Asylum in Canada vs the united states

[chasinglight]

So my friend is living in the United states on a student visa and has to leave soon but faces persecution and abuse in his home country. I advised him to come here I know he can't come here straight from the USA but can go home and then come here. He prefers to stay in the USA. My question is he applies for asylum in the USA and is then rejected can he then apply in Canada or will a negative decision in the USA affect him here.


He has spoken to lawyers there who have told him him he can file for asylum there and and get a 3 year work permit because it takes 4 years for an asylum case to be heard in the USA according the lawyers and maybe get work sponsorship etc and stay permanently even if his refugee application is refused. My fear is that if he is rejected Canada won't be an option for him anymore and many people i know from my home country who faced persecution have had successful asylum applications here I don't know of any in the USA. So would a negative decision in the USA affect a future application here in Canada?

 

[scylla]

Sure - a negative decision in the US will certainly impact a potential claim here.

 

[Buletruck]

I have read that his leaving the US for home and then applying for asylum in Canada can potentially work against him. My understanding is they would question the validity of his claim, since he didn't apply while he had the opportunity in the US. Don't quote me on this, but I remember reading some quote from CANLii it on several websites, so you might want to research that aspect a bit as well.

 

[chasinglight]

He also has no family in Canada and plenty of family in the USA but they have very different religious beliefs and aren't supportive of him. Would that also negatively affect a claim in Canada?

 

[Rob_TO]

So my friend is living in the United states on a student visa and has to leave soon but faces persecution and abuse in his home country. I advised him to come here I know he can't come here straight from the USA but can go home and then come here. He prefers to stay in the USA. My question is he applies for asylum in the USA and is then rejected can he then apply in Canada or will a negative decision in the USA affect him here.


He has spoken to lawyers there who have told him him he can file for asylum there and and get a 3 year work permit because it takes 4 years for an asylum case to be heard in the USA according the lawyers and maybe get work sponsorship etc and stay permanently even if his refugee application is refused. My fear is that if he is rejected Canada won't be an option for him anymore and many people i know from my home country who faced persecution have had successful asylum applications here I don't know of any in the USA. So would a negative decision in the USA affect a future application here in Canada?

He can't apply for asylum at the Canada land border due to Safe 3rd country agreement, and the fact he has no family in Canada.

So to even think about claiming asylum here, he would first need a TRV to even enter Canada to begin with. This will be essentially impossible to do if he already has an asylum claim pending or rejected in the US. Canada will not let him enter if they suspect he will just claim asylum here.

 

[chasinglight]

He can't apply for asylum at the Canada land border due to Safe 3rd country agreement, and the fact he has no family in Canada.

So to even think about claiming asylum here, he would first need a TRV to even enter Canada to begin with. This will be essentially impossible to do if he already has an asylum claim pending or rejected in the US. Canada will not let him enter if they suspect he will just claim asylum here.

He would go home first since he has to leave the USA next week. He hasn't submitted a claim in the USA yet he's just been talking to Lawyers so he can still visit and doesn't need a visa to visit . He would fly home even tho he doesn't get along with his family and it would be difficult and then come here directly after bypassing the usa.

 

[Buletruck]

I still believe that his not claiming in the US would have an adverse affect on his claim, particularly if he goes home. My feeling is it would be viewed as "shopping" for refugee status and would diminish the validity of his claim of persecution. The thought being, if you are a refugee you will do anything at the first opportunity to escape having to risk going home. Staying as a student in one country, then travelling home to then claim asylum in a different country looks opportunistic.

 

[Rob_TO]

I still believe that his not claiming in the US would have an adverse affect on his claim, particularly if he goes home. My feeling is it would be viewed as "shopping" for refugee status and would diminish the validity of his claim of persecution. The thought being, if you are a refugee you will do anything at the first opportunity to escape having to risk going home. Staying as a student in one country, then travelling home to then claim asylum in a different country looks opportunistic.

Agreed. Also if he's from a visa-exempt country it will be that much harder to get approved as a genuine refugee anyways.

 

[chasinglight]

Gay people are persecuted and attacked in our country and many of them have had successful claims in Canada just the ones I know were never students in the USA

 

[chasinglight]

This case was accepted and the person didn't file in the USA and did return to Turkey and filed in Canada.

https://www.canlii.org/en/ca/irb/doc/2016/2016canlii102838/2016canlii102838.html?searchUrlHash=AAAAAQAOYXN5bHVtIHVzYSBnYXkAAAAAAQ&resultIndex=4

 

[Buletruck]

Gay people are persecuted and attacked in our country and many of them have had successful claims in Canada just the ones I know were never students in the USA

I'm not sure what the relevance of that comment is? Straight people in Syria are persecuted and attacked as well.....

It's important to read the whole context of the findings of the case you posted. In that case, the claimant didn't feel threatened when he returned to Turkey after being in the US. The threat occurred after he returned home. NOTE that it specifically mentions this was a specific concern and significant consideration having not claimed in the US until after it was explained that claiming in the US was not a consideration at the time of his return to Turkey, as there was no need. You have stated your friend already feels threatened and abused in his home country, hence he should claim in the US or there is a significant risk his claim will be rejected in Canada.