What Are the Requirements for Asylum Seekers?
If you are an immigrant and have entered the United States already and experienced persecution or have a well-founded fear of returning to your native country, you may seek asylum.
To qualify, you will have to meet some basic requirements to use asylum as your avenue of legal immigration status to stay in the United States.
What Is Asylum?
Asylum is when an immigrant applies to stay in the United States because in their home country, they have faced or fears they will encounter discrimination, harassment, beatings, torture, unjust arrest or imprisonment, or another type of harm.
Your country’s government or vigilante squads or guerrilla groups must be the ones you fear the persecution from.
You’ll need to prove you’re facing persecution because of either your race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or your membership in a particular social group.
What Other Requirements Do I Need To Meet To Qualify For Asylum?
Beyond proving why you’re being or fear persecution, you’ll need to do a few things to qualify for asylum.
First, you must file your asylum petition within one year of arriving in the United States.
If you’re currently in deportation proceedings, you’ll need a lawyer to help you take the “affirmative” asylum application process.
Next, you’ll need to fill out the USCIS Form I-589 and submit personal documents proving who you are, how you were persecuted in the past, or why you would be persecuted upon return to your native country.
Documents to support your case include things such as a church membership card, medical records of your injuries, newspaper clippings illustrating the persecution, or affidavits from people testifying to the persecution.
Finally, you must attend an asylum interview before a decision is made. If you’re denied asylum and want to petition the decision, the next step would be immigration court.
What Should I Do If I Want To Apply For Asylum In The United States?
If you plan to seek asylum in the United States, enlisting the help of an experienced immigration attorney can dramatically increase your chances of winning. Due to the one-year deadline for asylum seekers, reach out to Fay, Grafton, and Nunez’s offices right away.
We offer immigration consultations for a flat fee of $200 to help you understand your chances of winning asylum and can help you build your application to be as convincing as possible from the start. You will also need to convey your story in person at the asylum interview. Our experienced lawyers can help you hone your account to be as compelling as possible.
