US to cash in on asylum seekers

November 19, 2019 in Foreign News, Policy by Editor

During the past year, large batches of Africans (mainly Eritreans and English-speaking Cameroonians), have been making the roundabout route of flying to South America then trekking up to Mexcio.

The United States, long seen as an immigrant heaven, plans to charge asylum seekers $50 to process their applications while those eligible for citizenship will now have to pay $1170 up from the previous $750.

Ken Cuccinelli, acting director of the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) said recently, “This proposed adjustment in fees would ensure more applicants cover the true cost of their applications and minimizes subsidies from an already over-extended system.”

In the US, asylum applications refer to persons whose application is pending at any stage in the asylum process. According to the Department of Homeland Security during 2017, 53,691 persons were admitted to the US as refugees. The leading countries of nationality for refugees admitted during this period were the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Iraq, and Syria.

However during the past a year, large batches of Africans (mainly Eritreans and English-speaking Cameroonians), have been making the roundabout route of flying to South America then trekking up to Mexcio where most have been halted by President Trump’s ‘Remain in Mexico’ restrictive immigration policy.

Asylum seekers or failed asylum seekers awaiting the outcome of an asylum claim or further submission cannot work as an employee or a worker, even for a voluntary organisation, unless they have been granted permission to work under Paragraph 360 of the Immigration Rules.

Once the proposed fee changes are approved, the US will join Australia, Fiji and Iran, in charging for initial asylum applications.