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We
frequently get questions about political asylum and refugee status.
On the one hand, this is very familiar to many recent immigrants,
because many have come to the United States under the U.S. refugee
program. But on the other,
there are many details of these area of immigration that are not easily
understood.
We
hope that some of these questions and answers may help you to better
understand how political asylum and the refugee system works.
Q.
I
am a citizen of Russia, in the US visiting my cousin. She was a citizen of Russia too, but came here as a refugee
several years ago, and is now a US citizen.
I would like to apply for refugee status like my cousin did, but
don’t want to go back to Russia. May
I apply for refugee status or political asylum?
What is the difference?.
A.
Political
asylum status and refugee status are very similar. The only substantial difference is that political asylum is
requested in the United States and refugee status is requested outside the
United States. Since you are
in the U.S., and don't want to leave, you would therefore need to request
political asylum, not refugee status.
In
general, you must apply for political asylum within one year of entry into
the country. However, you may
apply later than one year if conditions in your country have changed or if
your
personal circumstances have changed within the past year prior to your
asking for asylum, and those changes of circumstances affected your
eligibility for asylum. In
certain circumstances, you may be excused from the one year deadline if
extraordinary circumstance prevented you from filing within the one year
period after your arrival.
The
fundamental basis for receiving political asylum is that you unable or
unwilling to return to your home country because of persecution, or a
reasonable and honest ("well-founded") fear of persecution, because of
your race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group,
or political opinion.
You
should be able to prove specific acts of such persecution that have
happened to you in the past, or a real and reasonable reason to fear that
such acts of persecution may happen to you in the future if you return.
The
people you are claiming persecuted or will persecute you must be members
of the government, or people who the government is unwilling or unable to
control.
Q.
I
understand the basic idea behind political asylum, and I believe that I
would qualify for it. But how
do I apply for it, and how long will it take?
A.
You
ask for political asylum by completing INS Form I-589 (Application for
Asylum and for Withholding of Removal).
Although the form appears to be rather simple, it is actually quite
complicated. You should not
attempt to prepare it without the assistance of a professional. The most
important part is where you explain your basis for claiming political
asylum. This part requires a
strong command of English, a thorough understanding of the law, and a good
understanding which facts must be included, and which to leave out.
The
political asylum request is filed with the INS Service Center for your
area (there is no fee), and then processing is taken over by one of the
INS Asylum offices. You
will have to go to an interview with an Asylum Officer, where you will
explain your situation in person. Again,
you should definitely have professional assistance for this.
The Asylum Officer may grant your request if you have a
sufficiently strong and well-prepared case.
Otherwise, the Asylum Officer will deny your case, or refer the
case to an Immigration Judge for a decision.
You may expect the INS and Immigration Judge to process your case
within 180 days.
If
the Immigration Judge also denies your request, you may appeal the denial
to the Board of Immigration Appeals.
This step may take several months, or even years.
If
you are granted asylum, you will be allowed to live and work in the United
States. You also will be able to apply for permanent resident status one
year after you are granted asylum.
Q.
My
visa expired a few months ago, and I am currently not in status.
My friend told me that I can get legal, and even get a work permit,
if just apply for political
asylum. Is that true?
A.
If
you are out of status now, you can apply for political asylum and save
yourself from deportation until the political asylum case is decided.
You can even get a work permit in about 180 days after applying, if
your case is still in the process of being decided.
However,
applying for political asylum does not really correct your
"illegal" status. That
means that you cannot change to most other types of status while still in
the U.S., and that if your case is eventually decided against you, you
will be ordered deported and have many immigration penalties placed
against you.
So,
applying for political asylum is probably not a good way to fix your
illegal status, unless you have a real claim to political asylum.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Contact John Byrley at
tel: 410-719-1501.
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