“Having dual nationality is a blessing in some cases and a disadvantage in others.” This is how an expert immigration lawyer describes it and gives her arguments when she talks about asylum applications.

Depending on which countries the person has dual citizenship, he can apply for asylum in the United States. If migration confirms that there is no persecution in that second nation, they will wonder why they are asking for it on North American soil.

Alma Rosa Nieto, lawyer, gave the following examples for Telemundo news:

How to apply for asylum in the United States and who is eligible

United States asylum and immigration law

Under U.S. immigration law, “dual nationals cannot apply for asylum unless they are being persecuted by the countries of which they are citizens,” the Kameli law firm writes on its website.

From Legal Consulting, they in turn explain that “citizens with dual citizenship cannot be granted asylum unless they are harmed in both countries of which they are citizens.” It matches what Nieto said.

Asylum is almost impossible to get for citizens with dual nationality, Legal Consulting warns.

They specify that immigration laws are interpreted by the Board of Immigration Appeals in Falls Church, Virginia (Board of Immigration Appeals, BIA).

The BIA, they explain, “is only an appellate body for immigration matters.”

Photo: Pexels/Oleksandr Canary Islands

BIA decisions are binding on all immigration courts in the United States, so all immigration courts must abide by the provisions of those decisions.

Legal advice

Asylum seekers in the United States must have their own interpreters from September 2023

Is there an exception?

Lawyer Jesús Reyes emphasizes through a video that you can apply for asylum if you prove that you have suffered or are very likely to suffer persecution in both countries, where you have the nationality or where you permanently reside.

In material released in February 2023, Reyes reports that there is an exception for residents of Connecticut, Vermont, and New York State, allowing people who, even if they have dual citizenship or live in another country, to apply submit without justification that their lives are in danger.