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DHS/USCIS

RIN: 1615-AA41

Publication ID: Fall 2008

Title: Asylum and Withholding Definitions
Abstract: This rule proposes to amend Department of Homeland Security regulations that govern asylum eligibility by providing guidance on certain issues that have arisen in the context of asylum adjudications. The amendments focus on portions of the regulations that deal with the definitions of membership in a particular social group, the requirements for failure of State protection, and determinations about whether persecution is inflicted on account of a protected ground. This rule codifies long-standing concepts of the definitions. It clarifies that gender can be a basis for membership in a particular social group. It also clarifies that a person who has suffered or fears domestic violence may under certain circumstances be eligible for asylum on that basis. The Department of Justice believed that this issue required further examination after the Board of Immigration Appeals decision, Matter of R-A-, Interim Decision 3403 (BIA 1999) and published a proposed rule. Additionally, the rule clarifies the factors considered in cases in the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit regarding membership in a particular social group are not determinative. Hence, USCIS will publish a final rule which incorporates provisions contained in both an interim rule amending Department of Justice regulations to implement the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (62 FR 10312-1997), and the proposed past persecution rule, Executive Office for Immigration Review; New Rules Regarding Procedures for Asylum and Withholding of Removal (63 FR 31945-1998).
Agency: Department of Homeland Security(DHS)	Priority: Other Significant
RIN Status: Previously published in the Unified Agenda	Agenda Stage of Rulemaking: Long-Term Actions
Major: No	Unfunded Mandates: No
CFR Citation: 8 CFR 208
Legal Authority: 8 USC 1103 8 USC 1158 8 USC 1226 8 USC 1252 8 USC 1282 8 CFR 2

Legal Deadline: None

Timetable:

Action	Date	FR Cite
NPRM	12/07/2000	65 FR 76588
NPRM Comment Period End	01/22/2001
Next Action Undetermined	To Be Determined

Additional Information: CIS No. 2092-00 Transferred from RIN 1115-AF92
Regulatory Flexibility Analysis Required: No	Government Levels Affected: None
Small Entities Affected: No	Federalism: No
Included in the Regulatory Plan: No
RIN Data Printed in the FR: No
Agency Contact: Molly Groom Chief, Refugee and Asylum Law Division, Office of the Chief Counsel Department of Homeland Security U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services 20 Massachusetts Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20259 Phone:202 272-1400 Fax:202 272-1408 Email: molly.m.groom@uscis.dhs.gov