1. Is a requirement for political assylum to request assylum in a third country first prior to requesting in the U.S.?

Question

1. Is a requirement for political assylum to request assylum in a third country first prior to requesting in the U.S.? 
2. Is a requirement for political assylum to request an appointment for a request for assylum via the government CBP One APP? 
3. Can someone ask for political assylum without having been inspected in the border but when they are already in a city in the U.S.? If so, is that assylum request affirmative or still defensive assylum?  
4. Can someone ask political assylum in a U.S. airport?

James L. Arrasmith · Answer

When seeking political asylum in the U.S., there is no requirement to first request asylum in a third country. You can directly seek asylum in the U.S. if you meet the criteria for a well-founded fear of persecution based on race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion. 
 
For requesting asylum at the U.S. border, you are required to make an appointment through the CBP One App, which helps manage the process. This step is part of the effort to ensure a structured and orderly system for handling asylum claims. 
 
If you are already inside the U.S., you can still ask for asylum. This type of request is called affirmative asylum if you apply proactively without being in removal proceedings. If you are already in removal proceedings and seek asylum as a defense against deportation, it is known as defensive asylum. 
 
Yes, you can request political asylum at a U.S. airport. If you fear returning to your home country, you should inform the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer upon arrival that you want to apply for asylum. This initiates the asylum process at the port of entry.

Q: 1. Is a requirement for political assylum to request assylum in a third country first prior to requesting in the U.S.?