The sister of my asylum-seeker client recently got an unpleasant surprise from the U.S. Embassy in her country. The sister is a prominent journalist who had come to the Embassy several times (at the Embassy’s request) to brief U.S. diplomats on the situation in her country. She and her family members held B-1/B-2 visitor visas to the United States. A few weeks ago, the consular section called and demanded that the sister appear for a visa “re-interview.” When she asked for a one-day delay due to a previously-scheduled medical appointment for her child, she was refused.
The sister dutifully arrived at the U.S. Embassy, where she was kept waiting for two hours. Finally, the consular officer met with her and informed her that her visitor visa was being revoked because her sister (my client) was seeking asylum in the United States. The sister, of course, objected, noting that she had the visa for some time but had not used it. Also, she explained that she had been meeting with Embassy officials to discuss the situation in her country, at some risk to herself. All this was of no avail, and the sister’s visa was revoked. To add insult to injury (and without any evidence), the consular officer accused the sister of wanting to move to the United States so her husband could get a better job and make more money.
On her way out, the sister ran into a local Embassy employee who she had befriended during her two hour wait. When the employee learned what happened, he told the sister that the Embassy had been revoking visas for people whose family members were seeking asylum in the United States.
Before her sister went to the re-interview, my client called me to tell me what was happening. I suggested that her sister speak to her contacts at the Embassy. Her contacts are (presumably) in the diplomatic or public affairs sections of the Embassy, not the consular section, and they told her that there was nothing they could do.
So it seems that a person who had been a useful contact for our country, and who is an up-and-coming journalist, was insulted, embarrassed, and had her visa revoked, all because her sister has a pending asylum case in the United States. For most relatives of asylum seekers, that would be the end of the story. But in this case, since the sister is somewhat high-profile, the matter worked its way up the chain to higher ranking diplomats, who were apparently quite upset at the doings of their brethren in the consular section. There is now an effort underway to re-issue the visa, but the outcome is far from clear, as officers in the diplomatic and public affairs sections do not have authority over the consular section (and heaven forbid that one section would work in concert with another).
As best as we can tell, when my client filed her asylum application, the consular section was not alerted. But when she applied for her work permit (after the application had been pending for 150 days due to the asylum backlog), the application for an employment document triggered notice to the consulate, which was (somehow) aware of her sister. The visa was then revoked.
This is not the first time that one of my clients’ family members had trouble as a result of an asylum application. I wrote previously about two clients–spouses of asylum seekers–who had their visa applications denied because of their spouses’ asylum applications. In those cases, I was more concerned with the breaches of confidentiality (the consular section informed the spouses that their visas were being revoked because of their spouses’ asylum claims; the problem is that in some cases, people seek asylum because of persecution by a family member, so informing the relatives of the asylum applications was a breach of confidentiality).
For me, the take-away from all this for asylum applicants and their family members is that family members may be denied non-immigrant visas or have their visas revoked once the consulate learns about the asylum application. But maybe the more interesting question is, how should the consulates deal with family members of asylum seekers?
The easy answer (and the one I prefer) is that consulates should not be informed about the asylum applications in the first place, and if they are informed, they should take no action against family members (and they certainly should not violate confidentiality). Asylum is a humanitarian form of relief and people (or their family members) should not be penalized for pursuing legitimate claims.
The counter-argument, I suppose, is that consulates are required to determine whether applicants for non-immigrant visas are actually intending immigrants, and the behavior of relatives may be relevant to that determination. One problem with this argument, at least in the cases I’ve mentioned, is that there was always pretty good evidence that the family members were not intending immigrants. The visas were denied or revoked anyway, seemingly solely because a relative had filed for asylum. Another problem with this argument is that all my clients’ asylum cases were legitimate (two were granted and one is pending). I can more easily understand the consulates revoking or denying a family member’s visas where their relative has filed a fraudulent claim. But that is not the situation in any of the cases I’ve discussed.
As things now stand, asylum seekers in the U.S. face a sort-of Sophie’s choice: Save myself and the family members in the U.S. with me, but sacrifice my relatives who are trying to get visas. I don’t see how this comports with the spirit of our international obligations, or with any notion of morality. It seems naive to imagine that this policy of excluding family members of asylum seekers will be discontinued anytime soon, but maybe if the consular sections continue to act contrary to the diplomatic sections, as happened to my client’s sister, there will be some pressure to behave a bit better. For the sake of diplomacy and human rights, I hope so.
Hi! Jason,
My sister, brother in-law and her daughter / my niece/ applied for asylum in beginning of 2018. I have 20 years of traveling history between US & my country. Currently, I am in the US with B1 visa.
1. Will their asylum pending cases affect my visa application when I go back and apply for F-1 visa?
2. Should I change my visa status / B1 to F1/ here in the USA?
Thank you.
1 – Probably not, as this problem is more for spouses and children of asylum seekers, and less for siblings. However, you never know. Based on what you say, I think will be safe, but these days, everything is so unpredictable, it is difficult to say for sure. 2 – You can try that, and it might avoid some risk, but it really depends on your plans. Even if you do that, if you leave the US, you would need to go to the US embassy and get an F-1 visa to return to the US, and so if there is going to be a problem, it would not necessarily avoid the problem by switching to F-1 status in the US. Take care, Jason
Hi jason,
I have been applying for a f1 visa and my sister has her asylum case pending. Will her applying for asylum affect my visa processing? Will mentioning her name in the ds160 form results in decline of my visa? What would be the consequences if i do not include her name in the ds160 form?
Her asylum case may make it more difficult for you to get an F-1 visa, but this problem is usually worse for spouses and minor children, and less of a problem for siblings. Failing to mention her name could certainly be a problem. She probably listed your name on her asylum form, and so the government may already know you are related. If the government sees that you lied, it will most likely deny your visa. Take care, Jason
Thank you for the help.
Hi Jason,
I am on asylum pending since November 2015. Still haven’t had an interview. My mom wants to visit me for a couple of months. She is over 65 yo and already retired. Her husband (my dad) will stay at home country, so she can provide embassy with their marrige certificate. My question is, what are her chances to get B2 visa? And If my cousin who is the US citizen will write invitation for her, will it be helpful for getting visa?
Thank you in advance.
She may have a change. Nothing is easy now, but she can try. Maybe the letter from your cousin will help too. There are lawyers who assist with B visas. You can look for one of those if you think that might help, or she can just try and see what happens. Take care, Jason
Hey Jason,
I wana ask U dat, if my wife can apply for visit Visa while my asylum is on pending. Will appreciate it for ur advise. Thank U.
She can, though it is likely that she will be denied. If the embassy thinks she will violate her visitor visa and join your asylum case, they will not give her a B visa. She can try though, and maybe she will be lucky. Take care, Jason
Hi,
Thanx for da suggestion. But i have a doubt dat if she tries for visit visa. Does it effect my asylum case or for future. And aslo if she shows strong evidence of being back to her countey after visting US. Is there any chance of getting Visa. Thank U.
There is a chance to get a visa, but I also doubt she will get it. Unless there is something inconsistent with your asylum case, it should not affect your case. Take care, Jason
My friend Asylum case is pending in court. He got the date for individual hearing is in 2020. Can he apply for traveling document for himself, thanks
A person in court cannot leave the US and return – even if he has a travel document, he can be denied entry. Once he leaves the US, he will be considered deported and ineligible to return. If he has a lawyer, he can ask about this – theoretically, it may be possible to get permission from DHS, but in practice, I highly doubt that would be possible. Maybe he could try making his final hearing sooner – I wrote about that on April 20, 2017. Take care, Jason
Hi Jason,
I am from Nepal and the TPS for the country will now expire on June 2019. The current TPS is valid until June 2018. If i renew my TPS once the reregistration period is opened by DHS, will I be able to travel via an advance parole before June 2019. Also I have my asylum pending and I am planning to visit another country so was wondering is this is possible.
You should be able to travel with AP. You can also get AP based on the pending asylum case (even if you do not have TPS). I wrote about that on September 11, 2017. Take care, Jason
Hi Jason,
Thank you so much for taking the time to read and respond to so many people. I have been following your forum/thread. Truly appreciated!
My parents have a pending asylum case with EAD/SSN in hand. My father is over 67years and my mother is over 64years. They do not have insurance. Because of pending case I am told they are not eligible for AHCCCS federal and state insurance. They received approval and medical cards for AHCCCS “Emergency Services only”. My father is paralyzed, unable to speak after his stroke a few years ago. He is on regular medication for blood pressure, glucose, blood thinners etc. My mom is on regular meds too because of her BP etc. My mother had been complaining about poor vision so I got her vision checked. She was diagnosed of cataract. The doctor recommended surgery. She has been complaining of chest pain and I got her initial diagnosis done as well. But now I have been told to get her advance diagnosis. I am unable to afford medical costs. I want to know what are my options for either medical assistance from federal and/or state till they get a verdict on their case.
Thanks much!
– M
Unfortunately, I do not know much about this. You might try Googling “Catholic Charities” + your city. That office helps all immigrants and they may know more about such benefits than me. Good luck, Jason