Now after more than three & half years, we received a letter which is an appointment for an interview (for both my family and I) at the asylum office in less than two weeks, and it says to bring forms of identification and copies of evidence of relationship (which we provided on the first interview in '14). If you do not understand a question, whether because of language or other issues, it's better to ask for clarification than to attempt to answer. Asylum is a protection grantable to foreign nationals already in the United States or arriving at the border who meet the international law definition of a "refugee.". Can i ask you something here? If we approve your application for employment authorization based on your pending asylum application [(c)(8) category], your Employment Authorization Document (EAD) will be valid for up to 2 years. If you have any additions, changes, or corrections to your asylum application (for example, correcting a factual mistake or adding new supporting documents), make sure to tell the AO at the beginning of your interview. NOTE:If the interview notice was not mailed to the most recent address you provided to USCIS, then the asylum office will reschedule the interview without requiring exigent circumstances. I passed my Asylum interview with UNHCR in Pakistan after one month UNCHR again called me and asked some questions regarding my case my question is this that totally how many interviews UNHCR take from asylum seekers and how much time take that an asylum seekers get the final decision? Although decisions are normally made within a few weeks of the interview, a combination of delayed security checks and lack of supervisors staffing asylum offices has led to much longer delays as of mid-2023. There is no fee to file this petition. Q.; What Is a Credible Fear of Torture? If an asylum officer finds that you have a credible fear of persecution or torture, we may either: If an asylum officer finds that you do not have a credible fear of persecution or torture, you can request review by an IJ. At your Asylum Merits Interview, an asylum officer will consider whether you are eligible for asylum. In person, you must submit it no later than 7 calendar days before the scheduled Asylum Merits Interview; or. the addresses on uscis have been updated. The United Nations 1951 Convention and 1967 Protocol define a refugee as a person who is unable or unwilling to return to his or her home country, and cannot obtain . No other officials will be in the room where you are interviewed. They'll make a decision based on what you say. Here, we'll describe exactly what takes place at that interview. Your use of this website constitutes acceptance of the Terms of Use, Supplemental Terms, Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy. You must log in or register to reply here. A. If necessary, an asylum officer will also determine whether you demonstrated eligibility for withholding of removal or protection under CAT based on the record before USCIS; or, Issue a Notice to Appear before an IJ for consideration of your asylum, withholding of removal, and CAT protection claims. Tens of thousands have come to the UK through the 'Homes for Ukraine' programme, offering a legal route to the UK and an alternative to the tortuous asylum procedure other refugees need to go through. An official website of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, An official website of the United States government, Consideration of Application for Asylum, Withholding of Removal, and Protection under CAT by USCIS, Asylum Merits Interview With an Asylum Officer, Missing Your Asylum Merits Interview (Failure to Appear), Rescheduling Your Asylum Merits Interview<, Bringing Your Family to the United States, Filing for Permanent Residence (Green Card), To protect your privacy, please do not include any personal information in your feedback. I applied for Asylum in the a US last July and completed my interview September 2013 as well but then I emailed the asylum office requesting expedited processing of my case in order to get my remaining son out of Liberia due to this outbreak of ebola in my country. Your attorney will also have a chance to make a short statement to the AO, and to clarify any concerns that the AO might have. The biometrics recorded during the expedited removal process for you and any dependents may be used to verify identity and for criminal and other background checks, for purposes of the asylum application and consideration of eligibility for withholding of removal and protection under CAT. In order to be granted asylum, you must be found credible. The Asylum Office Director might reschedule your interview instead of closing your case, but only if you provide a reasonable explanation for your failure to appear. The AO will have reviewed your asylum application and your immigration file before interviewing you. The asylum officer will know that it may be difficult for you to talk about traumatic and painful experiences that caused you to leave your country. More information about this process can be found on the U.S. - Canada Safe Third Country Agreement page. Exceptional circumstances is generally defined as circumstances (such as battery or extreme cruelty to the alien, or any child or parent of the alien, serious illness of the alien, or serious illness or death of the spouse, child, or parent of the alien, but not including less compelling circumstances) beyond the control of the alien. This list is not exhaustive. Q. You must demonstrate that your failure to appear at the interview was due to "exceptional circumstances." This Webinar will discuss the factors that go into an interview decision, why. However, they struggle to access qualified jobs, housing and healthcare. Fortunately, asylum is an area where you'll find a lot of help from volunteer attorneys or nonprofit (charitable) organizations serving immigrants and refugees. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says Turkish forces have killed the leader of the Islamic State group during an operation in Syria. An asylum officer will note in their credible fear decision that a mandatory bar to asylum or withholding of removal may apply in a subsequent Asylum Merits Interview before an asylum officer or in immigration proceedings before an IJ. You warrant asylum as a matter of discretion. The only people who cannot be witnesses are interpreters and representatives that the applicant brings to the asylum interview. The speedy screenings were among Trump-era immigration polices that Biden rolled back in a February 2021 executive order. The substantive interview could be the most important part of your asylum application. Please reference the Terms of Use and the Supplemental Terms for specific information related to your state. You will then be asked to wait for your interview. Then, you will be asked to explain why you are applying for asylum. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. To include your child on your application, the child must be under 21 and unmarried. What happens at a second interview? The obvious answer is to prepare for the worst. Make sure to do this as soon as possible. You may apply for asylum, withholding of removal, or protection under CAT before the IJ by filing Form I-589. You must either mail a letter to the Asylum Office where you were scheduled to go for your asylum interview or go to that Asylum Office in person to complete a form to request to reschedule the interview. Take care, Jason. In my own experience, we often receive a decision within a few weeks or months after a second interview, but not always. In other cases, maybe the AO quit or retired without finishing the case, and the notes are inadequate to reach a decision. Do not exaggerate. Contacting the USCIS field office or asylum office near your home. There seems to be several different reasons. . They may require a second interview for several reasons: to clarify or verify some information already on file; or they may just have additional questions for you. What to Bring to Your Asylum Merits Interview. Some cases, filed in 2015-2018 are pending for years in the United States. If you have any questions about the time or place of your Asylum Merits Interview, please contact the asylum office with jurisdiction over your case for more detailed information. So why are second interviews needed? You and your attorney or accredited representative, if they are participating, will have time at the end of the interview to make a brief statement and add any additional information. For more information on the bars to asylum, please visit theAsylum Barspage. Official websites use .gov After receiving your notice, review it carefully to make sure you fully understand the date/time, location, and current rules surrounding asylum interviews. Good luck, Jason. Asylum officer will ask a series of 'yes or no' questions to make sure you are not barred A good attorney can help you prepare your application and accompany you to the interview, thus improving your chances of obtaining asylum. Take care, Jason. I graduated from college back in my country but didnt bring my credentials while leaving the country. Avvo Rating: 7.9. For more information about Green Cards, seeourGreen Cards for Asyleespage. Immigration benefits for your spouse and unmarried children under the age of 21. Do not let that affect you, and do not get aggravated. The written record of your positive credible fear determination will be treated as your application for asylum. As a preliminary matter, I wonder how common second interviews actually are. If any bars to eligibility for asylum might apply to you (such as the possibility that you were involved in the persecution of others or have a criminal record), the AO will also likely ask questions about them. By mail, it must be postmarked no later than 10 calendar days before the scheduled Asylum Merits Interview. Obviously, your second asylum application will need to address any problems that resulted in the denial of the first one. For more information on confidentiality and the asylum process, please visit ourFact Sheet on Asylum Confidentiality (PDF, 350.1 KB). The second part of the interview involves discussing the substance of your . You must log in or register to reply here. After identifying each of your children, the officer will most likely suggest that they wait for you in the waiting room. Hi, everyone! To get my college credentials, I must be in my country, as the countrys law requires. Only IJs and the Board of Immigration Appeals may grant statutory withholding of removal. https://forums.immigration.com/threads/waiting-asylum-decision.296692/page-92. i am also from illinois. This includes mandatory training requirements for authorities; a compulsory personal interview in all cases; requirements for a detailed report of the personal interview; and gender-sensitive procedures. An asylum officer will decide whether you are eligible for asylum. Consider doing so if the person can testify about the harm you suffered or fear, or about other important parts of your asylum claim. Review our. The asylum officer will conduct the Asylum Merits Interview in a non-adversarial manner. Did anything unusual happen? Im a GC holder based on asylum. The background and security checks consist of the following: If an asylum officer grants you asylum, you will receive a letter and completed Form I-94, Arrival Departure Record, indicating that you have been granted asylum in the United States. Answer only the questions that you are asked. Posted on May 25, 2021. Take care, Jason. A. If your religion does not allow you to "swear" or take oaths, you can explain this to the officer and ask that you be allowed to "affirm or promise" that your testimony will be truthful. There are no mandatory bars to establishing a credible fear or persecution or torture. You can ask for a short break to compose yourself, and then try your best to tell the AO all the important facts. They may be very brief, but they could also be extremely comprehensive. Though I havent seen any data to back this up, it seems to me that second interviews at the Asylum Office are becoming more common. If you are granted withholding of removal, this will not give you the right to bring your relatives to the United States. You will likely be given the next available interview date, since your application now falls into the first priority of asylum cases being scheduled. See8 CFR 103.2 (b)(9). A. If you move to a new address and give up the old address, you have to inform USCIS. You do not need to file a Form I-589, Application for Asylum and for Withholding of Removal. You will be asked to take an oath stating that you will only tell the truth. You will be asked to take an oath promising to tell the truth during the interview. Unfortunately, there is usually no way to know in advance why the Asylum Office has scheduled a second interview. O'Neil said at the press club the new temporary skilled migration income threshold for the second tier would be $70,000, up from $53,900. If an IJ finds that you have a credible fear of persecution or torture and vacates the asylum officers negative credible fear determination: An official website of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, An official website of the United States government, To protect your privacy, please do not include any personal information in your feedback. You may not be granted asylum or withholding of removal if: See Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) sections 208(b)(2)(A) and 241(b)(3)(B) and 8 CFR 208.16(d). If you do not request a review of the negative determination, or if an IJ affirms the negative credible fear determination, ICE may remove you from the United States. Yes, i have done with my second too. In other words, assume that your entire interview will be re-done and prepare accordingly (I did a post about what happens at an initial asylum interview, In addition, if you think additional evidenceincluding country condition evidencewould be beneficial for your case, you should gather and submit that. A grant of asylum allows you to apply for: SeeBenefits and Responsibilities of Asyleesfor more information on how to obtain these benefits. Second question do I need change address on my driver license too? Thats not right because their system not working well so you should expect that your days will stop running each week for few days or maybe a day just give it a time and stay positive. This month I inquired again, got response under extended review . Referred to Court After second asylum interview | US Immigration forums hosted by the Law offices of Rajiv S. Khanna, PC for the community. Then asked for extension for rebuttal but the AO asked for follow up interview ( the days still running until 2nd interviw). When you apply for asylum affirmatively by preparing and submitting Form I-589, within 21 days after you submit your asylum application to U.S. If you do not understand a question, tell the officer that you do not understand. Any unanswered questions or incomplete answers on the application are resolved at the interview. I was scheduled for a second interview. Instead, bring all original documents to your asylum interview, where the asylum officer can examine them in person. It can be a very long and difficult interview. Maybe if you can talk to the people who interviewed you, they can give you an idea about this. Take care, Jason. The grant of asylum generally includes your spouse and unmarried children under the age of 21 who were included in your application for asylum. Retain and consider your application for asylum and also consider your eligibility for withholding of removal and protection under the Convention Against Torture (CAT) in a second interview. Maybe the AOs supervisorwho must approved each decisionneeded additional testimony. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. Torture is defined at 8 CFR sections 208.18(a) and 1208.18(a), which incorporate the definitions in Article 1 of CAT as implemented in U.S. law. No longer have a well-founded fear of persecution because of a fundamental change in circumstances; Obtained protection from another country; Obtained the original asylum grant through fraud; or. Unfortunately, there is usually no way to know in advance why the Asylum Office has scheduled a second interview. We are dedicating specially trained refugee officers to the centers. I inquired after 90 days , got response under review. In other cases, maybe the AO quit or retired without finishing the case, and the notes are inadequate to reach a decision. what if addresses on Interview notice and Driver license are different? They will interview applicants for the U.S. The information provided on this site is not legal advice, does not constitute a lawyer referral service, and no attorney-client or confidential relationship is or will be formed by use of the site. Depending on the other interviews and the AO's schedule that day, you might have to wait several hours. Your second interview for retesting will happen 60 to 90 days after the first. Typically, rescheduled interview dates are within a month or two after the original interview date. If you arenot grantedasylum, we will automatically terminate your EAD based on your pending asylum application at the expiration of the employment authorization document or 60 days after the denial of asylum, whichever is longer. The addresses and locations for USCIS asylum offices are available using the AsylumOffice Locator. If you have asked for either a male or female interviewing officer then we will arrange this for you. Every individual who applies for asylum will be subject to a series of background and security checks. It is probably better to change your license, as they may ask for it at the interview. Citizenship and Immigration Services ("USCIS"), it will schedule you for an interview with an Asylum Officer ("AO") at your local asylum office. Your asylum interview is an important part of your asylum application, and it is important to be prepared. All dependents on your case who are not granted asylum as a principal or derivative asylee by USCIS will be issued a Notice to Appear in immigration court as part of your case, regardless of the outcome of the independent basis determination. I and my lawyer went to the asylum office for the second interview. Go to that asylum office and complete an In-Person Reschedule Request. Finally, many people want to know if a second interview indicates that a decision is imminent or whether it is a positive or negative sign about the cases outcome. Often, the officer will not know, but there is no harm in asking. There is currently (as of 2023) no fee to file Form I-589. The Asylum Merits Interview will be recorded, and if USCIS does not grant you asylum, the recording of the interview will be transcribed, and the transcript will become part of the record in your case. You may include your spouse and unmarried children who are under 21 years of age in your asylum application only if they: If USCIS does not grant you asylum, an asylum officer will determine whether there is a significant possibility that your spouse or child included in your application have experienced or fear harm that would be an independent basis for asylum, withholding of removal, or protection under CAT. We waited for about an hour, and after that we were informed that the interview has been scheduled by mistake and that I will receive the decision in mail. Your asylum interview (or 'substantive interview') is an important step in your application for refugee status - it's a chance for you to put your case across to someone from the Home Office. If an asylum officer does not grant you asylum following an Asylum Merits Interview, you will receive written notice of the decision. I did a post about expediting with USCIS on January 29, 2020 maybe that would give you some other ideas. If you still have your old address and can receive mail there, it seems to me that you should be fine. Committed certain crimes or engaged in other activities that make you ineligible to retain asylum in the United States. SeeFamily of Refugees & Asyleesfor more information on immigration benefits for your spouse and children. I have got citizenship interview notice which is due after 24 days and I have filled A-11 form to change my home and Mailing address which is just one mile away from previous address in same county.will it postpone my interview? My clock 2 months ago stopped for 1 or 2 weeks couldnt remember and my clock was running suddenly one day they counted all days that were not counted but maybe you have a different situation, I applied in Jan 2021, had my interview in march 2021, according to that my EAD clock days should be 104 days but from yesterday it's saying 500 days, and the clock still running, it's making me confused and concerned because I wanted to apply for EAD so I can work, how are you checking the ead clock?, there is no time showing in the case states no more. Family members are likely not to interpret word for word, and often add their own information. If you are not granted asylum, the Department of Homeland Security may use the information you provide to establish that you are removed from the United States. The attorney listings on this site are paid attorney advertising. Dzubow & Pilcher, PLLC If you guess and your answer is not consistent with prior testimony or evidence, it could result in an adverse credibility finding, which would likely cause your case to be denied. For more information, see theForm I-765webpage. Secure .gov websites use HTTPS If your attorney is running late or is unable to attend on the scheduled day, and you ask the AO to reschedule your interview for when your attorney is available, the AO might deny your request and conduct the interview as scheduled or refer your case to an Immigration Judge. A certified translation of any document that is not in English; Any document in a language other than English must be accompanied by an English translation that the translator has certified is complete and correct. USCIS will probably never return them. The company has produced titles that capitalize on productions by major studios, often using film titles and scripts very similar to those of current blockbusters in order to lure customers. There seems to be several different reasons. If you are unable to proceed with your Asylum Merits Interview effectively in English, the asylum officer will arrange for the assistance of a USCIS contract interpreter. In this post, we will talk about the second interview: Why is it needed? I do not have much faith in those notices, but I expect it means there is an issue in your case and it requires additional review, maybe at headquarters. During the interview, the AO will ask you questions about your identity, information you had provided in your asylum application, any applicable bars to your eligibility for asylum, and any documents you had submitted in support of your application. Australian immigration and asylum. If you do not make your rescheduling request until the date of your interview or 15 days thereafter, or if this is your second or third request to reschedule, you must provide information showing that you have a "good cause" reason for needing to postpone. They also asked me to come back if i did not receive the decision in 60 days. To be granted withholding of removal to a country under Article 3 of CAT, as implemented in U.S. law, you must show that it is more likely than not that you would be tortured in that country. providing direct representation for asylum seekers at the U.S.-Mexico border and educating them about their rights; reuniting formerly separated families; increasing legal representation for those in removal proceedings and in detention; providing public education on immigration law and policies; and USCIS will check your biographical information against law enforcement databases. You will have to contact the asylum office or tell the asylum officer at your Asylum Merits Interview that you want to include them on your application. You must submit a separate Form I-485 application packet for yourself and, if applicable, for each family member who received derivative asylum based on your application. In general, information related to your asylum application cannot be shared with third parties without your written consent or without specific authorization by the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. You are allowed to bring witnesses to the Asylum Office. If the application is denied by the IJ, the Board of Immigration Appeals, or a Federal court, the employment authorization terminates when the employment authorization document expires, unless the applicant has filed an appropriate request for administrative or judicial review.