[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 8, Volume 1]
[Revised as of January 1, 2001]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 8CFR208.3]

[Page 183-184]
 
                     TITLE 8--ALIENS AND NATIONALITY
 
CHAPTER I--IMMIGRATION AND NATURALIZATION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
 
PART 208--PROCEDURES FOR ASYLUM AND WITHHOLDING OF REMOVAL--Table of Contents
 
              Subpart A--Asylum and Withholding of Removal
 
Sec. 208.3  Form of application.

    (a) An asylum applicant must file Form I-589, Application for Asylum 
or Withholding of Removal, together with any additional supporting 
evidence in accordance with the instructions on the form. The 
applicant's spouse and children shall be listed on the application and 
may be included in the request for asylum if they are in the United 
States. One additional copy of the principal applicant's Form I-589 must 
be submitted for each dependent included in the principal's application.
    (b) An asylum application shall be deemed to constitute at the same 
time an application for withholding of removal, unless adjudicated in 
deportation or exclusion proceedings commenced prior to April 1, 1997. 
In such instances, the asylum application shall be deemed to constitute 
an application for withholding of deportation under section 243(h) of 
the Act, as that section existed prior to April 1, 1997. Where a 
determination is made that an applicant is ineligible to apply for 
asylum under section 208(a)(2) of the Act, an asylum application shall 
be construed as an application for withholding of removal.
    (c) Form I-589 shall be filed under the following conditions and 
shall have the following consequences:
    (1) If the application was filed on or after January 4, 1995, 
information provided in the application may be used as a basis for the 
initiation of removal proceedings, or to satisfy any burden of proof in 
exclusion, deportation, or removal proceedings;
    (2) The applicant and anyone other than a spouse, parent, son, or 
daughter of the applicant who assists the applicant in preparing the 
application must sign the application under penalty of perjury. The 
applicant's signature establishes a presumption that the applicant is 
aware of the contents of the application. A person other than a relative 
specified in this paragraph who assists the applicant in preparing the 
application also must provide his or her full mailing address;
    (3) An asylum application that does not include a response to each 
of the questions contained in the Form I-589, is unsigned, or is 
unaccompanied by the required materials specified in paragraph (a) of 
this section is incomplete. The filing of an incomplete application 
shall not commence the 150-day period after which the applicant may file 
an application for employment authorization in accordance with 
Sec. 208.7. An application that is incomplete shall be returned by mail 
to the applicant within 30 days of the receipt of the application by the 
Service. If the Service has not mailed the incomplete application back 
to the applicant within 30 days, it shall be deemed complete. An 
application returned to the applicant as incomplete shall be resubmitted 
by the applicant with the additional information if he or she wishes to 
have the application considered;

[[Page 184]]

    (4) Knowing placement of false information on the application may 
subject the person placing that information on the application to 
criminal penalties under title 18 of the United States Code and to civil 
penalties under section 274C of the Act; and
    (5) Knowingly filing a frivolous application on or after April 1, 
1997, so long as the applicant has received the notice required by 
section 208(d)(4) of the Act, shall render the applicant permanently 
ineligible for any benefits under the Act pursuant to Sec. 208.18.

    Effective Date Note: At 65 FR 76131, Dec. 6, 2000, Sec. 208.3 was 
amended by revising paragraphs, (a), (c)(4) and (c)(5), effective Jan. 
5, 2001. For the convenience of the user, the revised text is set forth 
as follows:

Sec. 208.3  Form of application.

    (a) An asylum applicant must file Form I-589, Application for Asylum 
and for Withholding of Removal, together with any additional supporting 
evidence in accordance with the instructions on the form. The 
applicant's spouse and children shall be listed on the application and 
may be included in the request for asylum if they are in the United 
States. One additional copy of the principal applicant's Form I-589 must 
be submitted for each dependent included in the principal's application.

                                * * * * *

    (c) * * *
    (4) Knowing placement of false information on the application may 
subject the person placing that information on the application to 
criminal penalties under title 18 of the United States Code and to civil 
or criminal penalties under section 274C of the Act; and
    (5) Knowingly filing a frivolous application on or after April 1, 
1997, so long as the applicant has received the notice required by 
section 208(d)(4) of the Act, shall render the applicant permanently 
ineligible for any benefits under the Act pursuant to Sec. 208.20.