The cons of political asylum in the US compared to Europe: why America is not always the best option

Ongoing Russo-Ukrainian War and Introduction to Russia electronic summonses, simplifying the sending of conscripts and mobilized people to the front, again raised the question of moving to another country for many Russians. For many, moving involves obtaining political asylum in the US or EU. At the same time, there is often a myth among those leaving Russia that the United States is an ideal country for political asylum.

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Yes, the US is indeed a country of immigrants. However, this does not mean that it has created the best conditions for political refugees. Moreover, in this regard, the United States is losing to the countries of the European Union on a number of points.

1. Lack of humanitarian visas for political refugees

During the Soviet era, refugees from the Soviet Union wishing to enter the United States, as a rule, were interviewed at one of the American embassies, and then entered the United States with already existing refugee status (refugee). Today, such procedures have been preserved only for obtaining temporary protected status for war refugees. For example, Ukrainians entering the United States under the program United for Ukrainemust obtain entry approval in advance.

However, such procedures no longer exist for political refugees. Simply put, America does not give a special visa, which requires you to apply for political asylum immediately after entering the country. For comparison, in the EU countries such visas exist, and they can be obtained at the embassies of specific countries while abroad. For example, I know of cases when journalists and human rights activists who fled Russia received similar humanitarian visas from Germany or France, while being in Georgia or Turkey.

As for the United States, potential refugees are forced to enter the country on some other visas, and only then apply for political asylum. Needless to say, it is very difficult to obtain "regular" visas to the United States for Russian citizens today.

If you apply for asylum without a visa at the southern border of the United States, there is a high probability that you will end up in temporary detention centers, colloquially called "immigration prisons". The terms of imprisonment in such a prison are not standardized in any way, and a person can be in it from several weeks to a year or even more. Often it depends on banal luck. In Europe, there is no institution of immigration prisons for asylum seekers.

2. Lack of clear deadlines for the consideration of cases

In EU countries, an application for political asylum is usually considered within six months. If the review period is too long, it can be challenged. However, in the United States, the review process for your application can take an infinitely long time. For example, many asylum seekers who applied for protection between 2014 and 2016 ended up in the so-called backlog, an archive of backlog cases that the migration service simply did not get their hands on.

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In 2018, the administration Donald Trump dramatically changed the migration policy, and new cases began to be considered in the first place, while the old ones were pushed even further. As a result, the US Immigration Service still does not have enough staff to deal with this category of cases, and potential refugees waiting for a call for interviews for 7-8 years. Statements from lawyers and even congressmen asking for speedy consideration often have no effect.

3. There is no temporary residence permit (permit) in the USA

Unlike European countries, the United States does not have the concept of a temporary residence permit. There are only three grounds for legal stay in the United States for non-citizens of the country: a visa, a green card (which is considered a permanent residence permit) and various types of temporary protected statuses. The only exception is a conditional green card, which is initially obtained by marriage to an American.

The process of switching from a visa to a green card is called the vague term pending, which literally translates as “pending”. Unlike the temporary residence permit of most European countries, the period spent in "panding" does not count towards the "settlement" period required in order to apply for citizenship.

As we have already seen from the previous paragraph, a person can spend many years waiting. During this period, his status is not defined, and lawyers most often advise such people not to leave the country until their issue is resolved. At the same time, the deadline for applying for citizenship will begin to run only from the moment of obtaining political asylum and, accordingly, a year after that - a green card.

4. Risk of bureaucratic arbitrariness

The absence of clearly defined deadlines can lead to abuse by individual officials, because it is almost impossible to challenge their actions in such cases. In general, challenging the actions of officials, and even more so bringing them to justice, is much easier in the United States than in the post-Soviet space, but at the same time more difficult than in Europe.

This is primarily because the United States does not have a European Court of Human Rights. In addition to the trials themselves, this body also issues binding resolutions prohibiting certain actions by officials, for example, deliberate provocations, deliberate misleading of a person, and so on. In the US, these rules do not apply.

We have already wrote about the case Mikhail Nikitin, faced with abuses in the temporary detention center. First, the immigration officers tricked him into writing certain things in the documents, which then formed the basis for refusing to grant asylum, and then completely allowed the direct forgery of documents. Mikhail managed to prove the deception, after which he was released from immigration prison.

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However, we are not aware of any prosecution of officials. Also in America, it is not easy to deal with illegal abuses of officials, for example, unreasonable checks or deliberate delay in the case, which may also be the result of a personal conflict. It is very difficult to prove such abuses.

5. Lack of welfare for refugees

As in many other countries, asylum seekers in the United States are entitled to various benefits and benefits. However, the problem is that this right is retained only if a person receives refugee status within three years from the date of arrival in America. Due to the long terms of consideration of cases in practice, this becomes impossible.

Of course, in some states, especially democratic ones, in any case privileges are provided for the poor, free education and health care for children, and so on. However, such a social package as in Europe, with preferential, and sometimes free housing and regular payments, will not be available to a person awaiting consideration of his case in the United States.

These things are important to know at least in order not to have high expectations. It must be clearly understood that in the United States you can find security and an opportunity for self-realization, but here you should not expect an easy legalization process and serious assistance from the state.

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