Bars to Receiving Asylum or Refugee Status

Persecutors of others, threats to U.S. security, people firmly resettled in a third country, and others who are not eligible as asylees or refugees.

Avoid having a finding of a frivolous asylum application on your immigration record.

A person is barred from receiving asylum in the U.S. if an immigration judge or asylum officer finds that they were already firmly resettled or had a right to residence in another country.

Types of criminal convictions or findings that may bar an applicant from receiving asylum.

So long as your entry into the U.S. was not in your official status as a crewmember, you should be able to apply for asylum.

A family petition is not a bar to applying for asylum, but make sure the asylum claim truly has merit.

The Safe Third Country Agreement between the U.S. and Canada says that (with some exceptions) you can apply for asylum only in the first country you arrived in.