U.S. and Canada Consider Agreement re Asylees
Posted Jul 19, 2002

The Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) issued a notice indicating that the INS and the U.S. Department of State (DOS) are engaged in negotiations with the government of Canada on a "safe third country" agreement. The purpose of such an agreement is to limit an application for political asylum to one for either the U.S. or Canada, but not both.

Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, one cannot apply for asylum in the U.S. if that person can be removed to another country where s/he can obtain a fair hearing on a claim. This ability to remove the individual to the country other than his or her country of citizenship must be based upon an agreement with the third country. U.S. and Canadian governments signed an accord in December of 2001 to begin negotiations toward such an agreement.

INS is holding a meeting at its Washington D.C. Headquarters Office on August 1, 2002 at 1 o'clock p.m. (Eastern time), to solicit comments from the public on the proposed agreement. In order to provide adequate seating, those planning to attend must notify the contact person specified in the INS notice. The notice and the text of the agreement are available on the INS website.