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Will they stop me at departure in Malaysia, or at the US airport? I'm seeking asylum.

Karlson
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Sedih pilu
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    Welcome to travel.SE. More then likely you won't even be allowed on the plane without a visa. – Karlson May 14 '14 at 19:29
  • See also http://travel.stackexchange.com/questions/24298/what-are-transit-visas (even if things are a little different in the US). – Relaxed May 14 '14 at 19:37
  • I've made contact with a US immigration lawyer, who said that C-1 Transit Visa is unnecessary for someone connecting to a flight 3 hours later. Is this right, or is he wrong? – Sedih pilu May 14 '14 at 20:10
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    Relevant meta-question: "Are questions about seeking asylum allowed?" Also, a similar question on Expatriates: "Trying to Seek Asylum". – Nick Stauner May 14 '14 at 20:17
  • @Sedihpilu See the timatic visa details in Karlson's answer for what all airlines think is required (hint - it says Malaysian nations without an I-512 need a visa) – Gagravarr May 14 '14 at 20:47
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    There is nothing about this 3-hour rule in the official description from travel.gov and I have never heard of it. It also seems difficult to reconcile with the way US airports are organized (usually no transit area). Importantly, there is nothing about it in the Timatic info that @Karlson quoted and your airline is going to rely on that when making the decision to allow boarding or not. – Relaxed May 14 '14 at 20:47
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    This question appears to be off-topic because it is about applying for Asylum, which is OT here – Gagravarr May 14 '14 at 20:48
  • @Gagravarr It seems completely on-topic, based on the meta discussion Nick mentioned. – Relaxed May 14 '14 at 20:57
  • Sorry if this is off-topic, but it's more related to travel, not so much about asylum. I could leave out the bit about asylum, and it'd be a travel-related question.

    I know a visa is required. I'm just asking about the probability of being stopped when boarding vs. being stopped only on arrival on US soil.

     – Sedih pilu May 14 '14 at 21:05
  • From the meta-post - as such should be off-topic for Travel-SE – Gagravarr May 14 '14 at 21:05
  • @sedihpilu In the US there are no international transit zones so you will be crossing the US border you have to have the right to do so and even then it is not a sure thing since border control can turn you away. – Karlson May 14 '14 at 21:20
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    @Sedihpilu The probably of being stopped when boarding is AFAIK very high. I can attest that airlines do check your visa status (and can be obnoxious about anything unusual). Furthermore, they risk a fine and have to carry you back if you are denied entry, so they have strong incentives not to let people through without checking. – Relaxed May 14 '14 at 21:46
  • @Gagravarr Yeah, but what about the next sentence and the comments? It seems to me that the question is precisely not about asylum as such as Mark and mindcorrosive understood that phrase but about reaching US territory/the border checkpoint, i.e. the travel aspect. – Relaxed May 14 '14 at 21:48
  • @Annoyed Would it make a difference if I transited in 2 stops, with LAX being the 2nd, and NRT (Narita, Tokyo) being the 1st? So Malaysia-NRT, they'd probably just check for the Japanese visa, yes? And hopefully from NRT, which is simply a transit point, they do not check for the US C1 visa? – Sedih pilu May 14 '14 at 22:13
  • @Sedihpilu No, I think they typically check all layovers as well. – Relaxed May 14 '14 at 22:16
  • @Sedihpilu You have your reasons and it's your life of course, but maybe some place in Europe could be easier? It seems a Malaysian passport allows you to transit in or enter the UK and the Schengen area. Once you are there you can hire a lawyer and be in a much better position than when applying at the border. – Relaxed May 15 '14 at 22:49

3 Answers3

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In order to apply for asylum you need to be present in the United States but in order to enter you will need a visa. From outside the US the only thing that you can do is to apply for a Refugee Status and if you qualify you will be granted a visa and allowed to enter the US.

Karlson
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    If he already has the I-589 filled out, he might be able to talk the airline into letting him board. Applications for asylum can be presented at ports of entry. – Michael Hampton May 14 '14 at 21:14
  • Anywhere can I find more information on this? I was told that airlines, immigration officers, etc. are trained precisely to weed out asylum seekers and put them back in place. – Sedih pilu May 14 '14 at 21:29
  • http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/asylum-or-refugee-status-how-32299.html . Best I can figure you can try and request asylum at the border but you have to get to that border first and have sufficient evidence to prove that your life might be in danger upon return. Having said that you will need to board a plane which requires you to have it convinced that you wont be turned away at the border and they have to arrange transportation for you out of the country potentially on their dime. – Karlson May 14 '14 at 21:39
  • @Karlson What about flying to Tijuana, Mexico from Malaysia, and then literally walking to the immigration on the San Diego side? Any chance of them just ignoring me and asking me to go back to Mexico? Surely they won't entertain just anyone who shows up randomly with an asylum claim? I've read online about immigration officers ignoring or not being sympathetic to asylum seekers. – Sedih pilu May 14 '14 at 21:52
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    I'd say there's a very high likelyhood of them not letting you in at the TJ/SD border, which is notoriously tough as they have so many people trying to get in illegally around there, and telling you to claim asylum in Mexico instead – Gagravarr May 14 '14 at 21:55
  • @sedihpilu When seeking asylum it is on you to prove that you have the grounds to do so. So you have to make sure that your case is compelling enough not to be turned away. On question of how to do it this isn't the right forum. – Karlson May 14 '14 at 22:28
  • @Karlson That would seem completely unrelated to the question, which is whether they will hear the case/entertain the application at all. I don't know about actual US practice but in principle I think they should, even if that means detention and expedited procedure. But even in Europe, it's not always quite happening as it should. – Relaxed May 14 '14 at 22:44
  • @Annoyed Yes, I'm not asking about the merits of my asylum case; I'm more concerned about whether I'd even be entertained at the border. If they do detain me and put me in the "process" (i.e. credible fear interview, hearing before an Immigration Judge), I'd be over the moon.

    If they don't entertain me, and this may sound crazy, can I just stand there anyway, refusing to go back to the Mexican side, and wait for them to come and arrest me for illegal entry, at which point I get into contact with my attorney? I'm desperate and cannot return to Malaysia under any circumstances.

     – Sedih pilu May 14 '14 at 22:54
  • @Seidhpilu Worse case scenario is they put you in the hand of Mexican police I would think. I recently heard about cases like this on the Bulgarian/Turkish border. I think it's illegal under EU and international law but once you are somewhere in Turkey, that does not help you in practice. Like I said before, I don't know precisely about the US however. – Relaxed May 14 '14 at 22:58
  • @Annoyed I think my game plan would be to fly to Tijuana, and then walk over to the Ysidro Port of Entry. If they turn me away, I'll go there again the next day, repeat... until they detain me. Thanks a lot for your comments, I really appreciate it. – Sedih pilu May 14 '14 at 23:18
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    @Sedihpilu: Seems like it would be a good idea to contact a lawyer before trying any of these schemes. They would probably have a better idea of what might actually work. – Nate Eldredge May 15 '14 at 00:34
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    @NateEldredge Given the advice he received from a lawyer already I suggest switching them – Karlson May 15 '14 at 01:01
  • @Karlson: Indeed, I missed that comment. – Nate Eldredge May 15 '14 at 01:13
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You will almost definitely be asked to demonstrate your right to enter your final destination before boarding at the departure airport. Your right to transit at any layover point should also be checked. All this because international agreements force airlines to carry people who are denied entry back to their origin point at their own cost. Additionally, in some countries, the airline can also be fined (I have heard about EUR 2000 per person or so) for failing to check visas properly. All this is designed precisely to minimize the number of people showing up at the destination airport and trying to apply for asylum, at which point they should at least be detained and given an opportunity to argue their case.

Relaxed
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The airline will not let you check in and/or board the plane without necessary documents to enter the destination country and to transit any transit countries. This is because if an airline takes you there, and the country denies you entry, the airline is liable for the cost of carrying you back. So to protect themselves they make doubly sure that you have a visa or other suitable document if required in your situation (to the point that they sometimes wrongly deny boarding to people who have acceptable but obscure documentation).

Also, some countries prevent you from leaving in exit checks if you don't have a visa to the destination country. Not all countries do this; I am not sure about Malaysia.

user102008
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