San Jose (Costa Rica), Jun 14 (AP) Costa Rica and the US government have agreed to open potential legal pathways to the United States for some of the Nicaraguan and Venezuelan migrants among the 240,000 asylum seekers already awaiting asylum in the Central American country.

The agreement -- announced by Costa Rica Tuesday and the US late Monday -- appears aimed at reducing the pressure on Costa Rica's overwhelmed asylum system and heading off asylum seekers who could give up on the slow Costa Rica process and instead set off for the US border.

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In recent years, Costa Rica with a population of only five million has become one of the world's leading receptors of asylum requests. In part, applying for asylum was a way for migrants to legalise their status and be allowed to seek work.

However, a soaring number of applications, largely from migrants fleeing neighbouring Nicaragua, created a massive backlog. Last year, Nicaraguans accounted for nine out of 10 applicants.

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On Tuesday, Public Security Minister Mario Zamora did not say how many of the 240,000 people awaiting asylum would be eligible to apply for one of the US pathways. He and Costa Rica's migration director Marta Vinda emphasised that only Nicaraguans and Venezuelans with pending asylum applications would be considered.

Neither the US nor Costa Rican governments provided details about what the legal pathways could be.

Zamora said the United Nations immigration and refugee agencies would compose a list of those who would be eligible. Migrants applying for asylum after June 12 would not qualify. The officials estimated that they would process about 1,000 cases per month.

On Monday, the US State Department said in a statement the six-month pilot programme could expedite refugee processing, as well as other humanitarian and labour options for those interested in entering the US.

"In the first two months of the exploratory phase, only eligible individuals will be contacted to schedule a screening appointment at a Movilidad Segura office in Costa Rica to assess whether they are a qualified candidate for lawful pathways to the United States or other countries," the statement said.

After the first two months, eligible migrants will have to make an appointment through the MovilidadSegura.org website.

"I suspect that it's an effort to convince Nicaraguans and Venezuelans in the country to stay there temporarily, keeping numbers down in the short term as they get other things in place at the border," Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, policy director at the American Immigration Council, said in an email when asked about the Costa Rica agreement. "But who knows how it'll really work in practice."

In 2012, Costa Rica received barely 900 asylum applications. In 2018, that number reached nearly 28,000. Last year, the country received more than 67,000 applications between just January and September.

Costa Rica President Rodrigo Chaves said in December the system was being abused by economic migrants and its generous policies would be tightened. As an alternative, it offered a two-year work permit for Nicaraguans, Venezuelans and Cubans in exchange for dropping their asylum cases.

The US government has been seeking ways to manage the flow of migrants toward its southern border. It has increasingly sought the cooperation of governments farther south on the migratory route.

On Monday, a website began working that allows Guatemalans, Hondurans, Salvadorans and Nicaraguans who are still in their countries to apply through a website for appointments to assess their eligibility for various legal pathways offered by the US.

Nicaraguans and Venezuelans have become major sources of migration to the US during Biden's presidency. In January, the US began offering parole to up to 30,000 Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans a month who apply online with a financial sponsor and arrive by air. (AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)