Conditional Grants of Asylum Based on Coercive Population Control Policies
The law limits the number of individuals who may be granted asylum or refugee status on the basis of resistance to a coercive population control (CPC) program to 1,000 per fiscal year (FY). The Immigration Judges and the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) of the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) in the Department of Justice (DOJ), and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), have the authority to grant asylum. Therefore, each year, DOJ and DHS must coordinate closely with each other to ensure that all 1,000 approvals are issued and that the 1,000 cap is not exceeded. This fact sheet provides basic information about that process.
Definition of CPC Asylum
Section 601 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 expanded the definition of “refugee” to include individuals who have been persecuted or have a well-founded fear of persecution on account of resistance to a CPC program. The expanded definition, found in section 101 (a)(42)(B) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), provides that:
Conditional Grants of Asylum
Because the number of individuals who may be approved for asylum based on CPC is limited, EOIR and USCIS grant asylum on a conditional basis until a determination is made that a final approval, with eligibility for full asylum benefits, can be made under the 1,000 cap. Each year since FY 1998, the number of individuals receiving asylum on a conditional basis has exceeded the 1,000 annual limit. Consequently, DHS maintains a waiting list, arranged in chronological order, of all conditional asylum grants. During FY 2004, the list numbered more than 9,000 asylum applicants, making the waiting period approximately 9 years for new conditional grantees.The date of the conditional grant determines a person’s place on the waiting list, subject to a determination that all required identity, background, and security checks are completed, cleared, and up-to-date. It is important to note that, if an Immigration Judge issues a conditional grant of asylum and that grant is appealed to the BIA, the Immigration Judge’s decision is not final until the BIA decides the case. A conditional grant of asylum that is on appeal is not included in the waiting list for a final approval authorization number until the BIA affirms the Immigration Judge’s conditional grant of asylum. The date of the conditional grant in such a case is the date that the BIA affirmed the Immigration Judge’s decision, not the date of the original Immigration Judge order.
A conditional grant of asylum remains in effect until the USCIS or EOIR either converts the case to a final asylum grant or determines that the individual is no longer eligible for asylum and reopens the case.
Although only the principal asylum applicant is counted towards the 1,000 cap, the benefits and responsibilities of conditional grant status extend to the principal’s spouse and children under age 21 at the time the asylum application was filed, who are present in the United States, and who were properly included in the individual’s asylum application.
Individuals with conditional grants of asylum may obtain information about their benefits and responsibilities on the USCIS Web site at http://uscis.gov/graphics/services/asylum/cpc.htm.
Issuance of Final Approval Notices Granting Eligibility for Full Asylum Benefits
Each fiscal year, 1,000 conditional grants are converted to full asylum approvals, and the grantees are notified by mail. Final approval for full asylum benefits cannot be issued on an individual case until the required identity, background, and security checks have been completed for the principal applicant and all included dependent family members in the United States.
Annually, EOIR publishes on its Web site at http://www.usdoj.gov/eoir/press/press.htm a news release that provides an estimated cut-off conditional grant date. The news release indicates that all individuals with conditional grants prior to that date – whose identity, background, and security checks were current and complete and who were still eligible for a grant of asylum – should have received a final asylum approval notice indicating eligibility for full asylum benefits. It also provides instructions for individuals who were granted conditional asylum on or before that date but have not yet received their notices of final asylum approval.
Required Actions for Individuals with Conditional Grants of Asylum
Persons who remain in conditional asylum status must promptly:
Identity, Background, and Security Check Procedures
The law requires that all asylum applicants undergo certain identity,
background, and security checks before being issued a final asylum approval.
This requirement also applies to their dependents (spouse and/or children),
who are over the age of 14. Persons with a conditional grant of asylum
should be aware that Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) fingerprint
check results – and the results of other identity, background, and security
checks – expire and must be refreshed periodically. This means that,
even if conditional grantees have already been fingerprinted, they may
have to present themselves again for fingerprinting and biometrics or
follow-up appointments related to fingerprinting and biometrics before
being issued a final approval with full asylum benefits. To prevent delays
in processing, or termination of conditional grant status, conditional
grantees and their dependents must comply with all fingerprint and biometrics
notices and requests for follow-up regarding background check results.
USCIS monitors the clearance and expiration of fingerprint results. Conditional grantees should not take any independent actions to be fingerprinted. They should wait until they receive a notice.
Board of Immigration AppealsThey also must submit a completed Form AR-11, “Alien’s Change of Address Card,” within 10 days of any change of address to the Department of Homeland Security at the address indicated in the form instructions.
Clerk’s Office
Office Box 8530
Falls Church, VA 22041
Phone: 703‑605‑1007
Note: Failure to notify the Government of a change of address, as specified above, may result in ineligibility for a final grant of asylum.
Attorneys or representatives for persons who have conditional grants of asylum must provide any changes of attorney or representative promptly – using the appropriate forms, available as follows:
Board of Immigration Appeals
Clerk’s Office
Office Box 8530
Falls Church, VA 22041
Phone: 703‑605‑1007
Status Inquiries
Before requesting the status of a CPC case, individuals should read the most recent EOIR news release regarding the issuance of full asylum benefits based on CPC (http://www.usdoj.gov/eoir/press/press.htm). To determine their eligibility for final approval, they should check the conditional grant cut-off date, the approximate waiting period, and the other requirements to obtain full asylum benefits. If, after consulting the news release, a status inquiry is desired, individuals may check on the status of their final asylum approval by sending a letter to the appropriate address specified below. The letter should include:
If an Immigration Judge issued the conditional grant of asylum, status inquiries must be sent to:
If the Board of Immigration Appeals issued the conditional grant of asylum, status inquiries must be sent to:
If a USCIS Asylum Officer issued the conditional grant of asylum, status inquiries must be sent to the USCIS Asylum Office that has jurisdiction over the conditional grantee’s residence. The Web site at http://uscis.gov/graphics/fieldoffices/alphaa.htm provides the jurisdiction and addresses of the eight USCIS Asylum Offices.
Children Who Turn 21 Years of Age Before Approval for Full Asylum Benefits
On August 6, 2002, the President signed into law the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA), Public Law 107-208, 116 Stat. 927, which provides that a dependent child – who was under 21 years of age at the time the parent filed an application for asylum – will continue to be treated as a child even if he or she turns 21 years of age while the application is pending. This applies to all applications that were pending on or after August 6, 2002, the effective date of the CSPA. Conditional grants of asylum are considered pending until an approval notice for full asylum benefits is issued. The application of this law affects certain CPC cases, as follows:
A child who was under 21 years of age at the time the parent's asylum application was filed and was included on a parent's asylum application, and is in the United States at the time of the asylum approval:
A child who was under 21 years of age at the time the parent's asylum application was filed but was not included on a parent’s asylum application, or not in the United States:
For More Information
Additional information about CPC and asylum is available on the USCIS Web site at http://uscis.gov/graphics/services/asylum/cpc.htm. News releases and a fact sheet regarding the annual issuance of full asylum benefits based on CPC are available on EOIR’s Web site at http://www.usdoj.gov/eoir/press/press.htm.
Individuals who have received final asylum approval notices may obtain information about their benefits and responsibilities on the USCIS Web site at http://uscis.gov/graphics/services/asylum/types.htm#grant.
– EOIR –
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