Opinion ID: 4348947
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Eligibility to Apply for Asylum

Text: An alien asserting refugee status in the United States must apply for asylum under the requirements of 8 U.S.C. § 1158. The Refugee Act of 1980 directed the Attorney General to accept asylum applications from any alien “physically present in the United States or at a land border or port of entry, irrespective of such alien’s status.” Id. § 1158(a) (1980). Congress amended this section in IIRIRA, 110 Stat. 3009-579, and it currently provides that “[a]ny alien who is physically present in the United States or who arrives in the United States (whether or not at a designated port of arrival and including an alien who is brought to the United 2 The INA also permits the President to designate persons within the country of their nationality as refugees; excludes from refugee status persons who have participated in the persecution of others; and grants refugee status to persons who have been, or have a well-founded fear of being, subjected to an involuntary abortion or sterilization. 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(42). 11 States after having been interdicted in international or United States waters), irrespective of such alien’s status, may apply for asylum.” Id. § 1158(a)(1) (2018). Section 1158(a) makes three classes of aliens categorically ineligible to apply for asylum: those who may be removed to a “safe third country” in which their “life or freedom would not be threatened” and where they would have access to equivalent asylum proceedings; those who fail to file an application within one year of arriving in the United States; and those who have previously applied for asylum and been denied. Id. § 1158(a)(2)(A)–(C). There are two “exceptions to the exceptions”: the one-year and previous-denial exclusions may be waived if an alien demonstrates “changed circumstances” or “extraordinary circumstances,” id. § 1158(a)(2)(D); and the “safe third country” and one-year exclusions do not apply to unaccompanied children, id. § 1158(a)(2)(E). The INA further directs the Attorney General to “establish a procedure for the consideration of asylum applications filed under subsection (a).” Id. § 1158(d)(1). The Attorney General’s discretion in establishing such procedures is limited by the specifications of § 1158(b) and (d). In the absence of exceptional circumstances, an applicant is entitled to an initial interview or hearing within 45 days of filing the application and to a final administrative adjudication of the application within 180 days. Id. § 1158(d)(5)(A)(ii)–(iii). The Attorney General 12 “may provide by regulation for any other conditions or limitations on the consideration of an application for asylum not inconsistent with this chapter.” Id. § 1158(d)(5)(B).