The number of asylum applications in the United States from Russian citizens has been a record since the start of Russia’s war in Ukraine.
In 2022, Russians filed 7,169 asylum applications in the United States. This is more than the sum of such petitions for the previous 8 years: in 2014-2021, less than 7,000 petitions were filed.
You can apply for asylum in the United States on an affirmative application if the applicant is in the United States with a nonimmigrant visa and has not violated the period of stay permitted. In this case, the asylum application is submitted to USCIS, the decision on the case bases on the results of the interview. If your asylum application is denied, you can sue.
But most Russians apply for asylum at one of the points of entry into the United States on the Mexican-American border – such an application is filed as a defensive application. This procedure assumes that the applicant is already in the process of deportation, and the case is immediately referred to the court. In 2022, 94.5% of Russian asylum applications were submitted in this way.
Earlier during the year, only a few hundred Russian citizens applied for asylum at the Mexican-American border. And since February 2022, more than 50,000 Russians have already crossed the border.
It is difficult now for Russian citizens to obtain a tourist visa to the United States in order to apply for asylum while already stay in the United States. Therefore, for many people there is only one way – the crossing of the Mexican-American border.
In 2022, 88% of decisions on asylum applications from Russians were positive, in 2021 – 86%.
But remember that an application to USCIS can “hang” for years, many people wait for their asylum interview for 5-7 and even 10 years. In courts, the waiting period depends on the workload of the judge, on the state and court in which the case is being considered, and for Russians it is usually about 2 years.
An asylum seeker in the United States is protected from deportation while awaiting his interview or court hearing. After 150 days from the date of application for asylum, you can apply for a work permit (it is issued for 2 years, renewable every 2 years). Together with a work permit, applicants receive a social security card, which allows them to pay taxes and create a credit history in banks.
An asylum applicant cannot leave the United States while waiting for interview. You can leave only after obtaining a special travel document. But it is difficult to get it, since the applicant must prove that he has a serious humanitarian or financial reason (examples of such reasons could be the death or serious illness of a relative).