HOW TO APPLY FOR ASYLUM - The Florence Project

not have to return to your country. It is very important to tell the DHS or the Immigration Judge all of
the details of what you suffered in the past!
2. You were persecuted in the past for one of the five reasons listed above and will be seriously harmed for
some other reason if you were returned. Here is an example: you were persecuted in the past because of
your religion. Things have improved in your country and now people of your religion are no longer
persecuted. But, you are afraid to return to your country because you will be seriously harmed for some
other reason. You might be able to win asylum.
Please note that you cannot obtain withholding of removal under INA section 241(b)(3) in either of these two
ways. You could only possibly win asylum.
• What if I left because I do not want to participate in the war
First, it depends on why you do not want to participate. If you just don't want to do your military service or if
you refused to join the army or the guerrillas because you want to stay with your family, and not because you
are morally, religiously, or politically opposed to one side or the other, it is more difficult to win asylum. In
other words, it is difficult to show that you will be persecuted because of your political opinion if you don't
have a political opinion.
It also depends on why you would be persecuted. If your refusing to do your military service leads the
government or guerrillas to believe that you support the other side, or if they mistreat you because they
consider you their enemy, it can be said that the government or guerrillas will persecute you because of your
political opinion (or because they think you have a certain political opinion). But if, for example, members of
government will detain or jail you as a punishment for not participating in your military service, and not
because they think you support the guerrillas, you do not have the basis for a political asylum claim, because it
has nothing to do with your own political opinion.
One very common problem for people applying for asylum after refusing to participate in the war is that the
judge may say that the harm they suffered is because the government wants to enforce the law, and not because
it was persecuting people for their political opinions. You might be able to qualify for asylum, though, if you
can show that you or other people in the same situation have been tortured, killed, or mistreated in a way not
provided for by law, because that may show that you were or will be persecuted for political reasons and not
just to enforce the law of your country.
• Will I qualify for asylum or withholding if I came to improve my life and I am not in danger in my
country
If you came to the United States only because of lack of work or poverty, you will not qualify. But, if you
came to the U.S. because you were poor and also because you are in danger of being mistreated in your
country because of your political opinion, social group, race, nationality, or religion, you might qualify.
• What if I fear mistreatment but for some other reason
You cannot win asylum or withholding of removal under INA section 241(b)(3) unless you can show
persecution because of one of the five reasons we explained. But if you are afraid of being tortured by an
official in your country or if you can show your government would willingly allow you to be tortured, but you
cannot prove that it is for one of the five reasons we explained, you may be able to get protection in the U.S.
based on something called the “United Nations Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or
Degrading Treatment or Punishment.” Keep reading this booklet for our discussion of how to apply for
protection under the Convention Against Torture.
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FIRRP- last update June 2007