nal, gang, terrorist, or other non-state or-
ganizations; 
‘‘(iv) the targeting of the applicant for 
criminal activity for financial gain based 
on wealth or affluence or perceptions of 
wealth or affluence; 
‘‘(v) the applicant’s criminal activity; 
or 
‘‘(vi) the applicant’s perceived, past or 
present, gang affiliation. 
‘‘(D) 
DEFINITIONS
AND
CLARIFICA-
TIONS.— 
‘‘(i) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of 
this paragraph: 
‘‘(I) FELONY.—The term ‘felony’ 
means— 
‘‘(aa) any crime defined as a 
felony by the relevant jurisdiction 
(Federal, State, Tribal, or local) 
of conviction; or 
‘‘(bb) any crime punishable 
by more than one year of impris-
onment. 
‘‘(II) MISDEMEANOR.—The term 
‘misdemeanor’ means— 
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‘‘(aa) any crime defined as a 
misdemeanor by the relevant ju-
risdiction (Federal, State, Tribal, 
or local) of conviction; or 
‘‘(bb) any crime not punish-
able by more than one year of 
imprisonment. 
‘‘(ii) CLARIFICATIONS.— 
‘‘(I) CONSTRUCTION.—For pur-
poses of this paragraph, whether any 
activity or conviction also may con-
stitute a basis for removal is immate-
rial to a determination of asylum eli-
gibility. 
‘‘(II) ATTEMPT, CONSPIRACY, OR 
SOLICITATION.—For purposes of this 
paragraph, all references to a criminal 
offense or criminal conviction shall be 
deemed to include any attempt, con-
spiracy, or solicitation to commit the 
offense or any other inchoate form of 
the offense. 
‘‘(III) EFFECT OF CERTAIN OR-
DERS.— 
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‘‘(aa) 
IN
GENERAL.—No 
order 
vacating 
a 
conviction, 
modifying a sentence, clarifying a 
sentence, or otherwise altering a 
conviction or sentence shall have 
any effect under this paragraph 
unless the Attorney General or 
Secretary of Homeland Security 
determines that— 
‘‘(AA) the court issuing 
the order had jurisdiction 
and authority to do so; and 
‘‘(BB) the order was 
not entered for rehabilitative 
purposes or for purposes of 
ameliorating the immigra-
tion consequences of the 
conviction or sentence. 
‘‘(bb) AMELIORATING IMMI-
GRATION
CONSEQUENCES.—For 
purposes of item (aa)(BB), the 
order shall be presumed to be for 
the purpose of ameliorating im-
migration consequences if— 
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‘‘(AA) the order was 
entered after the initiation 
of any proceeding to remove 
the alien from the United 
States; or 
‘‘(BB) the alien moved 
for the order more than one 
year after the date of the 
original order of conviction 
or sentencing, whichever is 
later. 
‘‘(cc) AUTHORITY OF IMMI-
GRATION
JUDGE.—An immigra-
tion judge is not limited to con-
sideration only of material in-
cluded in any order vacating a 
conviction, modifying a sentence, 
or clarifying a sentence to deter-
mine whether such order should 
be given any effect under this 
paragraph, but may consider 
such additional information as 
the immigration judge determines 
appropriate. 
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‘‘(E) 
ADDITIONAL
LIMITATIONS.—The 
Secretary of Homeland Security or the Attorney 
General may by regulation establish additional 
limitations and conditions, consistent with this 
section, under which an alien shall be ineligible 
for asylum under paragraph (1). 
‘‘(F) NO JUDICIAL REVIEW.—There shall 
be no judicial review of a determination of the 
Secretary of Homeland Security or the Attorney 
General under subparagraph (A)(xiii).’’. 
SEC. 105. EMPLOYMENT AUTHORIZATION. 
Paragraph (2) of section 208(d) of the Immigration 
and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1158(d)) is amended to 
read as follows: 
‘‘(2) EMPLOYMENT AUTHORIZATION.— 
‘‘(A) AUTHORIZATION
PERMITTED.—An 
applicant for asylum is not entitled to employ-
ment authorization, but such authorization may 
be provided under regulation by the Secretary 
of Homeland Security. An applicant who is not 
otherwise eligible for employment authorization 
shall not be granted such authorization prior to 
the date that is 180 days after the date of filing 
of the application for asylum. 
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‘‘(B) TERMINATION.—Each grant of em-
ployment authorization under subparagraph 
(A), and any renewal or extension thereof, shall 
be valid for a period of 6 months, except that 
such authorization, renewal, or extension shall 
terminate prior to the end of such 6 month pe-
riod as follows: 
‘‘(i) Immediately following the denial 
of an asylum application by an asylum offi-
cer, unless the case is referred to an immi-
gration judge. 
‘‘(ii) 30 days after the date on which 
an immigration judge denies an asylum ap-
plication, unless the alien timely appeals to 
the Board of Immigration Appeals. 
‘‘(iii) Immediately following the denial 
by the Board of Immigration Appeals of an 
appeal of a denial of an asylum applica-
tion. 
‘‘(C) RENEWAL.—The Secretary of Home-
land Security may not grant, renew, or extend 
employment authorization to an alien if the 
alien was previously granted employment au-
thorization under subparagraph (A), and the 
employment authorization was terminated pur-
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suant to a circumstance described in subpara-
graph (B)(i), (ii), or (iii), unless a Federal 
court of appeals remands the alien’s case to the 
Board of Immigration Appeals. 
‘‘(D) INELIGIBILITY.—The Secretary of 
Homeland Security may not grant employment 
authorization to an alien under this paragraph 
if the alien— 
‘‘(i) is ineligible for asylum under sub-
section (b)(2)(A); or 
‘‘(ii) entered or attempted to enter the 
United States at a place and time other 
than lawfully through a United States port 
of entry.’’. 
SEC. 106. ASYLUM FEES. 
Paragraph (3) of section 208(d) of the Immigration 
and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1158(d)) is amended to 
read as follows: 
‘‘(3) FEES.— 
‘‘(A) APPLICATION FEE.—A fee of not less 
than $50 for each application for asylum shall 
be imposed. Such fee shall not exceed the cost 
of adjudicating the application. Such fee shall 
not apply to an unaccompanied alien child who 
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files an asylum application in proceedings under 
section 240. 
‘‘(B) EMPLOYMENT
AUTHORIZATION.—A 
fee may also be imposed for the consideration 
of an application for employment authorization 
under this section and for adjustment of status 
under section 209(b). Such a fee shall not ex-
ceed the cost of adjudicating the application. 
‘‘(C) PAYMENT.—Fees under this para-
graph may be assessed and paid over a period 
of time or by installments. 
‘‘(D) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing 
in this paragraph shall be construed to limit the 
authority of the Attorney General or Secretary 
of Homeland Security to set adjudication and 
naturalization fees in accordance with section 
286(m).’’. 
SEC. 107. RULES FOR DETERMINING ASYLUM ELIGIBILITY. 
Section 208 of the Immigration and Nationality Act 
(8 U.S.C. 1158) is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(f) RULES
FOR DETERMINING ASYLUM ELIGI-
BILITY.—In making a determination under subsection 
(b)(1)(A) with respect to whether an alien is a refugee 
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within the meaning of section 101(a)(42)(A), the following 
shall apply: 
‘‘(1) PARTICULAR
SOCIAL
GROUP.—The Sec-
retary of Homeland Security or the Attorney Gen-
eral shall not determine that an alien is a member 
of a particular social group unless the alien articu-
lates on the record, or provides a basis on the record 
for determining, the definition and boundaries of the 
alleged particular social group, establishes that the 
particular social group exists independently from the 
alleged persecution, and establishes that the alien’s 
claim of membership in a particular social group 
does not involve— 
‘‘(A) past or present criminal activity or 
association (including gang membership); 
‘‘(B) presence in a country with general-
ized violence or a high crime rate; 
‘‘(C) being the subject of a recruitment ef-
fort by criminal, terrorist, or persecutory 
groups; 
‘‘(D) the targeting of the applicant for 
criminal activity for financial gain based on per-
ceptions of wealth or affluence; 
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‘‘(E) interpersonal disputes of which gov-
ernmental authorities in the relevant society or 
region were unaware or uninvolved; 
‘‘(F) private criminal acts of which govern-
mental authorities in the relevant society or re-
gion were unaware or uninvolved; 
‘‘(G) past or present terrorist activity or 
association; 
‘‘(H) past or present persecutory activity 
or association; or 
‘‘(I) status as an alien returning from the 
United States. 
‘‘(2) POLITICAL
OPINION.—The Secretary of 
Homeland Security or the Attorney General may not 
determine that an alien holds a political opinion with 
respect to which the alien is subject to persecution 
if the political opinion is constituted solely by gener-
alized disapproval of, disagreement with, or opposi-
tion to criminal, terrorist, gang, guerilla, or other 
non-state organizations and does not include expres-
sive behavior in furtherance of a cause against such 
organizations related to efforts by the State to con-
trol such organizations or behavior that is antithet-
ical to or otherwise opposes the ruling legal entity of 
the State or a unit thereof. 
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‘‘(3) PERSECUTION.—The Secretary of Home-
land Security or the Attorney General may not de-
termine that an alien has been subject to persecution 
or has a well-founded fear of persecution based only 
on— 
‘‘(A) the existence of laws or government 
policies that are unenforced or infrequently en-
forced, unless there is credible evidence that 
such a law or policy has been or would be ap-
plied to the applicant personally; or 
‘‘(B) the conduct of rogue foreign govern-
ment officials acting outside the scope of their 
official capacity. 
‘‘(4) DISCRETIONARY DETERMINATION.— 
‘‘(A) 
ADVERSE
DISCRETIONARY
FAC-
TORS.—The Secretary of Homeland Security or 
the Attorney General may only grant asylum to 
an alien if the alien establishes that he or she 
warrants a favorable exercise of discretion. In 
making such a determination, the Attorney 
General or Secretary of Homeland Security 
shall consider, if applicable, an alien’s use of 
fraudulent documents to enter the United 
States, unless the alien arrived in the United 
States by air, sea, or land directly from the ap-
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plicant’s home country without transiting 
through any other country. 
‘‘(B) FAVORABLE
EXERCISE
OF
DISCRE-
TION NOT PERMITTED.—Except as provided in 
subparagraph (C), the Attorney General or Sec-
retary of Homeland Security shall not favorably 
exercise discretion under this section for any 
alien who— 
‘‘(i) has accrued more than one year 
of unlawful presence in the United States, 
as defined in sections 212(a)(9)(B)(ii) and 
(iii), prior to filing an application for asy-
lum; 
‘‘(ii) at the time the asylum applica-
tion is filed with the immigration court or 
is referred from the Department of Home-
land Security, has— 
‘‘(I) failed to timely file (or time-
ly file a request for an extension of 
time to file) any required Federal, 
State, or local income tax returns; 
‘‘(II) failed to satisfy any out-
standing Federal, State, or local tax 
obligations; or 
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‘‘(III) income that would result 
in tax liability under section 1 of the 
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and 
that was not reported to the Internal 
Revenue Service; 
‘‘(iii) has had two or more prior asy-
lum applications denied for any reason; 
‘‘(iv) has withdrawn a prior asylum 
application with prejudice or been found to 
have abandoned a prior asylum application; 
‘‘(v) failed to attend an interview re-
garding his or her asylum application with 
the Department of Homeland Security, un-
less the alien shows by a preponderance of 
the evidence that— 
‘‘(I) exceptional circumstances 
prevented the alien from attending the 
interview; or 
‘‘(II) the interview notice was not 
mailed to the last address provided by 
the alien or the alien’s representative 
and neither the alien nor the alien’s 
representative received notice of the 
interview; or 
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‘‘(vi) was subject to a final order of 
removal, deportation, or exclusion and did 
not file a motion to reopen to seek asylum 
based on changed country conditions with-
in one year of the change in country condi-
tions. 
‘‘(C) EXCEPTIONS.—If one or more of the 
adverse discretionary factors set forth in sub-
paragraph (B) are present, the Attorney Gen-
eral or the Secretary, may, notwithstanding 
such subparagraph (B), favorably exercise dis-
cretion under section 208— 
‘‘(i) in extraordinary circumstances, 
such as those involving national security or 
foreign policy considerations; or 
‘‘(ii) if the alien, by clear and con-
vincing evidence, demonstrates that the de-
nial of the application for asylum would re-
sult in exceptional and extremely unusual 
hardship to the alien. 
‘‘(5) LIMITATION.—If the Secretary or the At-
torney General determines that an alien fails to sat-
isfy the requirement under paragraph (1), the alien 
may not be granted asylum based on membership in 
a particular social group, and may not appeal the 
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100 
determination of the Secretary or Attorney General, 
as applicable. A determination under this paragraph 
shall not serve as the basis for any motion to reopen 
or reconsider an application for asylum or with-
holding of removal for any reason, including a claim 
of ineffective assistance of counsel, unless the alien 
complies with the procedural requirements for such 
a motion and demonstrates that counsel’s failure to 
define, or provide a basis for defining, a formulation 
of a particular social group was both not a strategic 
choice and constituted egregious conduct. 
‘‘(6) STEREOTYPES.—Evidence offered in sup-
port of an application for asylum that promotes cul-
tural stereotypes about a country, its inhabitants, or 
an alleged persecutor, including stereotypes based on 
race, religion, nationality, or gender, shall not be ad-
missible in adjudicating that application, except that 
evidence 
that 
an 
alleged 
persecutor 
holds 
stereotypical views of the applicant shall be admis-
sible. 
‘‘(7) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(A) The term ‘membership in a particular 
social group’ means membership in a group 
that is— 
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101 
‘‘(i) composed of members who share 
a common immutable characteristic; 
‘‘(ii) defined with particularity; and 
‘‘(iii) socially distinct within the soci-
ety in question. 
‘‘(B) The term ‘political opinion’ means an 
ideal or conviction in support of the furtherance 
of a discrete cause related to political control of 
a state or a unit thereof. 
‘‘(C) The term ‘persecution’ means the in-
fliction of a severe level of harm constituting an 
exigent threat by the government of a country 
or by persons or an organization that the gov-
ernment was unable or unwilling to control. 
Such term does not include— 
‘‘(i) generalized harm or violence that 
arises out of civil, criminal, or military 
strife in a country; 
‘‘(ii) all treatment that the United 
States regards as unfair, offensive, unjust, 
unlawful, or unconstitutional; 
‘‘(iii) intermittent harassment, includ-
ing brief detentions; 
‘‘(iv) threats with no actual effort to 
carry out the threats, except that particu-
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102 
larized threats of severe harm of an imme-
diate and menacing nature made by an 
identified entity may constitute persecu-
tion; or 
‘‘(v) non-severe economic harm or 
property damage.’’. 
SEC. 108. FIRM RESETTLEMENT. 
Section 208 of the Immigration and Nationality Act 
(8 U.S.C. 1158), as amended by this title, is further 
amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(g) FIRM RESETTLEMENT.—In determining wheth-
er an alien was firmly resettled in another country prior 
to arriving in the United States under subsection 
(b)(2)(A)(xiv), the following shall apply: 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An alien shall be consid-
ered to have firmly resettled in another country if, 
after the events giving rise to the alien’s asylum 
claim— 
‘‘(A) the alien resided in a country through 
which the alien transited prior to arriving in or 
entering the United States and— 
‘‘(i) received or was eligible for any 
permanent legal immigration status in that 
country; 
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103 
‘‘(ii) resided in such a country with 
any non-permanent but indefinitely renew-
able legal immigration status (including 
asylee, refugee, or similar status, but ex-
cluding status of a tourist); or 
‘‘(iii) resided in such a country and 
could have applied for and obtained an im-
migration status described in clause (ii); 
‘‘(B) the alien physically resided volun-
tarily, and without continuing to suffer persecu-
tion or torture, in any one country for one year 
or more after departing his country of nation-
ality or last habitual residence and prior to ar-
rival in or entry into the United States, except 
for any time spent in Mexico by an alien who 
is not a native or citizen of Mexico solely as a 
direct result of being returned to Mexico pursu-
ant to section 235(b)(3) or of being subject to 
metering; or 
‘‘(C) the alien is a citizen of a country 
other than the country in which the alien al-
leges a fear of persecution, or was a citizen of 
such a country in the case of an alien who re-
nounces such citizenship, and the alien was 
present in that country after departing his 
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