SA passport and citizenship risks for refugees

• The USCIS guide says refugees and asylees cannot acquire a passport from the country of nationality. The refugee travel document is the substitute [source].
• The same guide says travel that suggests you no longer need protection may lead to termination of refugee or asylee status, and that a return to the country you fled can be evidence that protection is no longer needed [source].
• The Adjudicator's Field Manual says that, unless there is proof to the contrary, obtaining a national passport or renewing one is presumed to mean you intended to use that country's protection. Birth and marriage records are not treated that way. Travel to that country may also block permanent residence under section 209 of the Immigration and Nationality Act [source, source].
• A refugee who is not yet a permanent resident needs a refugee travel document to return, unless they have an advance parole document [source, source].
• Your refugee status must not have been terminated when you apply for a green card [source].

An earlier version of this page said the effect of an SA passport, or of travel to South Africa, was not stated. That is no longer correct. USCIS states the risk in the guide and in the field manual chapter linked above. What those pages do not do is decide your own facts. That is why you need a lawyer before you act.

For how an SA passport or identity document is renewed from the USA, see the separate SA Passport and ID Guide (USA). For questions about keeping South African citizenship, see its citizenship page. Those are independent guides about South African logistics. They are not U.S. immigration advice, and they are not official sources.

The South African Department of Home Affairs publishes civic services, including passports, on its own site [source].