B)(i)(I) [engaged in], (II) [reasonably likely to engage in after entry], and (III) [incited with an intent to cause death or serious bodily harm], unless there are no reasonable ground to believe the asylee is a danger to national security. 
   7. Termination of asylum status for the principal asylee results in termination of any derivative status, whether derivative status was gained at the same time of the original asylum grant or through the approval of an I-730, Refugee/Asylee Relative Petition. The termination does not preclude the former derivative from applying for asylum or withholding of rem oval on his or her own. When grounds for termination apply to a derivative alone, the derivative asylum status is terminated without effect on the principal asylee’s status, and documents discussed in this section are issued to the derivative asylee alone.

Read part two here