U.S. Department of Justice

EOIR BIA Decision

The Board of Immigration Appeals has issued a decision in Matter of C-I-G-M- & L-V-S-G-, 29 I&N Dec. 291 (BIA 2025).

(1)  If the Department of Homeland Security claims that an asylum cooperative agreement bars a respondent from applying for asylum in the United States, the Immigration Judge should determine whether the safe third country bar applies prior to and separate from considering a respondent’s eligibility for asylum.

(2)  A respondent subject to the terms of an asylum cooperative agreement has the burden to establish by a preponderance of the evidence that he or she will more likely than not be persecuted on account of a protected ground or tortured in the relevant third country to avoid application of the safe third country bar and for the respondent to be eligible to seek asylum and other protection claims in the United States.

                                                                                        
Executive Office for Immigration Review
Office of Policy
PAO.EOIR@usdoj.gov
703-305-0289