Immigrant / International Experience

The U.S. State Department has implemented a new policy requiring all visa applicants to state whether they fear returning to their home countries or have been harmed there. According to Migrant Insider, this directive acts as a "perjury trap": answering "yes" results in an automatic visa denial, while answering "no" could be used to deny future asylum claims based on untruthfulness. Critics argue this policy effectively blocks vulnerable individuals—such as abuse survivors, persecuted minorities, and journalists—from seeking asylum before they can even reach a U.S. border.