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Tourist Visa to Asylum: Change of Status for Protection in the U.S.

The United States has long been a destination for individuals seeking refuge from persecution or fear of harm in their home countries. One of the pathways available for those already present in the U.S. on a nonimmigrant visa, such as a tourist visa, is to apply for a status change to Asylum. In this blog, we will provide an overview of the process of changing your status from a tourist visa to Asylum in the United States.

An Asylum is a form of protection granted to individuals who demonstrate a well-founded fear of persecution in their home country based on race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.

To be eligible for a change of status from a tourist visa to Asylum, you must meet the following requirements:

Filing Within One Year: You must file your Asylum application within one year of your arrival in the United States unless you can establish exceptional circumstances that prevent you from filing on time.
Well-Founded Fear: You must demonstrate a well-founded fear of persecution based on one of the five protected grounds: race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.
Nonimmigrant Status: You must maintain a valid nonimmigrant status in the U.S. at the time of your Asylum application. This includes being in lawful status on a tourist visa or any other nonimmigrant visa.

The Process of Changing Status from Tourist Visa to Asylum:

Gather Documentation: Compile all the necessary documentation to support your Asylum claim. This may include personal statements, affidavits, country condition reports, news articles, medical records, or other evidence substantiating your fear of persecution. (Find out more : 10 Things You Should Know About Evidence for Asylum Case )
Complete Form I-589: Fill out Form I-589, Application for Asylum and for Withholding of Removal , carefully and accurately. Provide a detailed account of your circumstances and the reasons why you are seeking Asylum.
File Your Application: Submit your completed Form I-589 and supporting documents to the appropriate USCIS office. Be sure to keep copies of all documents for your records.
Biometrics Appointment: After receiving your application, USCIS will schedule a biometrics appointment for you. Your fingerprints, photograph, and signature will be taken at this appointment.
Attend a Credible Fear Interview: USCIS will schedule an interview to evaluate your Asylum claim. Being well-prepared for this interview and thoroughly understanding the facts and evidence supporting your case is crucial. (Explore more: Credible Fear Screening Individuals Seeking Asylum | How to Prepare for Asylum Interview ).
Decision: Following the interview, USCIS will make a decision on your Asylum application. If your application is approved, you will be granted Asylum and can apply for a Green Card one year after your Asylum approval. (Recommended reading : Timelines for Asylum Decisions: What You Need to Know )
Appeal or Removal Proceedings: If your application is denied, you can appeal the decision within a specific timeframe. Alternatively, you may be referred to immigration court for removal proceedings.

Seeking legal assistance from an experienced immigration attorney is crucial to maximizing your chances of success in changing your status from a tourist visa to Asylum. At I.S. Law Firm, we have a proven track record of helping thousands of clients obtain Asylum. Our knowledgeable team of attorneys will provide personalized guidance and representation tailored to your unique circumstances. If you or someone you know is considering applying for Asylum, we invite you to schedule a consultation by the link: Schedule a Consultation – I.S. Law Firm, PLLC .

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Questions and Answers: Affirmative Asylum Eligibility and Applications

ALERT: Court Order on Circumvention of Lawful Pathways Final Rule

On Aug. 3, 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued a stay of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California’s order in East Bay Sanctuary Covenant v. Biden , 18-cv-06810 (N.D. Cal.), vacating the Circumvention of Lawful Pathways (CLP) rule . At this time and while the stay remains in place, USCIS will continue to apply the CLP rule.

Under the rule, certain individuals who enter the United States through its southwest land border or adjacent coastal borders are presumed to be ineligible for asylum, unless they can demonstrate an exception to the rule or rebut the presumption. Individuals are encouraged to use lawful, safe, and orderly pathways to come to the United States.

ALERT: Interpreters at Affirmative Asylum Interviews

Starting Sept. 13, 2023, affirmative asylum applicants must bring an interpreter to their asylum interview if they are not fluent in English or wish to have their interview conducted in a language other than English. Your interpreter must be at least 18 years old and fluent in English and a language you speak fluently.

Sign language interpreters are the only exception to this requirement. USCIS continues to provide sign language interpreters as a disability accommodation. Follow the instructions on your interview notice to request this disability accommodation.

If you need an interpreter and do not bring one, or if your interpreter is not fluent in English and a language you speak, and you do not establish good cause, we may consider this a failure to appear for your interview and we may dismiss your asylum application or refer your asylum application to an immigration judge. We will determine good cause on a case-by-case basis.

On Sept. 23, 2020, USCIS published a temporary final rule (TFR) requiring affirmative asylum applicants to use our contracted telephonic interpreters for their asylum interviews, instead of bringing an interpreter to the interview. We published this TFR to reduce the spread of COVID-19 during asylum interviews with USCIS asylum officers while the COVID-19 national emergency and public health emergency were in effect. We published four subsequent TFRs extending the requirement, with the current extension effective through Sept. 12, 2023. This fourth extension provided additional time after the national and public health emergencies expired to allow USCIS to prepare to return to the prior regulatory requirement. With the expiration of the TFR, we revert to a long-standing regulatory requirement for an affirmative asylum applicant to provide an interpreter under 8 CFR 208.9(g).

If you were placed in expedited removal proceedings, you received a positive credible fear determination, and USCIS retained your asylum application for further consideration in an Asylum Merits Interview, please visit our Asylum Merits Interview with USCIS: Processing After a Positive Credible Fear Determination page.

You may apply for asylum if you are at a port of entry or in the United States. You may apply for asylum regardless of your immigration status and within 1 year of your arrival to the United States.

You will not be eligible to apply for asylum if you:

Filed your application after being in the United States for more than 1 year. However, you may qualify for an exception if you show

Changed circumstances materially affecting your asylum eligibility for asylum or
Extraordinary circumstances relating to your delay in filing.

You must still file your application within a reasonable time under the circumstances to be eligible for an exception.

Changed circumstances may include but are not limited to:

Changes in conditions in your country of nationality or, if you are stateless, your country of last habitual residence
Changes in your circumstances that materially affect your eligibility for asylum, including changes in applicable U.S. law and activities you become involved in outside the country of feared persecution that place you at risk
If you were previously included as a dependent in someone else’s pending asylum application, the loss of the spousal or parent-child relationship to the principal applicant through marriage, divorce, death, or attainment of age 21

Extraordinary circumstances may include but are not limited to:

Serious illness or mental or physical disability, including any effects of persecution or violent harm suffered in the past, during the 1-year period after your arrival in the U.S.
Legal disability, such as your status as an unaccompanied child or you suffered from a mental impairment, during the 1-year period after your arrival in the U.S.

Ineffective assistance of counsel, if:

You file an affidavit explaining in detail the agreement that you had with your lawyer about the actions to be taken by your lawyer on your behalf and what your lawyer told you he or she would do for you
You have informed the lawyer whom you are criticizing of the accusations against him or her and the lawyer has been given an opportunity to respond
You indicate whether you have filed a complaint with appropriate disciplinary authorities about any violation of your lawyer’s ethical or legal responsibilities, and if not, why not
You had Temporary Protected Status (TPS), lawful immigrant or nonimmigrant status, or you were given parole, until a reasonable period before you filed your asylum application
You filed an asylum application before the expiration of the 1-year deadline, but USCIS rejected your application as not properly filed, returned the application to you for corrections, and you re-filed your application within a reasonable time after the return
The death or serious illness or incapacity of your legal representative or a member of your immediate family

For a list of circumstances that may be considered changed or extraordinary circumstances, see 8 CFR 208.4 and the Asylum Bars page.

You will be barred from applying for asylum if you previously applied for asylum and were denied by the Immigration Judge or Board of Immigration Appeals, unless you demonstrate that there are changed circumstances which affect your eligibility for asylum.

You will also be barred if you could be removed to a safe third country to a two-party or multi-party agreement. Currently, the United States has a safe third country agreement with Canada that does not apply to you if you are applying for asylum affirmatively with USCIS. The Agreement only applies in Credible Fear Screenings. For more information about the safe third country agreement with Canada, see the Questions & Answers: Credible Fear Screenings page. For more information about bars to applying, see the Asylum Bars page.

In the affirmative asylum or defensive asylum processes, to apply for asylum, you must complete a Form I-589, Application for Asylum and for Withholding of Removal . For more information about applying for asylum in the affirmative or defensive asylum processes, see the Obtaining Asylum in the United States and the Affirmative Asylum Process pages.

If you were placed in expedited removal proceedings, you received a positive credible fear determination, and USCIS retained your case for further consideration of your eligibility for asylum in an Asylum Merits Interview, please visit our Asylum Merits Interview with USCIS: Processing After a Positive Credible Fear Determination page for information on the procedures that apply to your case. If this applies to you, you do not need to file a Form I-589. See the Form I-589 page for more information.

Yes. You may apply for asylum with USCIS regardless of your immigration status if:

You are not currently in removal proceedings
You file an asylum application within 1 year of arriving to the United States or demonstrate that you are within an exception to that rule.

Yes, but you may be barred from being granted asylum depending on the crime. You must disclose any criminal history on your Form I-589, Application for Asylum and for Withholding of Removal, and at your asylum interview. If you do not disclose such information, your asylum claim will be referred to the immigration court and may result in fines or imprisonment for committing perjury. For more information on bars to receiving asylum, see the Asylum Bars page.

You must list your spouse and children on your Form I-589, Application for Asylum and for Withholding of Removal, regardless of whether they are:

Alive, missing or dead
Born in other countries or in the United States
Under 21 years old or adults
Married or unmarried
Living with you in the United States or elsewhere
Stepsons or stepdaughters or legally adopted;
Born when you were not married
Included in your asylum application or filing a separate application

You may include your spouse as a dependent on your asylum application. You may also include your children if they are:

Under the age of 21
In the United States

You should bring your family members to your asylum interview. If you are granted asylum status, family members included on your application will also be granted asylum status (unless they are barred from asylum) and will be allowed to remain in the United States. If you are referred to the Immigration Court, your family members will also be referred to court for removal proceedings if they are not in legal status.

If you are granted asylum and your spouse and any unmarried children under 21 years old are outside the United States, you may file a Form I-730, Refugee and Asylee Relative Petition , for them to obtain derivative asylum status. For more information about benefits for your dependents, see the Family of Refugees & Asylees page.

We will send you a notice to go to a USCIS Application Support Center (ASC) to have your fingerprints taken after we receive your asylum application. You are exempt from the fingerprinting fee and do not need to submit a fingerprint card. Your spouse and children will also need to be fingerprinted if they are between 12 years and 9 months of age and 79 years of age. For ASC locations, see the ASC Locator page.

Yes. Every individual who applies for asylum will be subject to a series of background and security checks. If you are not eligible for a final grant of asylum, your application may be referred to Immigration Court for removal proceedings. Background and security checks consist of:

FBI check on your biographical information and fingerprints
Check of your biographical information against law enforcement databases.

Your child will continue to be eligible as a dependent on your asylum application if they turned 21 after you filed your application and while it remains pending. For more information about derivative asylum, see the Family of Refugees & Asylees page.

There is no fee to apply for asylum.

The asylum officer will determine if you are eligible for asylum by evaluating whether you meet the definition of a refugee. See section 101(a)(42) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). We will make the determination of whether you meet the definition of a refugee based on information you provide on your application and during an interview with an asylum officer.

The asylum officer will also consider whether any bars to asylum apply. You will be barred from being granted asylum if you:

Ordered, incited, assisted, or participated in the persecution of any person on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion
Were convicted of a serious crime (including aggravated felonies)
Committed a serious nonpolitical crime outside the United States
Pose a danger to the security of the United States
Were firmly resettled in another country prior to arriving in the United States

For more information on bars to asylum, see the Bars to Applying and Receiving Asylum page.

A decision should be made on your asylum application within 180 days after the date you filed your application unless there are exceptional circumstances. For more information about the step-by-step asylum process, see the Affirmative Asylum Process page.

The legal provisions governing the Asylum Program can be found in Section 208 of the INA. Rules concerning eligibility requirements and procedures can be found at 8 CFR 208 . Asylum officers also rely on case law to adjudicate asylum claims. Administrative decisions made by the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) can be found on the BIA Appeals page.

You have a right to bring a lawyer or representative to your asylum interview and to immigration proceedings before an immigration court. See the Finding Legal Advice page.

Representatives of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) may also be able to assist in identifying persons to help you complete your Form I-589. The current address of the UNHCR is:

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees 1775 K Street, NW, Suite 300 Washington, DC 20006 Telephone: (202) 296-5191

For more information about UNHCR, see the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees website.

You must bring an interpreter if you do not speak English fluently. The interpreter must be fluent in both English and a language you speak and must be at least 18 years old. USCIS does not provide any interpreters during the asylum interview. The following people cannot serve as your interpreter:

Your attorney or representative of record
A witness testifying on your behalf at the interview
A representative or employee of your country

If you have a document that is not in English, you are required to provide a certified translation of the document in English.

You can find out the status of a pending asylum application by sending a written inquiry or by visiting the asylum office with jurisdiction over your case. Please provide in writing the following information when you write to the asylum office:

Your A-Number (the 8- or 9-digit number following the letter "A")
Your legal name and, if different, the name as it appears on the application
Your date of birth
Date and location of your asylum interview, if applicable

You may also inquire at the asylum office where your case is pending. See the Asylum Office Locator page.

You can check also your Case Status Online . All you need is the receipt number that we mailed you after you filed your application.

If you applied for asylum and have not yet received a decision, you should not leave the United States without first obtaining advance parole. Advance parole allows certain individuals to return to the United States without a visa after traveling abroad. If you leave the United States without first obtaining advance parole, we will presume you abandoned your asylum application. Advance parole does not guarantee that you will be allowed to reenter the United States.

To obtain advance parole, you must file Form I-131, Application for Travel Document. For more information about travel documents, see the Fact Sheet: Traveling Outside the United States as an Asylum Applicant, an Asylee, or Lawful Permanent Resident Who Obtained Such Status Based on Asylum Status (PDF, 45.16 KB) .

If you plan to depart the United States after being granted asylum, you must obtain permission to return to the United States before departure by obtaining a refugee travel document. Your spouse and children who were granted asylum must also obtain refugee travel documents before leaving as well.

A refugee travel document may be used for temporary travel abroad and is required for readmission to the United States as an asylee. If you do not obtain a refugee travel document in advance of departure, you may be unable to reenter the United States, or you may be placed in removal proceedings before an immigration judge.

To obtain a refugee travel document file Form I-131, Application for Travel Document .

Yes, asylum-related information may not be shared with third parties without the asylum applicant’s written consent or the Secretary of Homeland Security’s specific authorization.

Yes. For more information on children applying for asylum, see the Asylum Procedures for Minor Children page.

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How to seek asylum in the U.S.

To seek asylum, you must already be in the U.S. and believe you will be in danger of persecution if you return to your country. Learn how to seek asylum and sponsor someone else.

Learn if you are eligible and how to apply for asylum

To be eligible for asylum, you must be:

Inside the United States
Nationality
Social group
Political opinion

In most cases, a decision will be made on your asylum application within 180 days after you file. Learn more about the process of seeking asylum in the U.S. , including:

Filing asylum application Form I-589 within 1 year of arriving in the U.S.
Working in the U.S.
Helping family members seek asylum
Filing for permanent residence (Green Card)

How to sponsor an asylum seeker

If you came to the U.S. in the last 2 years as an asylee, you may be able to sponsor your spouse and qualifying children to join you.

Find out how to sponsor your family member for asylum. Learn:

How to qualify as a sponsor
Who is eligible to be sponsored to come to the U.S.
How to download and fill out Form I-730 to request asylum for your family member

LAST UPDATED: December 12, 2023

Have a question?

Ask a real person any government-related question for free. They will get you the answer or let you know where to find it.

Deciding whether to apply for asylum in the United States

Last updated on January 7, 2022

Applying for asylum is a personal choice. It may also be a complicated decision depending on your situation. In addition, immigration and asylum laws are complex and frequently change. As a result, in many cases, it will be best to speak with an attorney about this decision. If you would like legal assistance, visit our find help page .

Here are answers to some questions you may have about the decision to apply for asylum. This information is intended for people who are already in the United States, and it is not a substitute for legal advice about your particular case.

What is asylum?
Who can apply for asylum?
What are the possible benefits of applying for asylum?
What are the possible risks of applying for asylum?
What is the process for applying for asylum?
How do I know if I have a case in immigration court?
Can I apply for asylum without an attorney?
Aside from asylum, what are other forms of protection from deportation?

Q: What is asylum?

Asylum is a form of immigration status for people who have come to the United States and are afraid to return to their country of origin. The United States government cannot deport people who have asylum (also known as “asylees”).

To win asylum, you must show all of the following:

that you have been harmed or have good reason to believe that you will be harmed in your country of origin;
that this harm is because of a specific characteristic like your race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or something else about you that you cannot change or should not have to change;
that the government of your country of origin will cause this harm, or that the government will be unwilling or unable to protect you from this harm; and
that you cannot relocate to another part of your country and be safe.

You can watch this video (available in multiple languages) to better understand the requirements for asylum in the United States.

Q: Who can apply for asylum?

In most cases, you can only apply for asylum within one year of when you entered the United States. However, you may be able to apply after a year in some circumstances. The government also prohibits people from getting asylum if they have certain kinds of criminal convictions, or if they have applied for asylum in the United States before and been denied.

People who have received a deportation order in the past are also often not eligible for asylum. However, these people can still apply for similar forms of protection under U.S. immigration law, such as withholding of removal and protection under the Convention Against Torture (“CAT”).

For more information about who is eligible for asylum, please see page 4 of this guide (under the section “C. Who is Eligible for Asylum?”).

Q: What are the possible benefits of applying for asylum?

The main benefit of applying for asylum in the United States is that you could eventually win asylum!

If you win asylum:

You will be protected from deportation, and you will be able to live and work anywhere in the United States for as long as you want.
You will be able to request asylum for your spouse and your unmarried children under the age of 21—even if they are outside of the United States or living without papers.
You will be able to get permission from the government to travel outside of the United States and return to the United States.
After you have spent one year in the United States as an asylee, you can choose to apply to become a Lawful Permanent Resident (green card holder). A few years after becoming a Lawful Permanent Resident, you can choose to apply to become a U.S. citizen.

If you already have a case in immigration court, applying for asylum will protect against your deportation while your application is pending. This is because if you apply for asylum with the immigration court, you will not be deported until an immigration judge has decided whether to grant you asylum (and, if you appeal, you will not be deported until the Board of Immigration Appeals has decided on your appeal). If you are not sure whether you have a case in immigration court, you can read more below .

Finally, even before the government makes a decision on your asylum application, you can apply for a work permit while your asylum application is pending. ASAP members are generally eligible to apply for work permits 150 days after submitting their application for asylum and without having to pay a fee. Non-ASAP members are generally eligible to apply for work permits 365 days after submitting their application for asylum. However, there are also exceptions. For more information about work permits for ASAP members, click here .

Q: What are the possible risks of applying for asylum?

If the United States government does not already know that you are in the country, applying for asylum will alert immigration authorities that you are here. You will also need to provide your address to the government when you apply for asylum. If you move, you will need to update your address with the government. In addition, if an asylum officer does not grant you asylum and you do not have other immigration status, the government will start a case against you in immigration court. In immigration court, an immigration judge could eventually order you to be deported.

If you already have a case in immigration court, then the United States government already knows you are in the country, so these risks may not affect you. If you are not sure whether you have a case in immigration court, you can read more below .

In addition, it is important to be honest in your asylum application. If the government thinks you lied about important facts about your asylum claim, they may say that your asylum application was “frivolous.” If that happens, the government may bar you from getting other types of immigration status, even if they aren’t related to asylum.

Q: What is the process for applying for asylum?

There are different processes for applying for asylum, depending on the type of case you have, which include:

If you have a case in immigration court (which are also called “deportation proceedings” or “removal proceedings”).
If you do not have a case in immigration court.
If you are under 18 years old and were designated as an “unaccompanied minor” by the U.S. government—whether or not you have a case in immigration court.

If you are not sure whether you have a case in immigration court, you can read more below .

Below are simple summaries of each type of asylum process. For more detailed information on each process, you can read Sections I and II of this guide . In addition, please note that applying for asylum through any of these processes can take years, because the immigration courts and asylum offices often don’t have the resources to process asylum applications quickly.

If you have a case in immigration court

If you have a case in immigration court, you can apply for asylum with the immigration court. This process is called “ defensive asylum ” because you are applying for asylum as a defense against your deportation, and an immigration judge will decide your application.

After you file your asylum application, you will have a hearing called an “individual hearing” or a “merits hearing” in immigration court. Before the individual hearing, you will have a chance to submit evidence.

At the individual hearing, in most cases, you will have to testify. When you testify, you will need to give details about what happened to you in your country of origin and explain why you are afraid to return there. The government’s attorney will be allowed to ask you questions. In most cases, the government’s attorney will argue to the immigration judge that you should not receive asylum.

After the individual hearing, the immigration judge will either grant you asylum or deny you asylum and order you deported. If the immigration judge denies you asylum and orders you deported, you can appeal to the Board of Immigration Appeals within 30 days. (You cannot be deported while you appeal to the Board of Immigration Appeals, but if you lose your appeal, you can be deported.)

You can click here to watch a video about submitting your asylum application to the immigration court, click here to watch a video about your individual hearing, and click here to watch a video about appealing your asylum case if the immigration judge denies you asylum.

If you do not have a case in immigration court

If you do not have a case in immigration court, you can apply for asylum with an asylum office, which is part of United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”). This process is called “ affirmative asylum ,” and an asylum officer will decide your application.

After you file your asylum application and submit evidence in support of your case, you will have an interview with an asylum officer. During your interview, the asylum officer will review your asylum application with you and ask you questions about yourself, the situation in your country of origin, and why you are afraid to return.

After your interview, the asylum officer will either grant you asylum or not.

If the asylum officer does not grant you asylum, and you do not have other immigration status (like Temporary Protected Status or a valid visa), the asylum officer will send you to immigration court, where an immigration judge will decide your asylum application, as described above. After a hearing, the immigration judge will either grant you asylum or order you deported.
If the asylum officer does not grant you asylum, and you do have other immigration status, the asylum officer will not send you to immigration court. Instead, the asylum officer will give you a short time to provide additional evidence and then grant or deny you asylum. If the asylum officer denies you asylum, you will be required to leave the United States when your other immigration status expires.

For more information about applying for affirmative asylum, you can read Section I of this guide .

Unaccompanied minors

People who are under 18 years old and have been designated as ”unaccompanied minors” by the U.S. government can apply for “affirmative asylum” with USCIS, even if they have a case in immigration court. For more information, you can read this government website .

Q: How do I know if I have a case in immigration court?

If you are not sure if you have a case in immigration court, here are some ways to find out.

Review your immigration documents to see if you have received a Notice to Appear . If you have a Notice to Appear, this means that the government has started or is planning to start an immigration court case against you.
Check your immigration documents to see if any of them lists an A Number. An A Number is an 8 or 9 digit number assigned to you by immigration officials. Some people have A Numbers, but some people do not. If you do have an A Number, check the immigration court system by calling the court hotline at 1-800-898-7180 or by entering your A number on this website . If your information is in the system, that means that you have a case in immigration court.
If you were detained by immigration when you entered the United States at the Mexico-U.S. border, or if you were detained by immigration at some point after entering the United States, you most likely have a case in immigration court.
If you applied for asylum with USCIS, and USCIS did not grant you asylum, you may also have a case in immigration court.

If you are still unsure if you have a case in immigration court, you may want to find an attorney to understand your case status.

Q: Can I apply for asylum without an attorney?

Yes, you can fill out the application for asylum ( Form I-589 ) and apply for asylum on your own, although it is easier to do with the help of a trusted lawyer or non-profit organization. If you would like to find legal assistance, visit our find help page .

If you have not been able to connect with legal assistance and decide to fill out your application for asylum on your own, this guide may be able to help you. (Appendix F explains how to fill out the asylum application question by question.) This guide may also be able to help you, though it is specific to “defensive asylum” applications made by people who have cases in immigration court. Finally, this guide also includes instructions on how to fill out the asylum application question by question.

You must fill out the asylum application in English and include English translations of any evidence.

Q: Aside from asylum, what are other forms of protection from deportation?

There are many forms of protection from deportation in the United States aside from asylum. Each form of protection has different requirements, benefits, and downsides. In addition, the President of the United States or Congress may create new forms of protection from time to time. You can follow ASAP’s legal updates and announcements for the latest news. You can also click here to use Immi, a tool created by other nonprofit organizations, to find out if you might be eligible for other forms of protection.

Here are some protections that may be relevant for people who are already in the United States are thinking about asylum:

Withholding of Removal and Protection Under the Convention Against Torture (“CAT”): Some people who have cases in immigration court who are not eligible for asylum can receive either withholding of removal or protection under CAT instead. Like asylum, these are forms of protection against deportation for people who are afraid to return to their countries of origin. However, these are harder to win than asylum and have fewer benefits. The application for withholding of removal and protection under CAT is the same as the application for asylum. For more information about withholding of removal and protection under CAT, please read this guide and Section III of this guide .
Temporary Protected Status (“TPS”): TPS is a temporary immigration status provided to individuals from specific countries that are experiencing problems such as war or natural disasters. If you receive TPS, you cannot be deported from the United States while TPS is valid, can apply for a work permit, and can apply for permission to travel outside of the United States and then return. For more information about TPS, please read this page .
Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (“SIJS”): SIJS is given to children under the age of 21 who have been abused, abandoned, or neglected by one or both parents. This determination is made by the state court where you live, and some states limit it to children under the age of 18, so it is very important that you speak to an attorney before your 18th birthday to see if you qualify for this relief. Once the government approves your SIJS petition, you can apply to become a Lawful Permanent Resident (green card holder). You can click here to read a guide for attorneys about SIJS, and if you are under the age of 18, you can click here for more information about legal resources.
U-Visa: A U-Visa allows people to stay in the United States if they were the victim of a harmful crime in the United States and helped law enforcement officers investigate or prosecute that crime. If you receive a U-Visa, you can live and work in the United States legally for four years, you may be able to bring some of your family members to the United States, and you can apply to become a Lawful Permanent Resident (green card holder) after three years. For more information about applying for a U-Visa, please read this guide .
T-Visa: A T-Visa allows people to stay in the United States if they arrived in the United States (or came to the border) because they were a victim of human trafficking. If you receive a T-Visa, you can live and work in the United States legally for four years, you may be able to bring some of your family members to the United States, and you can apply to become a Lawful Permanent Resident (green card holder) after three years. For more information about applying for a T-Visa, please read this guide . You can also click here to read information for attorneys about T-Visas.
Violence Against Women Act (“VAWA”): VAWA enables you to “self-petition” to become a Lawful Permanent Resident (green card holder) if you have a U.S. citizen or Lawful Permanent Resident spouse, parent, or child who abused you. You can also “self-petition” if your spouse is a U.S. citizen or Lawful Permanent Resident who abused your child. In addition, if you have a case in immigration court, VAWA allows certain people to ask an immigration judge to “cancel” their deportation so they can stay in the United States. For more information about VAWA self-petitions, you can read this guide about gathering the documents for a petition or this guide for attorneys. For more information about cancelling your deportation under VAWA, please read this guide .
Ten-Year Cancellation of Removal: Some people who have lived in the United States for more than ten years can ask an immigration judge to cancel their deportation so they can stay in the United States, but only if they have a parent, spouse, or child who is a U.S. citizen or Lawful Permanent Resident (green card holder) and their deportation would cause this parent, spouse, or child “exceptional and extremely unusual hardship.” Unfortunately, this is a very high standard, and it is difficult to meet. For more information about ten-year cancellation of removal, please read this guide .
Family Petitions: U.S. citizens can petition for visas for their spouses, children, parents, or siblings who are abroad. Lawful Permanent Residents (green card holders) can also petition for visas for their spouses or unmarried children who are abroad. In addition, some close relatives of U.S. citizens or Lawful Permanent Residents may be eligible to “adjust status” to become Lawful Permanent Residents even if they are already in the United States. This can be a complicated process if you entered the U.S. without permission or if you have a removal order. For more information about family visa petitions, you can read this information from the United States government. For more information about adjustment of status, please read this guide .

For more information and resources from the Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project (ASAP) visit our website .

Note: This information is for individuals seeking asylum in the United States and is not a substitute for advice from an attorney.

For visitors, travel, student and other international travel medical insurance.

Home » Visas » USA Tourist Visa » Did You Overstay on Your U.S. Tourist Visa? Here Is What You Need to Know.

Did You Overstay on Your U.S. Tourist Visa? Here Is What You Need to Know.

As per a DHS report released in March 2020, around 676,422 foreigners overstayed their U.S. visas in 2019, which amounted to an overstay rate of 1.21%.

Overstaying occurs when a lawfully admitted nonimmigrant remains in the U.S. beyond their authorized period of admission. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) defines those who overstay in two ways:

1. Those who had no recorded departure (or, Suspected In-Country Overstays)

2. Those who had a departure recorded after the expiration of their authorized period of admission (or, Out-of-Country Overstays).

Overstayers usually hold nonimmigrant visas such as H-1B , and their dependents hold H4 visas. Some even come on business visas such as B1, or visitor visas , such as B2.

You’ve Overstayed Your U.S. Visa. What Happens Next?

While an overstay can lead to severe issues, we can guide you through the next steps.

To begin with, you need to be clear about the duration of your overstay. The date of your expected departure is the date mentioned on your Form I-94 Arrival/Departure Record, not the expiration date of your visa. The visa expiration date is the last date up to which you would have entered the U.S. using that document.

The rules are lenient for students, as they need a judge or an immigration official to declare them unlawfully present. Their I-94 likely says “D/S,” which means their overstay begins only once they stop studying or complying with their visa terms. The suspected in-country overstay rate for students was estimated to be 1.52% in 2019.

Let’s now look at some of the undesirable consequences of an overstay:

It can affect your application if you apply for a visa again. Any foreign national having overstayed their U.S. visa would likely not get permission to reenter unless they got a nonimmigrant visa in their own country.
You might encounter more intense questioning at the port of entry (POE) on your next trip. The POE officer might even deny you entry if unsatisfied. In case you applied for an extension on any previous trip, you need to keep all relevant documents ready.
3-year bar: This applies if you’ve overstayed for more than 180 continuous days, but less than one year, and you left before formal deportation.
10-year bar: This applies for overstays of more than 365 continuous days.
The time bars are applicable only if you left the U.S. before formal deportation. If your unlawful presence is for more than one year in total (can be noncontinuous), and you get deported, but still attempt an uninspected entry, you will be permanently barred. The only waiver, in this case, is available to VAWA self-petitioners. You can still request special permission to apply for a Green Card or U.S. visa after 10 years.
You can’t change your status to another nonimmigrant status or extend your stay in the U.S. once you’ve overstayed your authorized stay.

One way to avoid these time bars is to file for a change of visa status with the USCIS. This is helpful in some rare cases for those eligible for Green Cards. You’ll have to submit all the required documents before scheduling an interview. This option is not available to those who’ve illegally entered the U.S. All relevant details for filing the petition are on the official USCIS website.

Are There Any Exceptions?

There are certain cases in which the 3-10-year bar might be excused. Unlawful presence in the U.S. is not accrued for:

Children under 18 years of age
Victims of human trafficking, if they can show proof the trafficking is one of the central reasons for the overstay
Those who have an asylum application pending with the USCIS, or a pending change of status case
Beneficiaries of the Family Unity program
Deferred Action
Deferred Enforced Departure (DED)
Temporary Protected Status (TPS)
Withholding of Removal under the Convention Against Torture
Battered children or spouses who gained entry on a nonimmigrant visa, and can prove that the abuse caused the overstay

These exceptions might not apply to those under the permanent bar. It’s best to consult a lawyer in this case.

Extending Your Visitor’s Visa

To get an extension on your I-94 date, you need to file a request with USCIS on Form I-539 . Here are a few things you should know about this:

The application for adjustment of status or an extension of stay needs to be filed at least 45 days before the expiration of your authorized stay.
You can apply for an extension only if you have a legitimate reason to request it.
You need to have been lawfully admitted into the U.S. with a nonimmigrant visa.
You can’t get an extension if you’ve committed any crimes making you ineligible to hold a visa.
You need to have definite plans to exit the U.S. after the proposed extension period.
Your passport needs to be valid (and remain valid) during your entire stay.

There are certain categories of entrants who needn’t apply for a visa extension:

The fiancé of a U.S. citizen, or the dependent of the fiancé – K nonimmigrant visa
A crewmember – D nonimmigrant visa
Someone on the Visa Waiver Program
Someone in transit through the U.S. – C nonimmigrant visa
An informant (along with their family) on organized crime or terrorism – S nonimmigrant visa

What Documents Do You Need For A Visa Extension?

Your application stating the reason you are requesting the extension
A copy of your return tickets to prove your intention to only stay temporarily
The completed I-539 Form, which can also be filed online
Proof of financial arrangements during your extended stay
Copy of I-94 for each applicant
Instructions on the Visitor Visa (B2) extension checklist – M-752

The extension fee for a visitor visa (B1-B2) is $370. Your spouse and children will not be charged with an additional fee. You might have to pay a biometric fee of $85, depending on your visa type. This applies to minors as well.

You can get an extension of up to 240 days in the U.S. following the expiration of the date on I-94.

The I-601A Provisional Waiver of Inadmissibility

For those immigrating as relatives of U.S. permanent residents and citizens, lottery winners, as well as immigrant visa applicants in other categories, there is a provisional (or stateside) waiver available. Under this, you can apply for a waiver on the 3-10-year bars before exiting the U.S., instead of after.

Effective since 2013, it allows applicants to forgo their consular interview and avoid the risk of getting trapped outside the U.S.

Inadmissibility refers to a barrier to receiving a Green Card or visa. The I-601A provisional waiver deals only with one ground of inadmissibility – overstay of visa as per U.S. immigration law and subsequent accrual of unlawful presence. There are various other grounds of inadmissibility for Green Card applicants, such as fraud, health problems, and immigration violations. The waiver does not deal with these.

Extension of Visa-Waiver Program Stay

The Visa Waiver Program (VWP) allows foreign nationals to visit the U.S. for short, 90-day stays. It applies to countries whose citizens don’t typically overstay their visas. Extensions on your stay under the VWP aren’t usually allowed. There are, however, certain exceptions:

Medical emergencies, which allow an extension of up to 30 days
Changes in travel schedule beyond individual control, such as flights getting canceled due to a hurricane or pandemic

The surest way to avoid legal troubles is to plan your travel according to your original I-94 dates. While we have covered most of the information you need in case of overstaying, you should consult an experienced immigration attorney for further help.

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Migrants claiming asylum can be allowed into the U.S. Here’s how it works

The heart of the debate over the U.S.-Mexico border is illegal immigration.

Yet that decades-old issue is complicated by hundreds of thousands of asylum-seekers claiming, under a process allowed by U.S. law, that they fear returning to their home countries.

Stay informed on the latest news

Near the border this spring, NPR met a recent arrival who insisted that her entry was legal. She was at Casa Alitas, a cavernous shelter in Tucson, Ariz.

Yajaíra Peñaloza told us she arrived in the U.S. from Venezuela on Christmas Day last year.

“It was baby Jesus’ gift,” she said.

Neither she nor her travel companions had come with a visa, but Peñaloza had secured a court date in 2026 to request asylum. In the meantime, she said, she would try to find a job to support herself financially as soon as she received a federal work permit to do so.

“We are doing everything to be here legally, while we wait,” Peñaloza said.

What describes the legal status of people such as Peñaloza?

NPR asked Muzaffar Chishti with the Migration Policy Institute. Our conversation follows.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

Interview highlights

Steve Inskeep: This is someone that most Americans would think of as an “illegal immigrant” since she came here without a visa. She says, “I’m here legally. I’m following the legal process.” So let’s begin right there. Does someone in this situation have legal status?

Muzaffar Chishti: The quick answer is no. What she and most people who are arriving at the border are doing is that they are arriving without authorization to enter the United States. She’s certainly showing up at a port of entry, which makes it different than between ports of entry. But she has an appointment. At the appointment, she is basically telling a Customs and Border Protection official, “I have fear of returning to my country.” So she’s being placed in what we call removal proceedings and given a date with a notice to appear at her removal proceeding.

During that time, she doesn’t have any real status, but she can’t be removed because she is showing up for an appointment to contest her removability. At that hearing — when she will be asked, “Do you have a remedy against removal?” — she’ll say, “Yes, I’m seeking asylum,” and that’s when the asylum application kicks in.

Inskeep: Was the United States obliged to let her in at the port of entry when she showed up without a visa?

Chishti: Yes. Anyone on U.S. soil who expresses a fear of returning to their country on the basis of five protected classifications of U.N. protocol, we have the obligation to let them in to pursue their asylum applications.

[The five protected classes are race, religion, nationality, political opinion and membership in a particular social group.]

Inskeep: I understand that people from different countries may claim different kinds of status when they get to the United States. Does this person get anything special for being from Venezuela?

Chishti: Well, she would have had a much better status if she had applied from abroad. Four countries — which include Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela — President Biden last year gave them an unusually special treatment that nationals of those countries can fly in directly to the U.S. under a provision called parole.

Parole is a status. Someone who arrives on parole has lawful status, and they’re also authorized to work. She could have done that, [but] for that, you need a U.S. sponsor that will support you while you’re here. She didn’t do that, so she doesn’t fall in that category. Therefore, she has no choice but to apply for asylum.

Inskeep: Does she have an opportunity to work legally during the couple of years she’ll be waiting for a hearing in the United States?

Chishti: Under the law, once you put in an asylum application, within six months of that, you get the right to work.

Inskeep: Alejandro Mayorkas, the secretary of homeland security, was impeached by House Republicans earlier this year for allegedly overusing the power of parole — actively letting people into the United States. What is the power of parole?

Chishti: The power of parole is as old as at least World War II, when we let in most refugees fleeing from Europe to enter the United States — mostly Jewish and some Pentecostals. And [the] idea is that, in the absence of any other provision of the law which will allow someone to enter — like you don’t have a student visa, you don’t have an employment visa, you don’t have a family visa — but the administration thinks it’s in the U.S. interest to let that person in, parole authority is one important authority given to the administration. It’s used for humanitarian purposes or for exigent circumstances.

It’s true that this administration has used the parole authority more extensively than any administration, and that is under challenge. And we’ll see how the courts rule on that.

Inskeep: Has it become very simple to get years in the United States simply by showing up in any fashion and saying, “I want asylum?”

Chishti: Well, that’s true. That’s sort of why many people think that the border crisis is actually an asylum crisis. That just invoking the word “asylum” then lets you enter the U.S. Then you are sent for a hearing, which may [not take place for] years. And then at the end of that hearing, even if you’re not granted asylum, the chances of being removed are very low. All of those factors have become pull factors. So therefore, getting the asylum processing and adjudication under control, which means efficient and timely decisions, is critical to send a message that just because you want to invoke the word “asylum” doesn’t mean you will stay in the U.S. for years on end.

Inskeep: You’re saying there is a legal process. It can be followed. It plausibly even could work. But the number of people arriving has overwhelmed it.

Chishti: That’s right. The only thing I would add is we have rules, regulations, resources and staffing for a border challenge of the 2008 era.

That was an era when the border challenge was single Mexican males trying to sneak their way into the United States. No element of the definition is true today. More people are non-Mexicans, more people are family units, and almost all are not sneaking in but asking for asylum. That fundamentally changes the nature of the challenge.

But we don’t have the resources or the laws or regulations to meet that. And I think one of the ways to reduce the backlog is not to send new cases to immigration judges. It’s an overwhelmed system. To send more cases to an already backlogged system is the definition of insanity. We believe that all new asylum cases should be sent to asylum officers who are civil servants trained in country conditions, and they can finish a case in months as against years. Only then can we make a real dent in the processing of asylum cases.

Inskeep: Muzaffar Chishti, thank you so much.

Chishti: Thanks so much for talking to me.

U.K. Parliament approves a plan to deport asylum-seekers to Rwanda

U.S. border arrests decline amid increased enforcement in Mexico

The Senate impeachment trial of Mayorkas has been delayed. Here’s what to know

In talks with the U.S., Mexico’s priority appears to be opening border crossings

Migrants claiming asylum can be allowed into the U.S. Here's how it works

Yajaíra Peñaloza and Marion Aroujo pose with their children while waiting for their ride at the Casa Alitas shelter in Tucson, Ariz., on March 26.

The heart of the debate over the U.S.-Mexico border is illegal immigration.

Yet that decades-old issue is complicated by hundreds of thousands of asylum-seekers claiming, under a process allowed by U.S. law, that they fear returning to their home countries.

Near the border this spring, NPR met a recent arrival who insisted that her entry was legal. She was at Casa Alitas, a cavernous shelter in Tucson, Ariz.

Yajaíra Peñaloza told us she arrived in the U.S. from Venezuela on Christmas Day last year.

"It was baby Jesus' gift," she said.

"We are doing everything to be here legally, while we wait," Peñaloza said.

What describes the legal status of people such as Peñaloza?

NPR asked Muzaffar Chishti with the Migration Policy Institute. Our conversation follows.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

Interview highlights

Steve Inskeep: This is someone that most Americans would think of as an "illegal immigrant" since she came here without a visa. She says, "I'm here legally. I'm following the legal process." So let's begin right there. Does someone in this situation have legal status?

Muzaffar Chishti: The quick answer is no. What she and most people who are arriving at the border are doing is that they are arriving without authorization to enter the United States. She's certainly showing up at a port of entry, which makes it different than between ports of entry. But she has an appointment. At the appointment, she is basically telling a Customs and Border Protection official, "I have fear of returning to my country." So she's being placed in what we call removal proceedings and given a date with a notice to appear at her removal proceeding.

During that time, she doesn't have any real status, but she can't be removed because she is showing up for an appointment to contest her removability. At that hearing — when she will be asked, "Do you have a remedy against removal?" — she'll say, "Yes, I'm seeking asylum," and that's when the asylum application kicks in.

Inskeep: Was the United States obliged to let her in at the port of entry when she showed up without a visa?

[The five protected classes are race, religion, nationality, political opinion and membership in a particular social group.]

Inskeep: I understand that people from different countries may claim different kinds of status when they get to the United States. Does this person get anything special for being from Venezuela?

Parole is a status. Someone who arrives on parole has lawful status, and they're also authorized to work. She could have done that, [but] for that, you need a U.S. sponsor that will support you while you're here. She didn't do that, so she doesn't fall in that category. Therefore, she has no choice but to apply for asylum.

Inskeep: Does she have an opportunity to work legally during the couple of years she'll be waiting for a hearing in the United States?

Chishti: Under the law, once you put in an asylum application, within six months of that, you get the right to work.

Chishti: The power of parole is as old as at least World War II, when we let in most refugees fleeing from Europe to enter the United States — mostly Jewish and some Pentecostals. And [the] idea is that, in the absence of any other provision of the law which will allow someone to enter — like you don't have a student visa, you don't have an employment visa, you don't have a family visa — but the administration thinks it's in the U.S. interest to let that person in, parole authority is one important authority given to the administration. It's used for humanitarian purposes or for exigent circumstances.

It's true that this administration has used the parole authority more extensively than any administration, and that is under challenge. And we'll see how the courts rule on that.

Inskeep: Has it become very simple to get years in the United States simply by showing up in any fashion and saying, "I want asylum?"

Chishti: Well, that's true. That's sort of why many people think that the border crisis is actually an asylum crisis. That just invoking the word "asylum" then lets you enter the U.S. Then you are sent for a hearing, which may [not take place for] years. And then at the end of that hearing, even if you're not granted asylum, the chances of being removed are very low. All of those factors have become pull factors. So therefore, getting the asylum processing and adjudication under control, which means efficient and timely decisions, is critical to send a message that just because you want to invoke the word "asylum" doesn't mean you will stay in the U.S. for years on end.

Inskeep: You're saying there is a legal process. It can be followed. It plausibly even could work. But the number of people arriving has overwhelmed it.

Chishti: That's right. The only thing I would add is we have rules, regulations, resources and staffing for a border challenge of the 2008 era.

But we don't have the resources or the laws or regulations to meet that. And I think one of the ways to reduce the backlog is not to send new cases to immigration judges. It's an overwhelmed system. To send more cases to an already backlogged system is the definition of insanity. We believe that all new asylum cases should be sent to asylum officers who are civil servants trained in country conditions, and they can finish a case in months as against years. Only then can we make a real dent in the processing of asylum cases.

Inskeep: Muzaffar Chishti, thank you so much.

Chishti: Thanks so much for talking to me.

The audio version of this story was produced by Lilly Quiroz. The digital version was edited by Obed Manuel. contributed to this story

Update April 12, 2024

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Visitor Visa

Visa Waiver Program

Travel Without a Visa

Citizens of Canada and Bermuda

Generally, a citizen of a foreign country who wishes to enter the United States must first obtain a visa, either a nonimmigrant visa for a temporary stay, or an immigrant visa for permanent residence. Visitor visas are nonimmigrant visas for persons who want to enter the United States temporarily for business (visa category B-1), for tourism (visa category B-2), or for a combination of both purposes (B-1/B-2).

Here are some examples of activities permitted with a visitor visa:

Business (B-1)

Consult with business associates
Attend a scientific, educational, professional, or business convention or conference
Settle an estate
Negotiate a contract

Tourism (B-2)

Vacation (holiday)
Visit with friends or relatives
Medical treatment
Participation in social events hosted by fraternal, social, or service organizations
Participation by amateurs in musical, sports, or similar events or contests, if not being paid for participating
Enrollment in a short recreational course of study, not for credit toward a degree (for example, a two-day cooking class while on vacation)

Travel Purposes Not Permitted On Visitor Visas

These are some examples of activities that require different categories of visas and cannot be done while on a visitor visa:

Paid performances, or any professional performance before a paying audience
Arrival as a crewmember on a ship or aircraft
Work as foreign press, in radio, film, print journalism, or other information media
Permanent residence in the United States

Visitor visas will also not be issued for birth tourism (travel for the primary purpose of giving birth in the United States to obtain U.S. citizenship for their child).

How to Apply

There are several steps to apply for a visa. The order of these steps and how you complete them may vary by U.S. Embassy or Consulate. Please consult the instructions on the U.S. Embassy or Consulate website .

Complete the Online Visa Application

Online Nonimmigrant Visa Application, Form DS-160 – Learn more about completing the DS-160 . You must: 1) complete the online visa application and 2) print the application form confirmation page to bring to your interview.
Photo – You will upload your photo while completing the online Form DS-160. Your photo must be in the format explained in the Photograph Requirements .

Schedule an Interview

Interviews are generally required for visa applicants with certain limited exceptions below. Consular officers may require an interview of any visa applicant.

You should schedule an appointment for your visa interview at the U.S. Embassy or Consulate in the country where you live. You may schedule your interview at another U.S. Embassy or Consulate, but be aware that it may be more difficult to qualify for a visa outside of the country where you live.

Wait times for interview appointments vary by location, season, and visa category, so you should apply for your visa early. Review the interview wait time for the location where you will apply:

Appointment Wait Time

Check the estimated wait time for a nonimmigrant visa interview appointment at a U.S. Embassy or Consulate.

Note: Please check the individual Embassy or Consulate website to determine if your case is eligible for a waiver of the in-person interview.

Applicants scheduling visa appointments in a location different from their place of residence should check post websites for nonresident wait times.

Select a U.S. Embassy or Consulate:

Prepare for your interview.

Fees - Pay the non-refundable visa application fee , if you are required to pay it before your interview. If your visa is approved, you may also need to pay a visa issuance fee, if applicable to your nationality. Fee information is provided below:

Select your nationality to see Issuance Fee

Review the instructions available on the website of the U.S. Embassy or Consulate where you will apply to learn more about fee payment.

Gather Required Documentation

Gather and prepare the following required documents before your visa interview:

Passport valid for travel to the United States – Your passport must be valid for at least six months beyond your period of stay in the United States (unless exempt by country-specific agreements ). Each individual who needs a visa must submit a separate application, including any family members listed in your passport.
Nonimmigrant Visa Application, Form DS-160 confirmation page.
Application fee payment receipt, if you are required to pay before your interview.
Photo – You will upload your photo while completing the online Form DS-160. If the photo upload fails, you must bring one printed photo in the format explained in the Photograph Requirements .

Additional Documentation May Be Required

Review the instructions for how to apply for a visa on the website of the U.S. Embassy or Consulate where you will apply. Additional documents may be requested to establish if you are qualified. For example, additional requested documents may include evidence of:

The purpose of your trip,
Your intent to depart the United States after your trip, and/or
Your ability to pay all costs of the trip.

Evidence of your employment and/or your family ties may be sufficient to show the purpose of your trip and your intent to return to your home country. If you cannot cover all the costs for your trip, you may show evidence that another person will cover some or all costs for your trip.

Note: Visa applicants must qualify on the basis of the applicant's residence and ties abroad, rather than assurances from U.S. family and friends. A letter of invitation or Affidavit of Support is not needed to apply for a visitor visa. If you choose to bring a letter of invitation or Affidavit of Support to your interview, please remember it is not one of the factors used in determining whether to issue or deny the visa.

Attend Your Visa Interview

A consular officer will interview you to determine whether you are qualified to receive a visitor visa. You must establish that you meet the requirements under U.S. law to receive a visa. Ink-free, digital fingerprint scans are taken as part of the application process. They are usually taken during your interview, but this varies based on location.

After your visa interview, the consular officer may determine that your application requires further administrative processing . The consular officer will inform you if this required.

After the visa is approved, you may need to pay a visa issuance fee (if applicable to your nationality), and make arrangements for the return of the passport and visa to you. Review the visa processing times to learn more.

Entering the United States

A visa allows a foreign citizen to travel to a U.S. port-of-entry (generally an airport) and request permission to enter the United States. A visa does not guarantee entry into the United States. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials at the port-of-entry have authority to permit or deny admission to the United States. If you are allowed to enter the United States, the CBP official will provide an admission stamp or a paper Form I-94, Arrival/Departure Record. Learn more about admissions and entry requirements, restrictions about bringing food, agricultural products, and other restricted/prohibited goods, and more by reviewing the CBP website .

Extending Your Stay

See Extend Your Stay on the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) website to learn about requesting to extend your stay beyond the date indicated on your admission stamp or paper Form I-94.

Failure to depart the United States on time will result in being out of status . Under U.S. law, visas of individuals who are out of status are automatically voided ( Section 222(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act ). Any multiple entry visa that was voided due to being out of status will not be valid for future entries into the United States.

Failure to depart the United States on time may also result in you being ineligible for visas in the future. Review Visa Denials and Ineligibilities and Waivers: Laws to learn more.

Change of Status

If your plans change while in the United States (for example, you marry a U.S. citizen or receive an offer of employment), you may be able to request a change in your nonimmigrant status to another category through U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). See Change My Nonimmigrant Status on the USCIS website to learn more.

While you are in the United States, receiving a change of status from USCIS does not require you to apply for a new visa. However, once you depart the United States you must apply for a new visa at a U.S. Embassy or Consulate in the appropriate category for your travel.

Additional Information

An individual on a visitor visa (B1/B2) is not permitted to accept employment or work in the United States.
There is no guarantee you will be issued a visa. Do not make final travel plans or buy tickets until you have a visa.
A valid U.S. visa in an expired passport is still valid. Unless canceled or revoked, a visa is valid until its expiration date. If you have a valid visa in your expired passport, do not remove it from your expired passport. You may use your valid visa in your expired passport along with a new valid passport for travel and admission to the United States.

Travel for Medical Treatment

If you are seeking medical treatment in the United States, the consular officer may ask for further documents at your visa interview, which may include:

Medical diagnosis from a local physician, explaining the nature of the ailment and the reason you need treatment in the United States.
Letter from a physician or medical facility in the United States, stating they are willing to treat your specific ailment and detailing the projected length and cost of treatment (including doctors’ fees, hospitalization fees, and all medical-related expenses).
Proof that your transportation, medical, and living expenses in the United States will be paid. This may be in the form of bank or other statements of income/savings or certified copies of income tax returns (either yours or the person or organization paying for your treatment).

Visitor Visas for Personal or Domestic Employees (B-1)

You may apply for a B-1 visitor visa to work in the United States as a personal or domestic employee for your employer in limited situations. You may work in the United States on a visitor visa if your employer is:

A U.S. citizen who has a permanent home or is stationed in a foreign country, but is visiting or is assigned to the United States temporarily; or
A foreign citizen who is in the United States on one of the following nonimmigrant visa categories: B, E, F, H, I, J, L, M, O, P, or Q.

Learn more about your rights in the United States and protection available to you by reading the Legal Rights and Protections pamphlet.

Visa Renewal

Whether you are applying for the first time or renewing your visa, you will use the same application process (please review How to Apply , above). Some applicants seeking to renew their visas in certain visa classes may be eligible for the Interview Waiver (IW) which allows qualified individuals to apply for visa renewals without being interviewed in person by a U.S. consular officer. Review the instructions on the website of the U.S. Embassy or Consulate where you will apply to determine if the IW is available and if you qualify.

Do I need a visa if I have an ABTC?

Yes, you will still need a visa to travel to the United States, unless you qualify for the Visa Waiver Program . Having an Asian-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Business Travelers Card (ABTC) does not change visa requirements, your visa status, or the visa process for travel to the United States.

How can I use my ABTC when I apply for my visa?

If you have an Asian-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Business Travelers Card (ABTC), you might be able to schedule an expedited visa interview appointment. Review the instructions for scheduling expedited appointments on the website of the embassy or consulate where you will apply.

Visa Annotations for Certain Maritime Industry Workers

Certain foreign maritime workers are eligible to apply for a Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) once in the U.S. If you, as a maritime industry worker, will perform services in secure port areas, your visa must be annotated “TWIC Letter Received.” Workers whose visas are not annotated will not be permitted by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to apply for a TWIC.

In order for your visa to be annotated, you must obtain a letter from your employer explaining the need for a TWIC and that you are a potential TWIC applicant. See a template example of this letter. You must present this letter when you apply for the B-1 visa. You must meet all other eligibility requirements for a B-1 visa.

Complete information about the TWIC program is available on TSA’s website at https://www.tsa.gov/for-industry/twic .

Visa Denial and Ineligibility

Review Visa Denials for detailed information about visa ineligibilities, denials and waivers.

I was refused a visa, under Section 214(b). May I reapply?

Yes, if you feel circumstances have changed regarding your application. Review Visa Denials to learn more.

Misrepresentation or Fraud

Attempting to obtain a visa by the willful misrepresentation of a material fact, or fraud, may result in the permanent refusal of a visa or denial of entry into the United States.

Review Ineligibilities and Waivers: Laws .

Citizens of Canada and Bermuda do not require visas to enter the United States, for visit, tourism and temporary business travel purposes. For more information see U.S. Embassy Ottawa website , U.S. Consulate Hamilton website and CBP website .

Additional resources for Canadian visitors to the United States can be found on the U.S. Embassy and Consulate websites in Canada.

Citizens of China

In accordance with the agreement signed between the United States and China to extend visa validity, beginning on November 29, 2016, Chinese citizens with 10-year B1, B2 or B1/B2 visas in Peoples’ Republic of China passports will be required to update their biographical and other information from their visa application via a website every two years, or upon getting a new passport or B1, B2, or B1/B2 visa, whichever occurs first. This mechanism is called EVUS - Electronic Visa Update System.

The EVUS website is now open to the public for enrollments at www.EVUS.gov . CBP will not collect a fee for EVUS enrollment at this time. CBP anticipates the eventual implementation of an EVUS enrollment fee, but does not have a time frame. Until the implementation of a fee, travelers can enroll in EVUS without charge. The Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will keep visa holders informed of new information throughout the year. For further information, please visit www.cbp.gov/EVUS .‎

根据美中双方签署的延长签证有效期的协议，自2016年11月29日起，凡持有10 年期B1，B2 或 B1/B2签证的中华人民共和国护照持有人需要每两年或在获取新护照或最长有效期的B1、B2或B1/B2签证时时（以先到者为准），通过网站更新他们签证申请上的个人资料及其它信息。这个机制我们称之为EVUS –签证更新电子系统。

EVUS的登记网站 www.EVUS.gov 现已开放接受登记。美国海关和边境保护局（CBP）目前不会收取登记费用。美国海关和边境保护局预期EVUS登记收费最终会实施，但目前尚未落实执行时间。在收费实施前，旅客可以免费完成EVUS登记。美国国土安全部海关和边境保护局将在今年及时向签证持有人公布最新的信息。获取更多的信息，请访问 www.cbp.gov/EVUS 。

Citizens of Mexico

Citizens and permanent residents of Mexico generally must have a nonimmigrant visa or Border Crossing Card (also known as a "Laser Visa"). For ease of travel, the B-1/B-2 and the Border Crossing Card have been combined into one document (DSP-150). Select Border Crossing Card to learn more about this card.

Please visit U.S. Embassy or Consulate websites for more information regarding applying for a visa at the U.S. Embassy or Consulates in Mexico.

Further Questions

Case-Specific Questions - Contact the U.S. Embassy or Consulate handling your visa application for status information. Select U.S. Embassy or Consulate for contact information.
General Questions - review Contact Us .

Visa Waiver Program (VWP)

Tourist or business travelers who are citizens of participating countries may be eligible to visit the United States without a visa. Visits must be 90 days or less, and travelers must meet all requirements.

Citizens of Canada and Bermuda generally do not need visas for tourism and visits.

More Information

A-Z Index Legal Rights & Protections Lost/Stolen Travel Documents Denials Fraud Warning Visa Expiration Date Automatic Revalidation Nonimmigrants in the United States–Applying for Visas in Canada or Mexico Visa Applicants - State Sponsors of Terrorism Border Security/Safety Find a U.S. Embassy or Consulate Customer Service Statement

External Link

You are about to leave travel.state.gov for an external website that is not maintained by the U.S. Department of State.

Links to external websites are provided as a convenience and should not be construed as an endorsement by the U.S. Department of State of the views or products contained therein. If you wish to remain on travel.state.gov, click the "cancel" message.

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Can You Apply For Asylum On Tourist Visa In UK

Given the government has made it harder to claim asylum in the UK as part of the Nationality and Borders Act 2022, people are increasingly looking at other routes to claim asylum in the UK like the tourist visa. However, there are still some eligibility requirements and documents you will need to pay close attention to.

If you have any questions about asylum, visas, or citizenship issues then we can help here at Birmingham Immigration Lawyers. You only need to call 0121 667 6530 or contact us online and one of our dedicated lawyers can assist you.

Request a call back from our immigration experts

Page contents, can you apply for asylum on tourist visa in uk, requirements & eligibility for claiming asylum in the uk, how to claim asylum, how long will i need to wait for a decision on my asylum claim, what happens after asylum is granted, what happens if asylum is denied, our immigration lawyers can help your claim for asylum, frequently asked questions.

Under international law, anybody can claim asylum in the UK . This is a process where a person has fled their country and is asking another country for their protection and to be recognised as a refugee. This would give them permission to stay and use key public services such as healthcare, state benefits, and education.

The key thing to note is that, for your asylum claim to be heard, you need to fear persecution in your home country and this must be stopping you from returning. This persecution can be based on any of the following factors, but it must be provable:

Race or ethnicity
Nationality
Religious beliefs
Political beliefs
Other factors that put you at risk because of the political setup of your country, such as gender identity or sexual orientation

Whilst it is possible to claim asylum in the UK, it is by no means easy. The Nationality and Borders Act 2022 made it much harder to arrive in the UK legally and claim asylum, which is part of the reason for the increase in small boat crossings over the past year. Rather than risking their life in this way, though, some people choose to obtain a visa to travel to the UK through legal means and then they claim asylum once they are established in the country.

For example, you can visit the UK with a 6-month tourist visa, otherwise known as a ‘visitor visa’ and this can be for tourism, business, and studying.

You will need to show that:

You plan to leave the UK at the end of your visit (if you then claim asylum then you will not be expected to leave until you have a decision on your application)
You can support yourself and any dependents or have funding in place from another person who is willing to support you
You can pay for your return journey either through your own means or from somebody else who is supporting you
You are not planning on living in the UK through various extended periods

That being said, there are some restrictions on what you can do because under a visitor visa you are unable to:

Claim benefits
Live in the UK through various short-term visits over an extended period
Marry or have a civil partnership
Undertake paid or unpaid work for a UK company or self-employed individual

The visitor visa costs £115 and the earliest you can apply is 3 months before your arrival date. Another option is the Standard Visitor visa if you are planning on staying for longer periods. The benefit of a tourist visa is its flexibility.

Our immigration team can help your asylum claim case. Contact Us

As difficult as applying for asylum can be, making sure you have all the correct documents will strengthen your application and reduce the time it takes for a decision to be made.

Because it can take a long time to obtain some documents, we recommend that you collate the following records ahead of time as you will need them at your asylum screening:

Any passports or travel documents
Medical records if they are going to assist with your claim
Identity cards
Birth and marriage certificates
School records
Bank statement
Housing benefit book
Household bill
Tenancy agreement
Council tax notice

You will not need all of these documents but it is best to gather as many of them as possible. If you are living with somebody else then you will need some of the above documents on their behalf, along with a letter stating that you have their permission to stay. This letter must be no longer than 3 months old

There are also some cases in which the Home Office will not consider your claim, and this is to ensure that asylum is given to those who need it most. These are as follows:

If you are a citizen of an EU country
If you have travelled from a ‘safe third country’ where you could have already claimed asylum
If you have a reasonable connection to a ‘safe third country’ where you would not be harmed and where you could have sought protection

When the government uses the term ‘safe third country’ it refers to any country where you are not a citizen, where you would not be harmed, and where you would not be sent to another country where you might be harmed.

If you wish to claim asylum then you need to tell the border force when you arrive at a port of entry who will put you in contact with an immigration officer.

However, if you are applying for asylum and you currently have a student visa then it is likely you have spent some time in the UK already. In this instance, you will need to get in contact with the asylum intake unit at 0300 123 4193.

From this point, the process is the same regardless of whether you have been in the UK for a while or if you have just arrived because the next step is asylum screening.

By screening you, the Home Office will determine whether your claim should be considered. To do this, you will be asked various questions about who you are, where you have travelled from, and why you are looking to claim asylum.

You will also have your fingerprints and photographs taken on a provisional basis. Be as open as possible about your situation to increase the chances of being allowed to have an interview.

While you wait for an interview slot you will be given an Application Record Card which has your basic information on it. This is also used to show if you have permission to work and to organise and collect any medication you require. The Home Office will ask if you need help with housing in the meantime.

Sometimes the government will decide that your asylum claim will not be heard and that you will need to leave the country.

If the government is happy with proceeding, however, you will be given an interview slot and you and your dependents must attend on time. The interview is where you can explain how you were persecuted in your home country and why you are afraid to return.

It would be a mistake to withhold any information at your interview or to lack detail with your explanations because this could hurt your application when a decision is made.

If you are uncertain about your interview and would like some guidance then we can help you get ready here at Birmingham Immigration Lawyers.

Once you have had your asylum interview you will need to wait for a decision to be made. Sometimes your caseworker will ask for further interviews or supplementary documents if they feel this is needed.

Unfortunately, there is a long wait for decisions on asylum claims. This is because there is a large backlog of claims that has built up over the years. As of the end of 2022, there were 132,000 applications involving 161,000 people and the government is currently processing in the region of 23,000 applications per year. Estimates for waiting times are around one year but you could be waiting longer.

Factors that impact decision times include the verification of documents, processing paperwork for dependents, additional interviews, and if any additional factors need to be considered like medical or criminal records.

If asylum is granted then this means you have ‘refugee status’ in the UK for 5 years. During this time you will be able to access public services such as free state education, the NHS, and state benefits. You will also have permission to work or set up a business if you wish.

After these five years, you can apply for indeterminate leave to remain in the UK. However, it is worth noting that any asylum support you are claiming will end 28 days after this decision. You and any dependents can then apply for a refugee integration loan to help you settle into your new life here in the UK.

If you are granted asylum then any dependents that are part of your application are also permitted to stay with you in the UK. However, they will need to complete their own asylum claim if they also want full refugee status.

Another route is to apply to settle in the UK as a family once the claimant’s five years have passed.

It is also possible that you are granted permission to stay in the UK for other reasons if you do not qualify as a refugee.

This is decided on a case-by-case status so it largely depends on your specific circumstances. If you want to know more about permission to stay for other reasons, it is best to contact our team of lawyers here at Birmingham Immigration Lawyers.

If your asylum claim is denied then you will need to leave the UK. To do this, the government may choose to place you in an immigration removal centre while they prepare for your journey. If they do this they will give you prior notice via mail.

If your asylum is denied and you want to appeal the decision, you will have a short window to do so. After an appeal has been made, you will not be made to leave the country until a decision has been made. If this appeal is unsuccessful then the only way you can claim asylum again is through a fresh claim with new evidence, often called ‘further submissions’.

There are many factors you will need to consider when you apply for asylum. There are the documents, the eligibility requirements, and the various steps like the screening and the interview. Here at Birmingham Immigration Lawyers, we understand that this can get overwhelming and we want to help you make the strongest claim possible.

We can help with visa problems, asylum claims and appeals, permission to work, and citizenship issues. If you have any questions about our services or if you would like to speak to one of our expert immigration lawyers then you only need to call 0121 667 6530 or get in touch with us online.

Last modified on February 21st, 2024 at 12:41 pm

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What kind of questions are asked in an asylum interview in the UK?

In the asylum interview, you will be asked why you fear persecution in your home country and what protection you sought before deciding to claim asylum in the UK, as well as all relevant personal information.

Is it hard to get asylum in the UK?

It is more difficult to claim asylum in the UK than it was before the Nationality and Borders Act 2022 but if you meet the eligibility requirements, have all the necessary documents, and explain yourself well at your interview then you have a good chance of a positive outcome.

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Schengen visas allow freedom of travel within Europe, but for asylum seekers, Dublin rules still apply | Photo: EPA/J. Groder

Dublin Regulation

What happens if you come to Europe with a tourist visa and claim asylum?

The Dublin Regulation is the European law that determines where an asylum seeker's claim is processed. But does it cover everyone, even those with a tourist visa? We asked Petra Baeyens from the European Legal Network on Asylum for answers.

Under the Dublin system, the first country of entry into the EU is generally responsible for examining an asylum seeker's application. Recently InfoMigrants received a question on social media from Akuma*, who is originally from Cameroon. He wanted to know if this rule also applies to people who enter the EU on a tourist visa and then travel within the visa-free Schengen Zone to another country and apply for asylum there.

This is exactly what Akuma did, yet he was detained and transferred under Dublin rules, and is now back in the country of first entry, in his case, Italy. He said this shouldn’t have happened.

Akuma's story

Akuma comes from the English-speaking part of Cameroon. He came to Italy on a tourist visa, which was issued to him by a “travel agent/trafficker with shallow knowledge of the procedure.”

From Italy, Akuma flew to Belgium, where he had actually wanted to go in the first place, because he had friends there. At the airport in Brussels he applied for international protection, but instead of processing his claim, Belgium returned him to Italy as a “Dublin transfer.”

“All efforts to block my transfer failed and I was finally sent to Italy after spending 84 days in a detention centre, deprived of my phone and important communication for no crime committed,” Akuma wrote.

He has now been granted protection in Italy, but he is unemployed and lacks the support he needs.

“I am currently entangled in Italy with the language barrier, no jobs, inadequate health coverage, no integration programs or psychosocial support,” he explained.

The Dublin member states are the member states of the European Union and the four associated states Norway Liechtenstein Iceland and Switzerland Copyright European Union

There may have been several factors that led to Akuma's detention, and we don't know the exact reason for his transfer to Italy. However, with the help of Petra Baeyens, an asylum law expert with the European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE), we have been able to clarify some issues:

First, it is possible to travel to Europe with a short-term visa (for example, a tourist visa) and apply for asylum after arriving in the EU.

The same goes for people travelling from visa-free countries such as the Western Balkans, Georgia and Venezuela.

However, "Dublin" still applies in these cases of third country nationals travelling with a visa. There are special criteria for such situations, which are set out in Article 12 of Chapter III of the Dublin Regulation.

Short-term visas, also called Schengen visas or C-visas, are issued for the whole of the Schengen area, meaning that you can travel to any country within the Schengen area.

The young people who form part of the project Ragazzi Harraga in Palermo Photo Photographers from Studio 14 - Novara with kind permission of CIAI Italy

If you overstay your visa, this will be recorded in the Visa Information System . If you return at a later date and apply for a visa again, this may be refused, since you overstayed the first time, explained Baeyens.

If you overstay your visa, and have not introduced other residency procedures, your stay will become irregular and there is a risk that you will be deported.

You can still apply for asylum after having overstayed a visa, but the longer you wait before applying for international protection, the more it can affect your credibility.

False visas or documents

There is no reason to think that Akuma was using anything other than a valid tourist visa. However, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, visa fraud is a common modus operandi for migrant smugglers. InfoMigrants asked Petra Baeyens what would happen if a migrant travelled with a smuggled or falsified visa.

In this case, said Baeyens, you can still apply for asylum, and your application still needs to be examined according to the principle of non-refoulement (which says you cannot be returned to a country where you would be at risk of harm or persecution).

However, if you travel with false documentation you could end up in detention. Also, this could undermine the credibility of your asylum claim.

If you are found to be using false documents, it may also be used as a reason to apply accelerated procedures, meaning a country can decide that your case is unfounded because, for example, you misled the authorities.

*Akuma is an adopted name

Read more: The Dublin Regulation: Your questions answered

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Mexico tightens travel rules on Peruvians in a show of visa diplomacy to slow migration to US

Peruvian Julia Paredes, left in white hat, listens to instructions from a Border Patrol agent with others seeking asylum as they wait to be processed after crossing the border with Mexico nearby, Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Boulevard, Calif. Mexico has begun requiring visas for Peruvians in response to a major influx of migrants from the South American country. The move follows identical ones for Venezuelans, Ecuadorians and Brazilians, effectively eliminating the option of flying to a Mexican city near the U.S. border. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Julia Paredes, right, of Peru, gets a hug from volunteer Karen Parker, after crossing the border with Mexico nearby, Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Boulevard, Calif. Mexico has begun requiring visas for Peruvians in response to a major influx of migrants from the South American country. The move follows identical ones for Venezuelans, Ecuadorians and Brazilians, effectively eliminating the option of flying to a Mexican city near the U.S. border. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

A Border Patrol agent instructs a group of people seeking asylum, including Peruvians, as they are transported for processing after crossing the border with Mexico nearby, Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Boulevard, Calif. Mexico has begun requiring visas for Peruvians in response to a major influx of migrants from the South American country. The move follows identical ones for Venezuelans, Ecuadorians and Brazilians, effectively eliminating the option of flying to a Mexican city near the U.S. border. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

People seeking asylum walk through a field of wildflowers as they wait to be processed after crossing the border with Mexico nearby, Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Boulevard, Calif. Mexico has begun requiring visas for Peruvians in response to a major influx of migrants from the South American country. The move follows identical ones for Venezuelans, Ecuadorians and Brazilians, effectively eliminating the option of flying to a Mexican city near the U.S. border. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Peruvian Julia Paredes, center in white hat, listens to instructions from a Border Patrol agent with others seeking asylum as they wait to be processed after crossing the border with Mexico nearby, Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Boulevard, Calif. Mexico has begun requiring visas for Peruvians in response to a major influx of migrants from the South American country. The move follows identical ones for Venezuelans, Ecuadorians and Brazilians, effectively eliminating the option of flying to a Mexican city near the U.S. border. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Men seeking asylum, including Peruvians, line up as they wait to be processed after crossing the border with Mexico nearby, Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Boulevard, Calif. Mexico has begun requiring visas for Peruvians in response to a major influx of migrants from the South American country. The move follows identical ones for Venezuelans, Ecuadorians and Brazilians, effectively eliminating the option of flying to a Mexican city near the U.S. border. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

People seeking asylum keep warm near a fire as they wait to be processed, after crossing the border with Mexico nearby, Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Boulevard, Calif. Mexico has begun requiring visas for Peruvians in response to a major influx of migrants from the South American country. The move follows identical ones for Venezuelans, Ecuadorians and Brazilians, effectively eliminating the option of flying to a Mexican city near the U.S. border. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

People seeking asylum, including a group from Peru, walk behind a Border Patrol agent towards a van to be processed after crossing the border with Mexico nearby, Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Boulevard, Calif. Mexico has begun requiring visas for Peruvians in response to a major influx of migrants from the South American country. The move follows identical ones for Venezuelans, Ecuadorians and Brazilians, effectively eliminating the option of flying to a Mexican city near the U.S. border. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

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BOULEVARD, Calif. (AP) — Julia Paredes believed her move to the United States might be now or never. Mexico was days from requiring visas for Peruvian visitors. If she didn’t act quickly, she would have to make a far more perilous, surreptitious journey over land to settle with her sister in Dallas.

Mexico began requiring visas for Peruvians on Monday in response to a major influx of migrants from the South American country, after identical moves for Venezuelans, Ecuadorians and Brazilians. It effectively eliminated the option of flying to a Mexican city near the U.S. border, as Paredes, 45, did just before it was too late.

“I had to treat it as a emergency,” said Paredes, who worked serving lunch to miners in Arequipa, Peru, and borrowed money to fly to Mexico’s Tijuana, across from San Diego. Last month smugglers guided her through a remote opening in the border wall to a dirt lot in California, where she and about 100 migrants from around the world shivered over campfires after a morning drizzle and waited for overwhelmed Border Patrol agents to drive them to a station for processing.

Senior U.S. officials, speaking to reporters ahead of a meeting of top diplomats from about 20 countries in the Western hemisphere this week in Guatemala, applauded Mexico’s crackdown on air travel from Peru and called visa requirements an important tool to jointly confront illegal migration.

FILE - Rep. Victoria Spartz, R-Ind., speaks during a Lincoln Day Dinner, May 2, 2024, in Noblesville, Ind. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings, File)

For critics, shutting down air travel only encourages more dangerous choices. Illegal migration by Venezuelans plummeted after Mexico imposed visa requirements in January 2022, but the lull was short-lived. Last year Venezuelans made up nearly two-thirds of the record-high 520,000 migrants who walked through the Darien Gap, the notorious jungle spanning parts of Panama and Colombia.

More than 25,000 Chinese traversed the Darien last year. They generally fly to Ecuador, a country known for few travel restrictions, and cross the U.S. border illegally in San Diego to seek asylum. With an immigration court backlog topping 3 million cases, it takes years to decide such claims, during which time people can obtain work permits and establish roots.

“People are going to come no matter what,” said Miguel Yaranga, 22, who flew from Lima, Peru’s capital, to Tijuana and was released by the Border Patrol Sunday at a San Diego bus stop. He had orders to appear in immigration court in New York in February 2025, which puzzled him because he said he told agents he would settle with his sister on the other side of the country, in Bakersfield, California.

Jeremy MacGillivray, deputy chief of the Mexico mission of the U.N.'s International Organization for Migration, predicts that Peruvian migration will drop “at least at the beginning” and bounce back as people shift to walking through the Darien Gap and to Central America and Mexico.

Mexico said last month that it would require visas for Peruvians for the first time since 2012 in response to a “substantial increase” in illegal migration. Large-scale Peruvian migration to Mexico began in 2022; Peruvians were stopped in the country an average of 2,160 times a month from January to March of this year, up from a monthly average of 544 times for all of 2023.

Peruvians also began showing up at the U.S. border in 2022. The U.S. Border Patrol arrested Peruvians an average of about 5,300 times a month last year before falling to a monthly average of 3,400 from January through March, amid a broad immigration crackdown by Mexico .

Peru immediately reciprocated Mexico’s visa requirement but changed course after a backlash from the country’s tourism industry. Peru noted in its reversal that it is part of a regional economic bloc that includes Mexico, Chile and Colombia.

Adam Isacson, an analyst at the Washington Office on Latin America, said Peru’s membership with Mexico in the Pacific Alliance allowed its citizens visa-free travel longer than other countries.

It is unclear if Colombia, also a major source of migration , will be next, but Isacson said Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador is in a “lovefest” with his Colombian counterpart, Gustavo Petro, while his relations with Peru’s government are more strained.

Colombians are consistently near the top nationalities of migrants arriving at Tijuana’s airport. Many find hotels before a guide takes them to boulder-strewn mountains east of the city, where they cross through openings in the border wall and then walk toward dirt lots that the Border Patrol has identified as waiting stations.

Bryan Ramírez, 25, of Colombia, reached U.S. soil with his girlfriend last month, only two days after leaving Bogota for Cancun, Mexico, and continuing on another flight to Tijuana. He waited alongside others overnight for Border Patrol agents to pick him up as cold rain and high winds whipped over the crackle of high-voltage power lines.

The group waiting near Boulevard, a small, loosely defined rural town, included several Peruvians who said they came for economic opportunity and to escape violence and political crises.

Peruvians can still avoid the Darien jungle by flying to El Salvador, which introduced visa-free travel for them in December in reciprocation for a similar move by Peru’s government. But they would still have to travel over land through Mexico, where many are robbed or kidnapped.

Ecuadoreans, who have needed visas to enter Mexico since September 2021, can also fly to El Salvador, but not all do. Oscar Palacios, 42, said he walked through Darien because he couldn’t afford to fly.

Palacios, who left his wife and year-old child in Ecuador with plans to support them financially from the U.S., said it took him two weeks to travel from his home near the violent city of Esmeralda to Mexico’s border with Guatemala. It then took him two months to cross Mexico because immigration authorities turned him around three times and bused him back to the southern part of the country. He said he was robbed repeatedly.

Palacios finally reached Tijuana and, after three nights in a hotel, crossed into the U.S. A Border Patrol agent spotted him with migrants from Turkey and Brazil and drove them to the dirt lot to wait for a van or bus to take them to a station for processing. Looking back on the journey, Palacios said he would rather cross Darien Gap 100 times than Mexico even once.

Associated Press writer Christopher Sherman in Mexico City contributed.

Mexico tightens travel rules on Peruvians in a show of visa diplomacy to slow migration to US

Mexico has begun requiring visas for Peruvians in response to a major influx of migrants from the South American country

BOULEVARD, Calif. — Julia Paredes believed her move to the United States might be now or never. Mexico was days from requiring visas for Peruvian visitors. If she didn’t act quickly, she would have to make a far more perilous, surreptitious journey over land to settle with her sister in Dallas.

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We, the voters

Migrants claiming asylum can be allowed into the u.s. here's how it works.

Steve Inskeep

Ally Schweitzer

Yajaíra Peñaloza and Marion Aroujo pose with their children while waiting for their ride at the Casa Alitas shelter in Tucson, Ariz., on March 26. Ash Ponders for NPR hide caption

Yajaíra Peñaloza and Marion Aroujo pose with their children while waiting for their ride at the Casa Alitas shelter in Tucson, Ariz., on March 26.

The heart of the debate over the U.S.-Mexico border is illegal immigration.

Yet that decades-old issue is complicated by hundreds of thousands of asylum-seekers claiming, under a process allowed by U.S. law, that they fear returning to their home countries.

Near the border this spring, NPR met a recent arrival who insisted that her entry was legal. She was at Casa Alitas, a cavernous shelter in Tucson, Ariz.

Yajaíra Peñaloza told us she arrived in the U.S. from Venezuela on Christmas Day last year.

"It was baby Jesus' gift," she said.

"We are doing everything to be here legally, while we wait," Peñaloza said.

What describes the legal status of people such as Peñaloza?

NPR asked Muzaffar Chishti with the Migration Policy Institute. Our conversation follows.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

Interview highlights

Muzaffar Chishti: The quick answer is no. What she and most people who are arriving at the border are doing is that they are arriving without authorization to enter the United States. She's certainly showing up at a port of entry, which makes it different than between ports of entry. But she has an appointment. At the appointment, she is basically telling a Customs and Border Protection official, "I have fear of returning to my country." So she's being placed in what we call removal proceedings and given a date with a notice to appear at her removal proceeding.

We, The Voters

How a u.s. customs and border protection veteran sees his agency's mission.

Inskeep: Was the United States obliged to let her in at the port of entry when she showed up without a visa?

[The five protected classes are race, religion, nationality, political opinion and membership in a particular social group.]

Inskeep: I understand that people from different countries may claim different kinds of status when they get to the United States. Does this person get anything special for being from Venezuela?

Is it easy for migrants to enter the U.S.? We went to the border to find out

Inskeep: Does she have an opportunity to work legally during the couple of years she'll be waiting for a hearing in the United States?

Chishti: Under the law, once you put in an asylum application, within six months of that, you get the right to work.

Chishti: The power of parole is as old as at least World War II, when we let in most refugees fleeing from Europe to enter the United States — mostly Jewish and some Pentecostals. And [the] idea is that, in the absence of any other provision of the law which will allow someone to enter — like you don't have a student visa, you don't have an employment visa, you don't have a family visa — but the administration thinks it's in the U.S. interest to let that person in, parole authority is one important authority given to the administration. It's used for humanitarian purposes or for exigent circumstances.

It's true that this administration has used the parole authority more extensively than any administration, and that is under challenge. And we'll see how the courts rule on that.

Inskeep: Has it become very simple to get years in the United States simply by showing up in any fashion and saying, "I want asylum?"

Inskeep: You're saying there is a legal process. It can be followed. It plausibly even could work. But the number of people arriving has overwhelmed it.

Chishti: That's right. The only thing I would add is we have rules, regulations, resources and staffing for a border challenge of the 2008 era.

Inskeep: Muzaffar Chishti, thank you so much.

Chishti: Thanks so much for talking to me.

The audio version of this story was produced by Lilly Quiroz. The digital version was edited by Obed Manuel.

How VISA is using generative AI to battle account fraud attacks

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Attackers rely on automation to brute force card testing attacks including weaponizing botnets and scripts to force fraudulent card-not-present (CNP) transactions, inflicting $1.1 billion of fraud losses last year.

Enumeration attacks are lethal in their speed and scale, with attackers relying on any available automation technology to defraud victims faster than legacy cyber defenses can track and keep up with. Attackers’ arsenals now include large-scale networks of hacked systems that can launch thousands of automated botnet attacks in seconds.

How enumeration attacks work

Attackers are always sharpening their tradecraft with new automation techniques that defy easy detection. Weaponizing every new technology available, including fast-tracking experiments with generative AI and weaponized LLMs in combination with long-standing automation technologies, including botnets and scripts, are attackers’ goals.

“As each year passes, the sophistication of digital fraudsters increases. They are early adopters of technologies such as generative AI to improve the quality and scale of their attacks on organizations large and small,” Christophe Van de Weyer, Telesign CEO, told VentureBeat. “They’ve also gotten better at social engineering, calling company IT desks pretending to be employees, based on information they’ve gleaned online, and then ask for password and MFA device resets,” Van de Weyer explained. “These are among the reasons why global fraud has become a $6 trillion business annually – bigger than the GDPs of most countries.”

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Michael Jabbara, senior vice president at VISA , told VentureBeat, “Enumeration attacks have been growing quite rapidly. With the digitization that we’ve had of commerce over the last few years, many more stores are going online. So there are more entry points for these threat actors to launch their attacks from, and I think that’s going to continue to grow.” VISA found that 33% of enumerated accounts experienced fraud within five days of an attacker obtaining access to their payment information.

What makes enumeration attacks so lethal is how they submit a unique combination of payment values, including primary account numbers (PAN), card verification values (CVV2), expiration dates and postal codes in seconds to crack CNP transactions and defraud e-commerce platforms ad merchants. Attacks often prioritize systems that provide user feedback that reveals when guesses that are automatically generated are correct.

VISA Security found that enumeration attacks most often succeed by exploiting vulnerabilities in e-commerce platforms, particularly those with inadequate rate limiting or verification processes. VISA advises its merchants to implement CAPTCHA controls at a minimum, monitor transactions for unusual activities, and use encryption and hardened multi-factor authentication to reduce the risk of an attack. More banking, e-commerce and merchant platforms are also adopting strong rate-limiting thresholds. The goal is to restrict the number of attempts a user can make to authenticate or use recovery features within a certain time frame.

Enumeration attack tradecraft has matured so quickly that a recent VISA report found attackers have progressed to the point of exploiting negligent onboarding policies within large merchant ecosystems and are actively exploiting vulnerabilities in digital payment systems. Banking systems are also under attack. By leveraging large-scale networks of infected devices, attackers are finding accounts that are the most vulnerable to CNP transactions and other forms of fraud.

VISA has created a strong use case for fighting fraud with gen AI

VISA first introduced Visa Account Attack Intelligence (VAAI) in 2019 to combat and prevent the proliferating variety of payment fraud attacks aimed at their operations and partners. Identifying CNP transactions has become a core focus on VAAI, Jabarra told VentureBeat. The VAAI solution integrates breach, cyber, and payment intelligence insights that provide a unified defense solution against fraud.

Today, VISA is adding to its arsenal of attack intelligence tools with the addition of a new genAI-powered VAAI score. At the center of the new score’s architecture are generative AI components that identify and score enumeration attacks. Each transaction gets assigned a risk score in real time to achieve the goal of detecting and preventing enumeration attacks in CNP transactions. The goal is to enable issuers to make faster, more accurate decisions on whether to accept or deny a transaction, ensuring the safety of legitimate customer transactions while reducing financial losses. Jaberra told VentureBeat that the new VAAI score would be communicated via VisaNet to help merchants and partners determine the likelihood of fraudulent transactions in real time.

VISA has found a perfect use case for genAI fighting fraud in their new score. The VAAI score can provide a risk assessment within 20 milliseconds of a transaction being processed, analyzing over 182 risk attributes to determine the likelihood of fraud. Developed from an analysis of over 15 billion VisaNet transactions, the score is equipped with six times more features than previous models, significantly enhancing its capability to identify suspicious activities. It’s also showing the potential to reduce false positives by 85% . By combining gen AI and machine learning techniques, the VAAI score will constantly learn and help VISA Security identify when attackers attempt to bypass CNP security safeguards.

In total, VISA has invested over $10 billion in AI, machine learning, and related technologies to enhance fraud prevention and network security. Investments in VAAI and its related tools have helped VISA block $40 billion in fraudulent activity in a single year.

The challenge is scaling up real-time accuracy and speed to defeat fraud

Jabbara says VisaNet relies on ISO standards for integrating with its many partners and merchants at scale to share VAAI scores in an attempt to shut down attackers launching enumeration attacks. “We provide the VAAI Score within the transaction message itself,” Jabbara told VentureBeat. “There’s a specific field where we inject that score, and then clients themselves can build rules on that score, depending on their risk appetite and the operational playbooks that they have in-house,” he explained.

Providing real-time risk assessment scores is a rapidly innovating area of fraud detection. “Companies need to evaluate fraud risk throughout the entire customer journey,” Van de Weyer told VentureBeat. Telesign is going all-in on AI and machine learning to also take on this challenge.

“At Telesign, our Intelligence API makes it easy to understand the risks and the reasons behind it. We identify red flags based on patterns from phone number activity, email, IP addresses, and more. Intelligence looks for anomalous behavior by analyzing call velocity, duration, call patterns, and usage to help flag risky numbers,” Van de Weyer said. “This process informs the risk recommendation and score that we provide, which can be used by a customer to better understand when to step up their authentication processes.”

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Mexico tightens travel rules on Peruvians in a show of visa diplomacy to slow migration to US

Mexico has begun requiring visas for peruvians in response to a major influx of migrants from the south american country, article bookmarked.

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Julia Paredes believed her move to the United States might be now or never. Mexico was days from requiring visas for Peruvian visitors. If she didn't act quickly, she would have to make a far more perilous, surreptitious journey over land to settle with her sister in Dallas.

“I had to treat it as a emergency,” said Paredes, who worked serving lunch to miners in Arequipa, Peru, and borrowed money to fly to Mexico's Tijuana , across from San Diego. Last month smugglers guided her through a remote opening in the border wall to a dirt lot in California, where she and about 100 migrants from around the world shivered over campfires after a morning drizzle and waited for overwhelmed Border Patrol agents to drive them to a station for processing.

Senior U.S. officials, speaking to reporters ahead of a meeting of top diplomats from about 20 countries in the Western hemisphere this week in Guatemala, applauded Mexico's crackdown on air travel from Peru and called visa requirements an important tool to jointly confront illegal migration.

“People are going to come no matter what,” said Miguel Yaranga, 22, who flew from Lima, Peru's capital, to Tijuana and was released by the Border Patrol Sunday at a San Diego bus stop. He had orders to appear in immigration court in New York in February 2025, which puzzled him because he said he told agents he would settle with his sister on the other side of the country, in Bakersfield, California.

Peru immediately reciprocated Mexico's visa requirement but changed course after a backlash from the country's tourism industry. Peru noted in its reversal that it is part of a regional economic bloc that includes Mexico, Chile and Colombia.

Adam Isacson, an analyst at the Washington Office on Latin America, said Peru's membership with Mexico in the Pacific Alliance allowed its citizens visa-free travel longer than other countries.

It is unclear if Colombia, also a major source of migration, will be next, but Isacson said Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador is in a “lovefest” with his Colombian counterpart, Gustavo Petro, while his relations with Peru's government are more strained.

Colombians are consistently near the top nationalities of migrants arriving at Tijuana's airport. Many find hotels before a guide takes them to boulder-strewn mountains east of the city, where they cross through openings in the border wall and then walk toward dirt lots that the Border Patrol has identified as waiting stations.

The group waiting near Boulevard, a small, loosely defined rural town, included several Peruvians who said they came for economic opportunity and to escape violence and political crises.

Peruvians can still avoid the Darien jungle by flying to El Salvador, which introduced visa-free travel for them in December in reciprocation for a similar move by Peru's government. But they would still have to travel over land through Mexico, where many are robbed or kidnapped.

Palacios, who left his wife and year-old child in Ecuador with plans to support them financially from the U.S., said it took him two weeks to travel from his home near the violent city of Esmeralda to Mexico's border with Guatemala. It then took him two months to cross Mexico because immigration authorities turned him around three times and bused him back to the southern part of the country. He said he was robbed repeatedly.

Associated Press writer Christopher Sherman in Mexico City contributed.

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Mexico tightens travel rules on Peruvians in a show of visa diplomacy to slow migration to US

Mexico has begun requiring visas for Peruvians in response to a major influx of migrants from the South American country

BOULEVARD, Calif. -- Julia Paredes believed her move to the United States might be now or never. Mexico was days from requiring visas for Peruvian visitors. If she didn't act quickly, she would have to make a far more perilous, surreptitious journey over land to settle with her sister in Dallas.

“I had to treat it as a emergency,” said Paredes, who worked serving lunch to miners in Arequipa, Peru, and borrowed money to fly to Mexico's Tijuana, across from San Diego. Last month smugglers guided her through a remote opening in the border wall to a dirt lot in California, where she and about 100 migrants from around the world shivered over campfires after a morning drizzle and waited for overwhelmed Border Patrol agents to drive them to a station for processing.

Adam Isacson, an analyst at the Washington Office on Latin America, said Peru's membership with Mexico in the Pacific Alliance allowed its citizens visa-free travel longer than other countries.

It is unclear if Colombia, also a major source of migration, will be next, but Isacson said Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador is in a “lovefest” with his Colombian counterpart, Gustavo Petro, while his relations with Peru's government are more strained.

The group waiting near Boulevard, a small, loosely defined rural town, included several Peruvians who said they came for economic opportunity and to escape violence and political crises.

Palacios, who left his wife and year-old child in Ecuador with plans to support them financially from the U.S., said it took him two weeks to travel from his home near the violent city of Esmeralda to Mexico's border with Guatemala. It then took him two months to cross Mexico because immigration authorities turned him around three times and bused him back to the southern part of the country. He said he was robbed repeatedly.

Associated Press writer Christopher Sherman in Mexico City contributed.

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UK considered using Iraq to process asylum seekers in Rwanda-type deal, leaked documents show

Documents also show the UK and Iraq have a returns agreement which was made with a "request for discretion" and no publicity.

Political correspondent @serenabarksing

Monday 6 May 2024 05:17, UK

The government at one point considered using Iraq to process asylum seekers in a Rwanda-style scheme, according to documents seen by Sky News.

This could have seen people sent from the UK to a country the government advises against all travel to.

The two countries already have a returns agreement - but only for people who are from Iraq .

Politics live: Follow the latest updates here

According to leaked correspondence between high-ranking officials, the Iraqi returns commitments were made with a "request for discretion" and no publicity.

The country was willing to move forward but did not want a formal or public agreement.

The current travel advice to Iraq on the Foreign Office website simply advises against "all travel to parts of Iraq". However, according to the document, negotiations were fairly advanced and described in one table as "good recent progress with Iraq".