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Asylum
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Everyone thinks they know what it is. Upon hearing the word "asylum",
everyone, at least in the Russian community, pictures Rudolf Nuriev
running in the airport in Paris, or Michael Baryshnikov not coming
back to the Soviet Union or Robin Williams's character defecting
in Bloomingdale's department store in New York in the movie "Moscow
on the Hudson". Prior to the fall of the Soviet Union, it was
fairly easy to make a successful claim for political asylum based
on numerous grounds like religious freedom, freedom of speech, artistic
expression or political views. In the seventies, there was a large
wave of Jewish immigration from the Soviet Union to the United States,
which slowed down in the eighties but somewhat resurged in the beginning
of the nineties. In more recent times, the changes in the political
landscape of the former republics of the Soviet Union and changes
in Immigration Law in the United States made the process of filing
a claim for asylum much more difficult and the successful outcome
of the claim more uncertain.
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First of all, you can only make a claim for political asylum after your physical arrival in the United States. Second of all, you must make your claim within one year of your last day of your arrival in the United States. If you miss this so called one-year deadline, you will have to successfully explain in your application the reasons for the delay. Those reasons should consist of changes in your personal circumstances and changes in the political situation in your country. Such changes must have taken place within one year of your application for asylum. Your application will be automatically denied if you fail to persuade the immigration officer of the reasons for your delay. Last but not least, you should make your claim for political asylum as quickly as you can after your arrival in the United States. The law frowns upon people who file at the last minute. Even if they do not miss the deadline, your credibility is at stake here and your application may be scrutinized more carefully if it is filed close to the deadline or on its last day.
Discrimination does not automatically equal persecution within the meaning and definition of the Immigration Law. In addition, you no longer can simply claim discrimination based on the allegation of your Jewish heritage and think it is sufficient to win. It is not. First, you have to prove your Jewish heritage; secondly, you have to prove discrimination related to the fact that you are Jewish. Your word alone, in most cases, is simply not enough to meet the burden of proof required by law. You have to have some documentary proof consisting of police reports, medical certificates, and copies of newspaper or magazine articles – at the bare minimum, statements of witnesses to the event(s) you describe in your claim for asylum.
In the mid-nineties, newly arrived immigrant tried a then novel approach, claiming to be Baptists or Pentecostals. These ideas were sometimes suggested to them by some ruthless paralegals who wrote so-called legends for the unwary clients. Needless to say, many, if not most of those claims were denied and the claimants found themselves staring at an order of deportation issued by the immigration judge. Naturally, there have been many genuine and successful claims based on discrimination in various countries against the religious followers described above. Generally, they have been well supported by witnesses and documentary proof. But as some doors closed, new ones opened up. For example, the rights of an abused spouse from a country which failed to offer her protection became protected under the umbrella of the claim for political asylum in the United States. Domestic abuse continues to be in the forefront of issues in the immigration law in the United States and within the developments of the immigration law in the United States is uniquely sympathetic to the immigrants' rights.
When you file your claim for political asylum, you are required to do so, using Form I-589. Some exceptions apply to people crossing the border while seeking asylum on the spot. An immigration officer will conduct an immediate interview called credible fear interview and determine what happens next. Sometimes, you are jailed in an immigration jail, other times you are release on a bond or paroled into the country for one year during which you must file your I-589. Due to recent developments and the complexities of U.S. immigration law, it is advisable to work with or at least consult a refugee agency, charitable or religious organization that is familiar with the issues of your case, enlisting their help to complete your application or to file your claim. If you are unable to find such an agency, you should consult an experienced immigration lawyer familiar with the cultural issues unique to your case. Some issues are universal like female gender mutilation (FGM) in some African countries or perhaps the use of torture in some Arabic countries. But for the most part, try to find an experienced immigration lawyer familiar with your cultural background. It will make the process much easier and render its ultimate success more likely.
If your application is properly and completely filled out, you will receive a filing receipt from the Immigration Service, which actually permits you to stay in this country without fear of arrest while your claim is being considered. Such filing receipt also triggers a count-down clock of 150 days after which you may apply for work authorization. Shortly after receiving a filing receipt, you will receive a similar looking piece of paper which schedules an interview for you at some inconveniently located immigration office on a certain date at a certain time. You will also receive a separate set of instructions on how to complete a finger printing process which must be done prior to your interview. The finger printing process, thanks to the advances of modern technology is a fairly quick and efficient one. However, if you do not have any identification (which is the case sometimes) you will also have to do the old fashioned set of prints using ink for an FBI background check.
When you appear for an interview, be on time but do not expect them to call you right away. You will have to register again and so will your translator whom you must bring and provide at your own expense. A friend or a relative will do, if you do not have a professional translator but your lawyer, if you have one, will not be permitted to translate for you. Make sure you bring all of your original documents, in case the interviewing agent may request to look at them. If you have any witness, bring them along and inform the interviewing officers that they are waiting in the waiting area, ready to be called if the officer wishes to receive any additional information from them directly. (Sometimes, the interviewing officer simply relies on the information contained in the previously submitted sworn statement). If you have any additional written documents or evidence to support your case, bring at least three copies of each and make sure you submit it right after your arrival and before being called for the interview.
Expect the officer to be fully familiar with your case (even to
understand your language) and get to the heart of your statement
right away: "What are you afraid of upon return to your home
country?" Come right to the point: "Death, torture, severe
beating" "By whom? Why?" Begin answering those questions
with specific names, concrete reasons and honest answers. As the
interview proceeds, do not hold back your emotions. No one expects
that you cry right away, but if you describe your story monotonously
(even if it is only perceived as such) without ever shedding a tear
or showing some emotion like fear, concern, uncertainty, then immigration
officer may doubt your sincerity. There are some exceptions to this
rule, for example if your cultural background does not permit a
flow of emotions to be exhibited in public or to a stranger.
Anticipate specific and repetitive questions. The agent may only appear to be slow in understanding of your case. The reality is that he is testing your credibility, your grasp of facts, your understanding of your own case. Be polite and patient and repeat some of your answers if you already provided the sough after information. Perhaps the agent is prodding you to get more facts or proof on the table. Do it. This is not the time to hold anything back. Talk until they tell you to stop. Cry, if it is appropriate, show your emotions. Let your skin get red, let your nose start running, ask for tissue (believe me that they have a box ready), raise your voice or whisper depending on the occasion. But do complete your point, even if the agent interrupts you. Do not look at the translator, which is your natural reaction, look at the agent talk to him as if the translator is not even there, communicate with the agent with your body language and watch out for his own. At some point, this fun process comes to an end, and you are told to come back in a couple of weeks to get a written decision or to receive it by mail. While you naturally hope for the best, be prepared for the worst.
If the decision turns out favorable, congratulations! You receive a right to work the same day, you have a right to apply for a social security number and you acquire many other rights but not all. Your status of an asylee is not permanent and you may loose it if there are certain changes in your home country or if you personal life (like a criminal conviction). A year from that date you will be allowed to apply for a green card or permanent residence. Currently, the waiting line for the green cards is so long, sometimes as long as fourteen years. Still, you should apply, using Form I-485 for adjustment of status and hope that a congressional reform might speed up the waiting process. If your decision is unfavorable, do not despair. It is not an outright denial of your claim but rather a referral to an Immigration Court so that if your visa expires before the interview you still will have an opportunity to present your claim once more.
Once faced with a hearing date in an Immigration Court, you should hire a lawyer unless you have one already. If you did have a lawyer who was accommodating to you and met your needs to your satisfaction, then stick with him or her. If not, get a good one now. Review your case from the beginning – assess its strengths and weakness. Make it stronger wherever possible. Obtain additional documents, newspaper articles. Search the internet again for information helpful to your case. Get new or additional statements from witnesses. Make sure everything is properly translated and evaluated – like diplomas. In other words, get thoroughly prepared for your day in Immigration Court. If it is important for you to win, then communicate that message to your lawyer and subsequently to the judge through your impeccable preparation. Practice taking the stand and testifying on your own behalf, be prepared for hostile cross-examination (your lawyer should be able to help you with that). Help your lawyer prepare the documents which now will be called Exhibits. Make sure your lawyer prepares the witnesses and makes them available to the court, arrange and supervise transportation for your witnesses. And do not forget, that almost fifty percent of all interviews will result in a referral to immigration court which means you can and shall win.
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Ooops . The judge was rotten, biased, and mean, your lawyer let you down or any number of things went wrong and did. (It could not be the weakness of your case or inconsistencies in your testimony or lack of records). The judge renders a decision, formally denying your claim. You have thirty days to file a notice of appeal with the Board of Immigration Appeals to continue your quest to stay legally in this country or depart. Other options, chosen by some, may not be advocated by a lawyer. If you are at this stage and would like to know more about the appellate process, please, click on "Appeals".
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