The UNHCR Statelessness Handbook contains detailed considerations for statelessness determinations for those seeking international protection.110 One key consideration is that if an individual at once claims to be stateless and also presents a refugee claim, as a matter of principal, the asylum-seeker’s confidentiality must be respected. Whereas inquiries with the government authorities of the country to which she fears return might assist in resolving the question of statelessness, such contact could reveal her identity and must be avoided as a matter of principle. As the UNHCR Statelessness Handbook states, “Under no circumstances is contact to be made with authorities of a States against which an individual alleges a well-founded fear of persecution unless it has definitively been concluded that he or she is neither a refugee nor entitled to a complimentary form of protection.”111 3. Completing the Asylum Application (Form I-589) Like any immigration form, the Application for Asylum (Form I-589) is a key piece of an asylum-seeker’s administrative record. The Form I-589 requires the applicant to note “Present Nationality (Citizenship)” and “Nationality at Birth.”112 An individual who is stateless by definition has no present nationality, and may or may not have had a nationality at birth, depending on the circumstances that rendered her stateless. Thus, when preparing the Form I-589, it is critical that the applicant’s circumstances as a stateless person be accurately reflected in all representations. For instance, “Present Nationality” could be listed as “Stateless.” Resources UNHCR HANDBOOK AND GUIDELINES ON PROCEDURES AND CRITERIA FOR DETERMINING REFUGEE STATES UNDER THE 1951 CONVENTION AND THE 1967 PROTOCOL RELATING TO THE STATUS OF REFUGEES U.N. DOC. HCR/1P/4/ENG/REV.3 (Dec. 2011), available at http://www.refworld.org/docid/4f33c8d92. UNHCR, REFUGEE STATUS, ARBITRARY DEPRIVATION OF NATIONALITY, AND STATELESSNESS WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF ARTICLE 1A(2) OF THE 1951 CONVENTION AND ITS 1967 PROTOCOL RELATING TO THE STATUS OF REFUGEES, U.N. DOC. PPLA/2014/01 (Oct. 2014), at 74-75, available at http://www.refworld.org/docid/543525834.html. USCIS Asylum Officer Basic Training Manuals: “Asylum Eligibility Part I: Definition of Refugee; Definition of Persecution; Eligibility Based on Past Persecution” and “Asylum Eligibility Part III: Nexus and the Five Protected Characteristics.” Sarah B. Fenn, Paripovic v. Gonzales: Defining Last Habitual Residence for Stateless Asylum Applicants, 40 U. CAL. DAVIS L. REV. 1545 (2007). AILA’s Asylum Primer, 7th Ed.: (for purchase: http://agora.aila.org/product/detail/2521) USCIS forms and offices: www.uscis.gov EOIR forms, BIA Practitioners Manual and local rules: www.justice.gov/eoir UNHCR Statelessness Handbook, supra note 12, at ¶¶78-82. Id. at ¶96. 112 See USCIS, Form I-589, Application for Asylum and for Withholding of Removal, Boxes 13 and 14, available at https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/files/form/i-589.pdf. 110 111 23