Q: What is a Reasonable Fear of Persecution or Torture?

A: A "reasonable fear of persecution or torture" is defined as a "reasonable possibility" that in the country of proposed removal the individual will be:

• persecuted on account of his or her race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion, or
  
• tortured, as defined by Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in the Convention Against Torture and as modified by the United States law

The definition of torture, as defined in Article 1 of the Convention and modified by the U.S. ratification document is:

• severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental
  
• intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as
  • obtaining from him or her or a third person information or a confession
  • punishing him or her for an act he or she or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed
  • intimidating or coercing him or her or a third person, or
  • for any reason based on discrimination of any kind
  
  
• by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity.

Q: When Do Asylum Officers Conduct "Reasonable Fear of Persecution or Torture" Interviews?

A: Asylum officers conduct reasonable fear of persecution or torture interviews in two types of cases:

• An individual who is subject to reinstatement of a prior removal order because he or she illegally reentered the United States after having been removed or having departed voluntarily while under an order of exclusion, deportation, or removal.
  
• An individual who is subject to an order of removal because he or she was convicted of one or more aggravated felonies after admission.

Asylum officers are required by regulation to conduct the interview and make the reasonable fear determination within 10 days after the case has been referred to the asylum office, unless there are exceptional circumstances. If an individual is serving a lengthy prison sentence, the asylum officer will not conduct the reasonable fear interview until the individual has nearly completed the sentence or otherwise is soon to be released to Immigration custody. In most cases, the individuals will be detained.

Q: Are There Any Mandatory Bars to Establishing a Reasonable Fear of Persecution or Torture?

A: The Asylum Officer may not consider any mandatory bars in determining whether an individual has established a reasonable fear of persecution or torture. If an individual is found to have a reasonable fear, however, the Immigration Judge will consider whether the individual is barred from a grant of withholding of removal. An individual may not be granted withholding of removal if he or she has persecuted others on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion, has been convicted of a particularly serious crime, has committed a serious nonpolitical crime outside the United States, or there are reasonable grounds to believe that the individual is a danger to the security of the United States. If a bar applies, but the individual has established that he or she would be tortured in the country of return, the Immigration Judge will grant deferral of removal.

Q: What Will Happen if the Asylum Officer Finds a Reasonable Fear?

A: The Asylum Officer must refer the case to the Immigration Judge, after review by the USCIS Headquarters Asylum Division staff, if reasonable fear of persecution or torture is found.

Q: What Will Happen if the Asylum Officer Does Not Find a Reasonable Fear?

A: If a reasonable fear of persecution or torture is not found, the individual can request review of the decision by an Immigration Judge. If no review is requested or the immigration judge concurs with the negative decision, the individual will be removed from the United States.