What you need to know, applying for asylum in the US

Children up to 21 receive refugee status with their parents. Depositphotos.com photo

If you came to the United States on a tourist visa, a work visa, or are in the country illegally and are afraid to return to your homeland, you have the opportunity to ask for political asylum in America. In order to apply for political asylum, you need to take into account several nuances. For example, you will have to prove that you fear persecution - justify your fear.

Having received political asylum in the United States and lived in America for a year, you can apply for a green card that will give you the right to permanent residence in the country.

The procedure for obtaining political asylum is simple. First you apply in USCIS (Immigration Service), then wait for a decision, which can be positive or negative. In the latter case, it can be appealed in court.

Grounds for seeking asylum in the United States

To obtain asylum in the US, you must prove that the persecution is caused by:

— political views;

— religious beliefs;

- belonging to a social group;

- race or nationality;

- non-traditional sexual orientation.

Persecution for any of these reasons, if there is convincing evidence, may be grounds for asylum in the United States.

How to prove prosecution

The decisive factor for a favorable outcome in the consideration of your case is the presence of convincing evidence that you are in danger in your home country. You need to prove that you have already been persecuted before, or there are well-founded fears of persecution in the future. Facts of threats or harassment must be documented.

What is meant by the term “persecution”? Threat to life or health, threat of kidnapping or detention, threat of arrest and imprisonment.

The reason for applying for political asylum may be dismissal from or employment from the university, loss of property (housing), other violations of human rights and freedoms.

When applying for political asylum in the United States, you must indicate the source of the persecution. This could be the government of your country (police actions, officials), or any person or group of persons.

If the persecution is not carried out by the state, then you must prove that the government has not taken any steps to ensure your safety, or it has acted ineffectively, indulging those who persecuted you.

The facts of the persecution can be confirmed:

1. The testimony of witnesses who know about your problems.

2. Copies of decisions on initiation of criminal cases in connection with statements in the press (Internet) about politicians and the socio-political system of your country, expressing disagreement with the political or economic policies of your government.

3. Letters or newspaper articles threatening you.

4. Evidence of membership of a political party, public organization or opposition group; documents confirming your participation in public speeches, rallies, processions and strikes.

5. Information provided by international human rights organizations such as Human Rights Watch or Amnesty International.

Available documents, including newspaper articles, should be translated into English. The translator is obliged to guarantee the accuracy and completeness of the translation, and his signature must be notarized.

Official documents received from government bodies are notarized and apostille affixing is required.

Deadline for petitioning

Apply for asylum in the United States must be submitted within one year from the date of arrival in the country. If you are applying later, you will have to prove that you had a good reason.

In a simplified form, the procedure for obtaining asylum in the United States fits into the following scheme:

1. Submission of application. Opening a Case

2. Interview.

3. Obtaining political asylum (or denial of political asylum).

For all the apparent simplicity in this procedure, there are enough pitfalls, which is due to the peculiarities of federal legislation. After consideration of the case, a decision is made either on the approval of the granting of political asylum, or on the refusal to provide it with the possibility of appeal, or on the final refusal.

A positive result is usually achieved not as a result of a lucky chance, but as a result of a competently carried out work on the preparation and submission of documents, a detailed situation, the correct selection and processing of evidence.

If I'm not alone, but with my family?

It is important to know that if one of the family members wants to receive asylum, then all family members can petition at the same time. The main thing that they were at this time in the United States. Important point: children in the asylum family must be younger than 21. If children are 21 year, then they must apply separately.

If the migration department satisfies the petition, then one year later the person receives a permanent residence permit with a green card. The same applies to family members who were in the United States at the time of the petition and appeared in the documents. But if family members are in another country, you can make a request to be granted status too. After that, relatives receive a visa, come to the United States and receive refugee status and a view of permanent residence. In this case, it is important to indicate in advance in the application form for asylum, all family members: husband, wife and children under 21 of the year.

If I have a criminal past or present?

People often ask me if a person who has a criminal record has the right to file documents. The fact is that the criminal past and the criminal past are different. If a person has committed a crime either here in the United States or in his homeland, this will be considered by the immigration office, and then by the immigration court.

It is important to understand what kind of crime you committed. If it is related to the persecution of people in your former homeland, that is, if you yourself were in the role of the so-called oppressor and are now seeking asylum, you will be denied. But in any case, whatever past you have, the court or office that will consider your request for asylum, will not refuse to consider the matter, even if you have committed an offense. Even if a person is in an immigration prison at the time of filing documents at the state immigration office, he has the right to seek asylum. And he even has a lawyer. If a person is free, he himself chooses a lawyer who will prepare a petition.

If I do not speak English?

One of the deciding factors in whether you get asylum or not is how you handle the interview. Even if my client says that he knows English perfectly, I still advise hiring an interpreter for the interview. It must be remembered that, unlike the court, where an interpreter is provided, the office where asylum cases are heard does not. And no matter how well a person speaks English, I advise you to take a translator with you. An interview is a rather exciting procedure, and when you worry, you can misunderstand the question or formulate the answer incorrectly, and this will affect the decision.

Who can deny political asylum in the United States

The United States will not grant you political asylum if you:

- persecuted others for political reasons, because of belonging to any religion, race or nationality, or social group;

- have been convicted of committing a serious crime;

- pose a danger to the United States;

— you have committed a crime on the territory of your state and are trying to evade responsibility by obtaining political asylum in the United States;

- before arriving in the United States, they permanently resided in the territory of other states (but not their own).

What to do if you are refused

Unfortunately, asylum requests are not always granted. If a person is denied, the immigration office transfers his case to the immigration court in his place of residence. Usually the court is not limited to one meeting - it holds 3-4. It depends on many factors. For example, the court asks for additional documents, or the lawyer asks to postpone the hearing because it is impossible to consider this case without experts or witnesses, who are very difficult to bring.

But if you lose your case in immigration court, that's not the end. You have 30 days to file an appeal with the Board of Appeals, which is located in Virginia. If it is denied there too, this is not the end either, because there is a district court of appeal. Well, then, if it makes sense, you can file it with the US Supreme Court. Therefore, as you can see, you cannot do without an experienced specialist in this matter.

For all immigration issues in the United States, contact AmericanCorporateServices, Inc.

[email protected]

www.USA-ACS.ru

www.Business-Visa-USA.com / www.Business-Visa-USA.ru

Telephone: 415-682-2550

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SKYPE: AmericanCorporateServices

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See also:

How to get political asylum in the United States

10 about honest ways to stay in the USA

Personal experience. How I moved to the USA

How can I get a green card for work

New rules for changing migration status published in the USA

Everything you need to know about US work visas

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