NOTE: This information is from JUNE 7, 2024. We try to update it when there are important changes but it could have changed because U.S. immigration laws change quickly. This information is educational and is not legal advice.

Who is this information for?

This is for people who want to enter the United States from Mexico at a land border. It is for adults traveling alone and for families traveling together. This is not for children under 18 who are traveling without a parent. Unaccompanied children have special protections under U.S. immigration laws, and this information does not apply to them.

What does this article include?

• Information about the different ways to try to enter the United States, and the rules and process for each type of entry.
• An explanation of what might happen if you try to enter without following certain procedures and guidelines, such as not making an appointment before you arrive at the border.

What is happening at the border?

In June 2024, the U.S. government issued a rule that allows it to declare an “emergency” at the border at times of high volume crossings. As of June 5, 2024, the U.S. government considers the current number of crossings to be an “emergency,” and most people who cross the border without an appointment will be barred from asylum. They might be allowed to apply for other protection allowing them to stay in the U.S., but those who do not show they are likely to win that other protection will face fast deportation through a process called “expedited removal.” It is likely the southern border will be categorized as being in “emergency” status for the foreseeable future. 

The June 2024 rule lets the U.S. government prohibit most people who enter the United States at the U.S.-Mexico border without an appointment from even applying for asylum. There are some exceptions to this, described below. People afraid to return to their home countries or Mexico may also still be allowed to apply for other ways to stay if they tell U.S. government officials that they are afraid and then show they are likely to win their legal case. U.S. government officials will not ask whether people are afraid. 

The U.S. government now requires most people to use the app known as CBP One on their cell phones to schedule appointments to try to enter the United States. At these appointments, you can ask officials for permission to enter the United States.

If you try to enter the United States without an appointment at any location, you are usually not allowed to apply for asylum. You can sometimes still apply for other protections. You are usually put in a fast-track deportation process called “expedited removal.” This applies whether you have tried to enter at an official port of entry or without permission at another location.

In the past, U.S. government officials were required to ask people crossing the border if they were afraid to return to their home country. Now, during times of emergency under the June 2024 rule, they are not required to ask that, which means that it is now your responsibility to state clearly to U.S. government officials at the border or in detention if you fear returning home and want to seek asylum. Every member of a family should be prepared to do this.

Your experience at the border depends on how you try to enter the country. Here is what happens when you:

1. Enter with an appointment.
   
   
2. Enter without an appointment at a port of entry or without permission anywhere along the border AND can show one of these things (called “exceptional circumstances”): 
   • You are a survivor of a severe form of human trafficking; OR 
   • You experienced specific threats of serious harm or violence right before crossing the border, and that this threat prevented you from making or showing up to an appointment or required you to cross the border quickly; OR
   • You experienced a serious and urgent medical emergency right before crossing, and that this emergency prevented you from making or showing up to an appointment or required you to cross the border quickly.
     
     
3. Enter without an appointment at a port of entry or without permission and you cannot demonstrate “exceptional circumstances.” This means that either you didn’t have the experiences listed above, or you cannot convince a U.S. government official that you have had these experiences.

1. When You Enter with an Appointment

Generally, appointments must be made through CBP One. See information about how to use CBP One here. 

If you’ve never been deported from the US and you don’t have a criminal record in the United States:

• When you show up at the border with an appointment on the scheduled day and time, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will scan your face with a camera to verify your identity. CBP is part of the U.S. government. CBP will also ask to see your appointment confirmation e-mail. If you are traveling in a group and plan to show up at the border with more than one person, you must use CBP One to add everyone in the group as a traveler before making an appointment with the app. 
  
  
• Most people who show up with an appointment are usually released from U.S. government custody within 3-48 hours. If this happens to you, you will be able to travel to your destination in the United States (at your own expense) and stay there while you wait for your court date with a judge. Before leaving CBP custody, you will receive a piece of paper that has a date for when to show up to immigration court. Going to all court dates is extremely important. If you miss a court date,  you will be ordered deported.

If you have been deported before OR you have any criminal history in the U.S.:

• If you have been deported from the United States before, or if you have committed crimes or been arrested in the U.S., it is possible that the process described above will not apply to you, and U.S. government officials will deport you quickly rather than allowing you into the United States. This process is called “expedited removal,” and you can read more about it here.
  
  
• If you are afraid to return to your home country (and in certain cases, are afraid to return to Mexico), you need to tell CBP that you are afraid, and then CBP should give you a Credible Fear Interview or a Reasonable Fear Interview. This is true for anyone who has a CBP One appointment; even if you have been deported before or have a criminal record, you can still tell CBP that you are afraid, and you should receive one of these interviews. During a Credible Fear Interview, you will be asked about your fears and experiences in your home country. If the U.S. government believes you are likely enough to win asylum or other protection, you will be put into regular deportation proceedings where you may apply for asylum. If not, you will face deportation on a fast schedule. For more information about Credible Fear Interviews and Reasonable Fear Interviews, see here.  

2. When You Try to Enter at a Port of Entry Without an Appointment or You Enter Without Permission, and You Show Exceptional Circumstances

Because the U.S. government wants people to make appointments, people who try to enter without appointments have a harder time applying for asylum after they enter the United States. In addition, if you entered the United States without an appointment after June 5, 2024, you may not be allowed to apply for asylum in the United States at all. It is important to know that you can also be charged with a crime for crossing the border without permission.

If you do not have an appointment, you can try to go to a port of entry to request permission to enter the United States without an appointment. However, at most ports of entry, it is extremely hard to even speak with U.S. officials this way. Some places near the border have informal groups keeping waiting lists for people trying to enter without appointments, these are not official processes and each operates very differently. At other locations, people form lines at the port of entry to try to speak to CBP. Sometimes people are simply turned away if they do not have an appointment. Sometimes the Mexican government stops people without appointments from going to ports of entry. Crossing the border and turning yourself in to U.S. government authorities is considered entering without permission.

If you do not have an appointment, and you are not immediately turned away at the U.S. border, or if you enter without permission, you will not qualify for asylum unless a U.S. government official believes one of three things:

• You or someone you are traveling with are a survivor of a severe form of human trafficking (like commercial sex trafficking or being forced to work off a debt in a situation you can’t leave);
• You or someone you are traveling with experienced imminent threats of serious harm or violence shortly before crossing the border; or
• You or someone you are traveling with experienced a serious and urgent medical emergency shortly before crossing the border.

If you convince the U.S official that you experienced one of these things, you may then still be eligible for asylum if you tell the official that you are afraid to return to your home country and/or Mexico. You have to tell the official you are afraid to return home – they will not ask you. If you do not tell them you are afraid, you will be deported without any chance to apply for asylum.

If you tell the official you are afraid to return to your home country and they believe you, you should get a Credible Fear Interview. You might receive that interview very fast - even within a few hours - and it might be extremely hard or impossible to speak with a lawyer before the interview. In that interview, an asylum officer will ask you questions about who and what you are afraid of, why you would be harmed, what harm you would suffer and have suffered before, and whether you can be safe anywhere in your home country. If the officer believes you have a “significant possibility” of qualifying for asylum, you will be allowed to apply for asylum in the United States instead of being deported quickly. You may be released and allowed to stay in the United States while applying for asylum, or you may have to stay in detention while applying for asylum. 

If you do not pass the interview, you can ask an immigration judge to review the case. The immigration judge can either overturn the interview determination or confirm it. If the immigration judge confirms the negative determination, you will face quick deportation.

Sometimes the U.S. government may release people into the United States without a Credible Fear Interview because, for example, they don't have enough space to detain everyone. Just because you hear that a person you know is released without going through this process does not mean that you will be released without going through this difficult process. Remember that everyone’s experiences are different, and your experience may vary from other people’s, even if they are similar to you.

3. When You Try to Enter at a Port of Entry Without an Appointment or Enter Without Inspection and *Cannot* Show Exceptional Circumstances

If you don’t show one of these three exceptions to the U.S. government’s satisfaction, you will not qualify for asylum if you cross the border while an emergency is declared. Even if you are not apprehended at or near the border, if you cross on a day when the rule is in place and don’t show you satisfy one of the exceptions listed above, you will not be able to apply for asylum. 

If you are afraid to return to your home country or Mexico, you may still be eligible for some other protection from deportation, such as withholding of removal and protection under the Convention Against Torture. To qualify for withholding of removal, you have to show you are more likely than not to suffer persecution (very serious harm) because of your race, religion, political opinion, nationality or membership in a particular social group. To qualify for protection under the Convention Against Torture, you have to show that you are more likely than not to suffer torture by your government or by people or forces that your government allows to torture you. (“Allows” can mean that your government knows that someone will torture you and does nothing to protect you.)

Even if you are not eligible for asylum because of the June 2024 rule, if you tell the official you are afraid to return to your home country you should still get a Credible Fear Interview. To have a chance to apply for withholding of removal or protection under the Convention Against Torture, you will have to show a higher likelihood than ever before to pass your interview. In order to pass the interview, you will have to show close to a 50% chance of winning protection when you apply and your case goes before a judge.

If you pass the interview, you will get to apply for withholding of removal and/or protection under the Convention Against Torture in immigration court. You may be detained while you apply and wait for a hearing, or you may be released. 

If you do not pass the interview, you can ask an immigration judge to review the case. The immigration judge can either overturn the interview determination, or confirm it. If the immigration judge confirms the negative determination, you will face quick deportation.

What Happens if You Receive an Expedited Removal Order?

If you have an expedited removal (deportation) order you will usually be deported to the country that you are originally from. Certain nationalities, including Haitians, Nicaraguans, Venezuelans, Cubans, and Mexicans can be deported to Mexico as well.

Once deported with an expedited removal order, you are not allowed to enter the United States legally for five years. 

If you are deported and then reenter the United States without permission and are caught, you can be arrested and prosecuted in a criminal court. 

If you are deported and then reenter the United States without permission, you can also be deported very quickly through something called “reinstatement of removal.” If you were deported previously and are detained the next time you enter, you can express that you are afraid of persecution (very serious harm for the reasons listed above) in your home country. You should then be given a Reasonable Fear Interview, which is similar to a Credible Fear Interview but harder to pass. If you pass it, you will be sent to immigration court to apply only for withholding of removal or protection under the Convention Against Torture. You may be able to stay in the United States, but will not qualify for asylum.

The International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP) provides free legal help to some refugees and displaced people. 

• IRAP helps some people find services and prepare refugee and visa applications. 
• IRAP is not part of any government, IOM, or UNHCR. 
• IRAP cannot grant refugee status or visas or speed up cases. 
• IRAP cannot provide financial help, find or pay for housing, or find jobs.
• All of IRAP’s help is free. No one affiliated with IRAP has the right to ask you for money or any other service.

IRAP decides to help people based on their need and eligibility for immigration status. IRAP does not decide to help people based on any other social or political or religious criteria.

This website provides general information about legal processes available to some refugees. It is not meant as legal advice for individual applications. 

If you are in a refugee emergency,  we recommend that you contact the UNHCR office in the country where you live.