If you are reading this blog (which presumably, you are), you already know about the massive delays at our nation’s Asylum Offices. There are currently about 543,000 pending cases, and some applicants have been waiting for an interview for six, seven, eight years or longer. Given that life happens during this long wait, applicants sometimes want to withdraw their application for asylum. In this post, we’ll talk about when it might be appropriate to withdraw a case and how to do that.
First, to be clear, the only asylum cases that can be withdrawn are those at the Asylum Office. If you have a case in Immigration Court, you can withdraw your asylum application, but this will likely result in an order of removal (deportation) unless you have some alternate form of relief (or if you receive prosecutorial discretion).
For a case at the Asylum Office, there are really only a few situations where you would want to withdraw the asylum claim: (1) Where you have left the United States; (2) Where you have received a Green Card; or (3) Where you have some valid non-immigrant status, such as an H1b visa that allows you to remain lawfully in the United States. If you are in the U.S. and have no legal status here, withdrawing the application will result in a referral to Immigration Court (assuming that the Asylum Office even allows you to withdraw the application under these circumstances).
Probably the two most common scenarios that I see where people want to withdraw is when they obtain a Green Card based on marriage to a U.S. citizen, or when they leave the United States. For a marriage case (or other Green Card case), I always recommend that my clients get the Green Card before they seek to withdraw their asylum application. There are many reasons for this, but the main reason is that until you actually have the Green Card, you cannot be sure whether or when you will get it. Withdrawing the case too soon, before you have your residency, could result in a referral to Immigration Court–and this could easily derail your Green Card application.
Similarly, for people who leave the United States, I advise them to wait until they are outside the country before seeking to withdraw the asylum application. If you withdraw the case before you leave, you could be referred to Immigration Court and–depending how the court case ends–this could make it much more difficult to return to the U.S. in the future.
Let’s say that you have decided to withdraw your application for asylum. How do you do it?
The easiest way to withdraw a case is to email your local Asylum Office and ask that the case be withdrawn. You can find their email address if you follow this link.
A typical request to withdraw might look like this (this request was written by me, so I indicated that I am the attorney):
Subject: Withdraw Asylum Case – Bobbi FLEKMAN, A 314-159-265
Some explanation is in order. In the subject line of the email, I indicate that we want to withdraw the application, and we include the name of the applicant and the Alien number. In the email itself, we include the reason why the person seeks to withdraw the case (for example, the person left the U.S. or the person received a Green Card) and we attach proof about that (visa and passport stamps showing that the person left the country, or a copy of the Green Card, front and back). Some Asylum Offices have a Withdrawal Form; others do not. You can email your local Asylum Office to ask, but if you do not have the form you can still make the request to withdraw your case. If the Asylum Office needs the Withdrawal Form, they can let you know.
After you email the Asylum Office, most offices will send you an automated reply. After that, you will have to wait for a decision or a request for additional information. This could happen the same day or–more likely–take weeks or months. If there is no response within a month or two, you can follow up with another email.
Eventually, the Asylum Office will make a decision. If you are outside the United States or if you have lawful status here (a Green Card or some non-immigrant status), the application will be withdrawn and the case closed. Keep in mind that withdrawing the case does not erase the fact that you filed for asylum in the first place, and so if you plan to return to your home country or engage in any other behavior that might be inconsistent with your asylum case, you should be prepared to explain yourself.
Also–and this is important–if you have dependents (spouse, children) on your asylum application, the case will be withdrawn for them as well. If they have left the U.S. or have lawful status here, you must also provide evidence of that to the Asylum Office when you request to withdraw your case. If not, the dependents could be placed into removal proceedings (i.e., Immigration Court) where they face possible deportation.
Finally, I have to say that I feel bad writing this post. Our country’s asylum system represents a commitment to protect people facing human rights abuses. The fact that asylum applicants are stuck for years in limbo, causing some to withdraw their cases, demonstrates how poorly our system is working. I know that the Biden Administration is trying to improve the situation, and hopefully, their efforts will reduce wait times and bring relief to long-suffering asylum applicants.
Hi Jason,
I recently returned to my home country after applying for assylum and waiting for an interview for 2 years in vain.
Immediately upon arrival home, i sent an email to the assylum office requesting to withdraw my application, stating conditions in the home country have changed, and even attached an evidence of current situation having improved.
I got an from the assylum office an email acknowledging receipt of the withdrawal, though the status currently indicates “case pending with USCIS”
Last year i applied for a diversity visa green card lottery and i am hopeful and prayerful to win when draw is conducted start of this May.
Do you think i will be granted an immigrant visa to come back stateside when i win the lottery, and subsiquent mailing of GC upon arrival into states?
If you did not do so, you should also submit proof that you left the US, such as exit and entry stamps (plus the photo/bio page of your passport). It can take many months for a withdrawal to be complete. Whether you can return to the US with an immigrant visa (if you win the lottery or some other type of immigration visa), depends on whether you spent time illegally in the US before you filed for asylum (and whether you have any other bars). If you arrived in the US with a visa and filed for asylum before your status expired, you should have no bar to returning based on unlawful presence. However, if you were out of status for 6 months or more, you are not allowed to return for 3 years and if you were out of status for 1 year or more, you are barred from returning for 10 years. I wrote more about the DV Lottery on October 5, 2015, but if you win the lottery, you will need to talk to a lawyer about eligibility and probably you will need to explain why you returned to your country after filing for asylum (and changed country conditions can be a reason), so they do not think your asylum case was fraudulent. Take care, Jason
Hi Jason,
I field an asylum case in 2015 in US based on domestic violence and then withdrew in 2016 and I leaved USA and came back to my country.Is it an issue for applying for B2 visa to attend a training program in USA?
I mean I need to be back in USA.can I apply for a non immigrant visa?
I appreciate your time.
You can apply, but it may be more difficult to get the B visa. I would be prepared with as much evidence as possible to show that you no longer have a fear to return and that you have attachments to your home country (job, property, family, etc.). Take care, Jason
Hi Jason,
Thank you very much for enlightening us with asylum concerns. I have a question that I need help with please. I applied for asylum in 2017 based on domestic violence and was approved. Along the way I met someone who’s a citizen and we got married. I aquired my green card after 6yrs. I applied for asylum withdrawal in December like 2 weeks before Xmas and I received a notice that they’re processing the case. I have not heard from the asylum officeyet and I plan to travel in April outside United States to re-unite with my 3 sons whereby one of my sons has a medical condition which needs me to be there. Do you think if I
go before the withdrawal is settled I could find issues coming back? Please help!
Thank you.
Unfortunately, like everything else, the withdrawals take a long time. I think you can email them to follow up and ask about that, but if the asylum is not withdrawn, I doubt you will have any problem. Since you have a GC, you can return to the US, and if you are asked about the asylum case (which is unlikely), you can explain that you do not fear the government, you fear a non-state actor. You can also explain that you had to return due to your child’s medical issue. I would have some evidence about all this available, maybe scanned and saved in your email on your phone. Whether the asylum is withdrawn or not, they could still theoretically ask you about the trip, and so I would not worry so much that the asylum has not been officially withdrawn. Take care, Jason
Hello Jason.
Thank you for sharing your valuable immigration insights with us. I would like to ask you a question regarding passport renewal while still having a pending asylum case.
I have applied for asylum based on political opinion in 2017 and haven’t had an interview. During this time I got married and my husband petitioned for me and I received my marriage based green card in August, 2023. Shortly after receiving my green card I contacted my asylum office requesting to close my case. They sent me a letter stating my request will be processed as soon as their resources allow. In January this year I contacted them again and got the same response. So, I guess it will take them a while to close my case. I’m planning to travel to a third country later this year and will have to renew my passport for this reason. Since 2017 my country’s conditions have gotten way worse. Do you think the passport renewal will raise suspicions when my asylum case is still pending? And how about traveling using my country’s issued passport, is it likely to cause me any problems?
Thank you
I highly doubt renewing or using the passport would cause issues. It would only matter if using/renewing the passport causes the US government to believe the original asylum case was fake, so you should be prepared to explain why you renewed and why your government was willing to issue you a passport – just in case you are asked. Take care, Jason
Thank you Jason. Your response is truly appreciated.