Non-Precedent Decision of the Administrative Appeals Office
MATTER OF S-A-S- DATE: APR. 3, 2017
APPEAL OF NEW DELHI, INDIA FIELD OFFICE DECISION
APPLICATION: FORM l-131, APPLICATION FOR TRAVEL DOCUMENT
The Applicant, a native and citizen of Pakistan, seeks a refugee travel document so he may return to the United States. See Immigration and Nationality Act (the Act) section 208(c)(1 )(C), 8 U.S.C. § 1158(c)(l)(C). A person with asylum or refugee status must apply for a refugee travel document to return to the United States after temporary travel abroad unless he or she obtains advance permtsswn.
The Director of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Field Office in New Delhi, India, denied the application stating that the Applicant was ineligible for a refugee travel document because he had been outside of the United States for one year, he applied for five travel documents within the previous four years, and he returned to Pakistan, a country from which he claimed asylum, on multiple occasions with a Pakistani passport.
On appeal, the Applicant asserts that the decision was not fair because he applied for a travel document after spending less than one year abroad. Furthermore, he claims he received only three such documents in the past, because two of his applications were denied. Finally, the Applicant states that his travel to Pakistan was for emergent reasons.
Upon de novo review, we will remand the matter to the Din:;ctor for further review and entry of a new decision. t$
I. LAW
Section 208( c )(1) of the Act provides that the Secretary of Homeland Security may allow a foreign national granted asylum status to travel abroad with the Secretary's prior consent.
A person who holds asylum status pursuant to section 208 of the Act must have a refugee travel document to return to the United States after temporary travel abroad unless he or she is in possession of a valid advance parole document. 8 C.F .R. § 223.1 (b).
Generally, an asylee must apply for a refugeeJravel document in the United States. However, under certain circumstances, an application may be filed and processed abroad. The regulations at 8 C.F.R. § 223 .2(b )(2)(ii) provide, in pertinent part, that: .
Matter ofS-A-S-
[a]s a matter of discretion, [the USCIS] office with jurisdiction over a port-of-entry or pre-flight inspection location where the alien is seeking admission, or the overseas [USCIS] office where the alien is physically present, may accept and adjudicate an application for a refugee travel document from an alien who previously had been admitted to the United States as a refugee, or who previously had been granted asylum status in the United States, and who departed from the United States without having applied for such refugee travel document, provided the otlicer:
(A) Is satisfied that the alien did not intend to abandon his or her refugee or asylum status at the time of departure from the United States;
(B) The alien did not engage in any activities while outside the United States that would be inconsistent with continued refugee or asylum status; and
(C) The alien has been outside the United States for less than l year since his or her last departure.
Even if the applicant for a refugee travel document meets the above requirements, US CIS may still deny a request as a matter of discretion. 8 C.F.R. § 223.2(e). However, in denying an application, USCIS must explain in writing the specific reasons for the denial. 8 C.F.R § 103.3(a)(1)(i).
II. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY
The record reflects the Applicant was granted asylum from Pakistan in the United States in 2004. A year later, he applied to adjust status to that of a lawful permanent resident. That application is currently pending. Although he claims he only received three travel documents, his record reflects he was issued four travel documents between 201 0 and 2014. In December 2011, he also obtained a Pakistani passport, and he used this passport to travel to Pakistan on several occasions until 2015. The Applicant was last admitted to the United States as an asylee on August 11, 2014, with his Pakistani passport. He subsequently filed Form l-131, Application for Travel Document, and departed the United States in November 2014. USCIS denied that application in May 2015 because the Applicant did not attend the fingerprint appointment.
In July 2015, the Applicant contacted the USCIS office in India, by email. After he answered some questions regarding his absence from the United States and travel to Pakistan, he was advised that the office would accept his application for a refugee travel document. In October 2015, the Applicant submitted the instant Form I-131 to that office. He represented on the form that his physical address was in Pakistan, but indicated that he intended to return to the United States to resume his residence and work there.
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III. ANALYSIS
As stated above, an overseas USCIS office may deny an application for a refugee travel document when the applicant departs from the United States with an intention of abandoning asylum status, engages in any activities inconsistent with such status, or is present outside of the United States for over one year. USCIS may also deny the application as a matter of discretion. In both cases, USCIS must explain specific reasons for the adverse decision.
In denying the Applicant's Form I-131, the Director listed the facts about the Applicant's presence outside of the United States, his frequent travel to Pakistan with the Pakistani passport, and previous applications for travel documents. However, the Director did not explain why the Applicant was not eligible for a refugee travel document based on these facts.
The evidence is insufficient to determine whether the Applicant intended to abandon his asylum status when he left the United States in November 2014. While the Director found that the Applicant was absent from the United States for over a year, the record reflects that he contacted the USCIS office in India two months after the Form I-131 he filed in the United States was denied. Furthermore, the Applicant submitted a new application for a refugee travel document in October 2015, less than a year after his departure from the United States. Moreover, the Director's decision does not address the explanations the Applicant provided in response to the USCIS email inquiry regarding the reasons for his travel to Pakistan, or evidence the Applicant submitted to support his claim that his most recent trip to Pakistan was for emergent reasons.
Although the record reflects that the Applicant obtained a Pakistani passport and frequently usGd it for foreign travel, the Director did not discuss the effect of these actions 9n the Applicant's eligibility for a refugee travel document. Finally, the Director did not explain how the Forms 1-131 the Applicant filed previously related to his current eligibility for a refugee travel document. Therefore, the denial does not support a conclusion that the Applicant is ineligible for a refugee travel document under the regulatory provisions of 8 C.F .R. § 223 .2(b )(2)(i i), or that he does not merit favorable exercise of discretion. As such, it does not provide sufficient grounds for the Applicant to address any evidentiary deficiencies or negative discretionary factors on appeal.
IV. CONCLUSION
When denying an application, as a matter of statutory ineligibility, or as a matter of discretion, USCIS has an affirmative duty to explain the specific reasons for the denial. In this case, this duty included informing the Applicant why he did not satisfy the burden of proof in demonstrating eligibility for a refugee travel document, or why his application did not merit favorable consideration. Because the denial in this case does not include such information, we find that the matter .warrants further review and issuance of a new decision. Matter ofS-A -S-
ORDER: The decision of the Director is withdrawn. The matter is remanded for further proceedings consistent with the foregoing opinion and for the entry of a new decision.
Cite as Matter o.fS-A-S-, ID# 101107 (AAO Apr. 3, 2017)
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