Under current U.S. policy, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is allowed to engage in a process called “expedited removal.” These days there are no guarantees for anyone trying to escape poverty or violence in their country by seeking asylum in the United States. But for those who make the long and difficult journey through […]
Category: Political Asylum USA
Apply for Asylum while in Legal Nonimmigrant Status
A lot of prospective clients approach our firm with questions about how to apply for asylum, while they are in the United States in a legal Nonimmigrant Status. Particularly when they are in F-1 Student Status, or when they are working in the United States on an H-1B, for example. When prospective clients ask us […]
What Does It Mean If My Asylum Status Is Pending?
Recently, the number of people seeking asylum in the US has dramatically increased, creating backlogs and delays in processing by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), which processes most asylum applications (except for those already in deportation proceedings). If you are waiting to hear from USCIS, you are not alone. As of March […]
Seeking asylum in the U.S. under Trump
With the U.S. government constantly imposing harsh restrictions, these are scary and uncertain times for people seeking safety and freedom in the United States of America. Along with fear, there is also a lot of confusion. One of the biggest sources of this confusion is that people are getting conflicting information about who is affected […]
What Happens If USCIS Denies My Asylum Application After The Interview?
If you have applied for asylum in the United States, you are probably anxious about what will happen after your interview. Unfortunately, you won’t get a decision straight away. Instead, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will most likely ask you to come back to the asylum office in a couple of weeks. In […]
Important Notice Regarding Changes In U.S. Deportation Policies
For one, the Federal Government is no longer able to excuse certain groups of deportable foreign nationals from potential deportation as they could in the past. This means that every alien that is technically deportable (for any reason), can be deported. Secondly, the immigration authorities are now making it their general priority to deport (remove) […]
Does the Crime I committed make me ineligible for asylum?
To have committed a crime for purposes of United States Immigration law, you need to have had a final judgment of guilt found against you. Nolo contendere pleas and guilty pleas count as a conviction or “having committed a crime” in the United States for purposes of Immigration Law. Similarly, if you admitted to the […]
The difference between an Asylum-seeker and a Refugee
So basically, being a refugee is a requirement for both refugee and asylum relief, and it pretty much means that: you are a foreign alien who is outside of your home country or the country where you last lived (if you don’t have a home country), and you are unable or unwilling to return to that […]
Asylum based on affiliation with a “Particular Social Group”
As you may already know, one of the fundamental requirements to be eligible for asylum is that you have either been harmed in some way or you fear future harm in your home country (or country where you last lived–if you do not have a home country). And, that this harm is because of something […]
Political Asylum
Am I eligible to seek asylum because I was harmed or persecuted for my political beliefs? If you are seeking basic information on eligibility for asylum, and you haven’t yet read our article: Who is eligible for Asylum? We highly encourage you to first read that article before reading this one. Assuming you have already […]
