It’s not easy to be an asylum seeker these days. Between the government’s efforts–often disingenuous–to undermine asylum claims, the long delays, and the unnecessary bureaucratic obstacles, the process has become more stressful and more unfair than at any time in recent memory.
It’s also become more difficult for attorneys who represent asylum seekers. Given the government’s unpredictability, we can’t easily advise our clients or evaluate their cases. It’s also harder to help them understand the process and to predict how long they will wait for an interview or a decision. In other words, it’s more difficult to serve as a counselor for our clients.
It’s also more difficult to offer our clients encouragement and hope. The long delays and hostile environment have made the asylum process (and the immigration process in general) more stressful. Clients need a sense of hope, and they need to feel someone is on their side. Hence, attorney as cheerleader.
Fulfilling both jobs—counselor and cheerleader—is not easy, and at times, the two roles can be contradictory. So how can we as lawyers provide honest counsel and still offer our clients hope?
First, I have found that even clients in the most dire circumstances appreciate hearing the unvarnished truth about their cases. Especially in the beginning, when it is time to evaluate the case and present the client her options, it is important not to sugarcoat the odds of success or gloss over potential obstacles. I sometimes have a tendency towards pessimism when I evaluate a case, as I don’t want to give the client unrealistic expectations. I also want the client to know what she is up against, so she can make her own decisions about how to proceed.
Also, of course, it is very important for the client to understand the problems in the case. Is there a one-year bar issue? Or other bars to asylum? Are there potential credibility problems? Is there important evidence that will be difficult to obtain? All this we need to know, so that the client and the lawyer together can prepare the strongest possible case.
The client needs to understand the process of seeking asylum, in all its dysfunctional glory. He needs to know how long a case might take, and whether it will likely be referred to court. He also needs to know about the limits of what we lawyers know. The fact is, the system is a mess. Even people working within the system often cannot predict how long a case will take, and lawyers like me certainly don’t know. We have to convey this uncertainty to the client, so he can understand the range of possible events. With the most accurate (albeit limited) information available, the client can make the best possible decisions for himself and his family.
In short, it is very important that the client understand his situation as clearly as possible, so he can prepare his case, make informed decisions, and have some sense of his prospects for success. But once the client understands the case and decides to go forward, he needs support and hope. He needs to feel that success is possible, and that he won’t be stuck forever in limbo. This is where the cheerleading comes in.
The process of seeking asylum is long (despite—or maybe because of—LIFO). It’s also grueling. Many clients want to forget about the bad things that happened to them back home. But for those mired in asylum-land, they cannot put traumatic events behind them. Also, many asylum seekers are separated from their families, which is particularly difficult and stressful for those with young children. There’s also the overall uncertainty of not knowing whether you can stay in the U.S. or you will have to leave. Should you buy a house? Build a life? What if your case is denied and you lose it all? Any human being living through such uncertainty will feel stress, but it’s even worse for asylum seekers, many of whom have suffered trauma, and whose family members may still be in danger. People in this situation need hope.
There is a school of thought—which was already outdated when I was in law school—that the client’s emotional needs are not the attorney’s problem. If the client needs a shoulder to cry on, he should find a friend. Or a therapist. It doesn’t help that we lawyers don’t receive much training in counseling, and that we’re usually super busy and don’t have time to sit and listen to the client’s troubles. There’s also the issue of attorney burn-out. Getting too emotionally involved in a case can lead to more stress and less objectivity, which is not good for the lawyer, or, ultimately, for the client. Despite all this, lawyers can offer clients hope and positivity in order to help them get through the difficult process of asylum.
How to do this? One way is to focus on aspects of the case that are within the client’s control: Obtaining evidence and witnesses, preparing the affidavit, applying for the work permit, trying to expedite or short-list the case. Much of the asylum process cannot be influenced by the client (or the lawyer), and so taking steps that are within the client’s power at least gives her a sense of agency.
We can also encourage clients to live their lives as normally as possible: Get a job, go to school, get married, have children. To the extent possible, it is better to build a life, instead of allowing the uncertainty of an asylum case to rule your day-to-day existence.
Finally, we can try to emphasize the positive aspects of the case. Once the client is going forward with the case and understands the challenges, there is no point in focusing on the negative. If it’s very unlikely that your client can overcome the one-year bar, for example, do everything possible to help the client demonstrate an exception to the bar, but once that is done, offer the client some encouragement: Some Immigration Judges or Asylum Officers will interpret the bar more liberally, maybe the client will get lucky, etc.
These are difficult times for asylum seekers in the U.S. As attorneys, we have to continually push ourselves to be more compassionate and more patient. I know personally how difficult that can be, but if we want to best serve our clients and stand up to the forces against them, that is what we must do.
Hi me and my family had been interviewed on 16 July 2018 by a asylum officer and they told me to pickup the decision on 31 July but today I was informed by my attorney that my daughter has to go for fingerprints again and my decision is late . Can someone help…
It is very common for a pick-up decision to change to mail out. It is not a bad or good sign for the outcome. Hopefully, you will get a good result soon. Take care, Jason
I have a question that even if my husband applied for asylum and waiting, I want to apply for a DS-160 Visa to visit my boy who is currently in US by Student visa. And i found a question on the form which says – Has anyone ever field an immigrant petition on your behalf with the US citizenship and imigrant. Can i say no since he is just waiting or what? please let me know to submit my application.
I do not know the exact question, so I am not sure. However, if you are outside the US and your husband filed for asylum, that is not an immigration petition or application for you. If he wins, he can file a petition for you, but until then, his asylum application is not an application or petition for you. Take care, Jason
Dear Jason,
I filed for asylum in May and had my interview in June only to get a call from the officer not to come for my result as scheduled because they want me to come for a second interview,I don’t what might have gone wrong and what I should expect
I’m really getting anxious
Thank you
BiNi
It is very common for pick-up decision to be changed to mail-out decisions, so that is nothing unusual. Second interviews are not so common, but there are many reasons for them. Maybe the officer forgot to ask some questions, or maybe the supervisor had more questions. I recommend that you prepare for a second interview in the same way you prepared for the first, and also try to remember what was said in the first interview, so you can avoid saying anything inconsistent in the second interview. Take care, Jason
Thank you Jason for a quick response,you are a God sent ,my pressing question is that I didn’t go with an attorney on my first interview,do you think I should hire an attorney for the second interview?
If you think there are issues where you would benefit from an attorney at the interview or preparing for the interview (or with evidence). I wrote something about this on July 7, 2016 and December 11, 2017. Take care, Jason
On 6/22/18 my Asylum was approved. I applied in February 2015 at Chicago office. The interview was at July 2017. At the time of interview they did not take my fingerprints and picture (they said the system is down). In May 2018 I sent a letter asking is there progress on the decision. They answered that I have to wait. On July 11 I received a letter that I have to come to office for picture and fingerprints. I did not expect to receive an answer. But after they took picture and fingerprints they told me that my Asylum is granted. I thank in most humble way and wish all the best to the all the readers and the host of this blog. The support I got here is enormous.
Thank you for sharing this and Welcome to the USA! Congrats, Jason
Dear Jason,
I have pending asylum case since January 2014 and i have active i20, i’m a foreign medical graduate and I’m planning to apply for medical residency and want to keep my status, can I apply for programs that sponsor j1 visa and i have pending asylum case ?
Thor other option is be out of status and use my EAD, but I’m scared of the consequences of being out of status any suggestions i will appreciate it as I’m really confused.
I do not know whether you would be able to get a J-1 visa with a pending asylum case; it probably depends on the type of J-1 visa. Maybe the sponsor of the program could help with that. If not, you would need to have an attorney look at the specifics of the case. As for other options, it again depends on the case, and so it might be worthwhile to consult with a lawyer to go over your options. Take care, Jason
Janson, I have one question for you: I am waiting for an asylum answer and I am interested in me if they refuse me for asylum and send me to the court, is it advisable to I go like a woman because I applied for a gay asylum? At an interview they asked me why I did not get dressed like a woman!? It was not for me official. What do you think I should do in court?
Thank you so much!
There are gay cases, and there are transgender cases. These are not the same, and so if your claim is that you are transgender, I suppose it makes sense to dress appropriately for your gender. In other words, dress how you dress in regular life. I think if you try to pretend to be transgender when you are not, that could very well backfire. Take care, Jason
(posted on the most recent The Asylumnist article)
Hello Everyone,
I’ll try to keep this short. We all know how miserable and difficult waiting is. Also, with the new LIFO system and the removal of the interview-scheduling bulletin, without any replacements from USCIS, the problem is exacerbated. I have a solution! (I hope)
I created a Google Excel Sheet. Briefly, we get enough applicants to fill in their timeline information, we can pretty quickly created a “de facto” scheduling bulletin that is even more accurate and more useful than the old one that USCIS provided. Of course, for this to happen, we would need enough data from people who applied *BEFORE* February 2018 since all these cases appear to be promptly handled under LIFO. Cases before that (or backlog cases) appear to be handled differently from office to office.
@Jason Dzubow: Again there are no words to thank you for your devotion to the cause. If you agree with me and like the idea, perhaps you can help us speed this process up by including the link of the Google Excel Sheet I’m attaching in the next article that you may be working on. Also, if your firm and other attorneys you know share this information with your clients, we can get this data even faster.
Of course, it is all anonymous and no personal data is included. Please take a look at the Google Sheet (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1u-6bcGnJFjRlQ8P67qseh3duh8a8GzbfnCYj-_ck9k4/edit?ts=5b25d5d0#gid=0) and let me know what you think!!
A full description of the idea and the sheet will be found on the sheet!!
Best of luck Y’all!! We can make this happen pretty quickly if we get enough participants!! The Google Sheet is public and anyone can add their information. As mentioned in the sheet, I will periodically (maybe daily or weekly) “protect” inputed information so that no one can go back and change what you entered. And evenutally, anyone can analyze the data themselves (and I will do a a full analysis myself too) and have this information available to everyone!
THANK YOU AND PLEASE CONSIDER THIS Y’ALL!
Hiii
I want to you ask you guys something, anyone here hired a lawyer from a different state other than the one you are living at, did you guys struggle when you did that? As always people recommend having a local lawyer! @Jason what is your opinion about that? does it have any effect on the outcome of the asylum?
For a court case, I think a local lawyer is better, as the lawyers know the court, the prosecutors, and the judges. For an asylum office case, it matters less, as the lawyers job at the interview is smaller (though a lawyer can help prepare the case and the applicant). Usually a local lawyer is also cheaper. Take care, Jason
Thanks alot Jason, appericate it
Hi Jason,
I have filed asylum at the Arlington office and still pending interview. If I move to another state that doesn’t belong to Arlington and submit the change of address form, would Arlington automatically transfer my case? or can I have my case remain at the Arlington office even if I move? (which is what I prefer). In other words, when someone changes their address, would that force them to change the asylum center as well?
If you move, and change your address, and if the new address is under the jurisdiction of a different asylum office, they case will move automatically. You can follow the link at right called Asylum Office Locator, and enter your old and new zip codes to see whether the case will move. Please note that if you move before you have your EAD, you may stop the asylum clock and not receive your EAD. Take care, Jason
In addition to sending Address change, you should confirm that your case is moved to the new office. Send enquiry to both offices. from my experience, they only moved my case after I sent email to the new office.
Good luck!
Hello everyone!
I couldn’t find the right category for my question so I ask it here.
I got my asylum status 7 years ago and now I want to start citizenship application.
I’ve read that I need to bring my current passport (country of origin). The accident happened and my passport was ripped into 2 parts.
I cant go to embassy and apply for new passport. I called but they were asking to bring papers that impossibile for me to get.
What should I do?
Thanks and sorry again that I placed my question here.
If your lawful permanent resident card (green card) is dated at least 4 years and 9 months ago, then you can apply for citizenship. You do not need your old passport, but if you have the damaged passport, you can bring that. If you have a copy of the intact passport, you can submit that. But even without these things, you can still apply for citizenship, assuming you are otherwise eligible. Take care, Jason
Hi Jason! Thank you for all of you do for us. I have a question. My family applied asylum in December 2017, did our interview in March 2018, no decision yet. Recently we applied for the SSN and EAD. How long will it take to get it? I’m going to college this summer. How can I study according to my status? Will I pay like an international student? Thanks.
For an asylum-pending EAD, the wait time is normally between 1 and 4 months. As for attending school, you have to talk to them, but most schools allow people with an EAD to enroll (you will probably pay out of state tuition). If you do not have an EAD, then I do not know whether you can enroll – ask the school. Hopefully, you can get asylum before you start, as that would make it easier and hopefully you could pay in-state tuition. Take care, Jason
Thank you! But they also asked me what type of visa do I have? Is it like refugee or special immigrant visa?
The visa was what you used to enter the US (it is glued into your passport), so maybe a B visa? That is a common one. Your current status is asylum pending. You have no other status until the case is decided or you get some other type of visa. Take care, Jason
Hi Iryna,
When exactly in December did you guys apply? Also, what asylum office was that at?
Thank you!
Hi Iryna.
Could u kindly inform us which office u applied for asylum. Which city?
Hello everyone,
I received yesterday my EAD after granted asylum for all the family but I didn’t receive my SS cards with the EAD. My question for the recently granted asylum LIFO system did USCIS send you the Social Security cards or we should go and apply for it in the local office of SS? Thanks
Note: I didn’t apply for EAD before and never assigned a SSN
No, for asylum approvals only the EAD card comes after asylum has been granted. You would have to take your documents to the nearest SSA office to officially apply for your SSN. The SSN only comes with the EAD if you officially filled and i765 (EAD application form) and you indicated that you would like to receive your SSN as well, which you do not do for asylum approvals.
thanks a lot
If you did not receive an SSN, you will need to contact the Social Security office to apply for one. If you have the EAD, you can do that. Take care, Jason
When I become eligible to apply for SSN?
Once you have the EAD. However, some people apply for an SSN before they get the EAD, and you would have to check the Social Security website about eligibility for an SSN. Take care, Jason
Please Jason, i am a pending asylum applicant.i want to know how the new asylum law will affect FGM victims…thanks
I don’t know for sure, but I think it will probably not affect most cases. There is separate precedential case law about FGM (for example, Matter of Kasinga) and that is still good law. I wrote something about this earlier today, if you are interested. Take care, Jason
Hi Jason,
I have asylum pending and I will be going to consular processing for my employment based immigrant application. Do you think they will question me about my asylum? And if you have experience with this what type of questions they will ask? Thank you very much in advance.
They could ask you about it. I suppose they can ask anything they want. I have recommended that people who are trying this get Advance Parole (I wrote about that on September 11, 2017) before going to the consulate. That way, if anything goes wrong, there is still a way to return to the US. Maybe if you currently have an H1b visa, or another dual intent visa, this will not be an issue, but I do recommend that you ask your lawyer about it (if you have a lawyer) in order to be safe. Take care, Jason
Hi jason i applied for asylum with my wife in 2014 and i havent been called since then. Now i am divorced with my wife because she waited too long and started a different life. How can i chqnge the marriage status and how can i do it? It is this that bothers me recently than being called for inteview since i waited 4 years.
Under the new LIFO system, I doubt you will get an interview soon. You could try to expedite – I wrote about that on March 30, 2017. If your wife is overseas and was listed on your form, you can just submit a copy of the divorce decree and when you get to the interview, you can tell the officer. Take care, Jason
Hi Jason,
It appears that Jeff Sessions has finally ruled on who, from the social group, is not qualified for asylum. He has essentially vacated the cases that ruled in favor of women fleeing domestic violence and people fleeing violence in general.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/immigration/sessions-signals-that-victims-of-domestic-abuse-and-gang-violence-generally-will-not-qualify-for-asylum/2018/06/11/45e54602-6d9e-11e8-bd50-b80389a4e569_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.e1a607b52130
It is interesting to note that Jeff’s ruling was announced on the same day that DT is meeting with Kim. Of course, the strategy is that not much media attention will be given to such evil act and so they can possibly get away with it. My religious belief is leaning more towards agnosticism, but I really hope that there is hell and heaven so people like Sessions will have to answer to whomever is the maker. Can you imagine how many lives are at risk because of this xenophobic ruling?
My questions:
1. What does he mean by “violence”? Would people who are violently targeted because they are LGBT, a particular gender, nationality, skin color, etc. be affected by his ruling, or would these people fall in a category by themselves?
2. What is going to happen to all the people who have asylum applications pending and are victims of violence or domestic abuse?
3. What will happen to those people who were granted asylum before this ruling? Will their asylum status be terminated? Will they be able to adjust status to PR since one of the requirements of successfully adjusting your status from asylee to PR is to continue to meet the definition of a refugee? Wouldn’t the new ruling effectively strip people of the asylee status since they were granted asylum under this specific enumerated category?
4. Would there be any recourse for these people if they should lose their status?
5. Do you believe there will be challenges to this heartless ruling and what are the chances of it being overturned?
While I don’t mean to undermine the sufferings of demestic violence victims, the INA and congress give the AG very broad power interpreting the law and grand asylum.
The federal court generally cannot overrule AG’s decision because it has no authority to do so especially when AG’s ruling is within his authority.
My personal opinion is that for pending cases, USCIS and IJ will follow AG’s ruling. For granted cases, USCIS has the authority to terminate asylum through proceedings but normally they will not do that. For AOS it’s tricky and we shall see.
Once you are granted PR status, this will not impact your status.
My $0.02:
Question 1) I believe being gay and skin color would still be allowed under the particular social group (PSG). Nationality is already a protected class.
Question 2) Assuming the immigration judges follow Sec. Sessions guidelines, those claims should be denied IF it only involves the actions of private individuals or gangs. The analysis might be different id the abusers or gang members are in collusion with government officials. But the generic “I’m afraid of gangs and violence” claim, by itself, probably won’t work starting tomorrow. As for those appealing their denial of asylum to either the BIA or the Circuit Courts of Appeals- I have no clue.
Question 3) I believe those granted asylum before today, based on gang violence or abuse, will be allowed to keep their status.
Question 4) See question 3.
Question 5) I cannot imagine there NOT being a lawsuit over this.
Everyone knew this guidance was coming when Sec. Sessions reserved several cases for himself and asked for briefs on the issue of
“Whether, and under what circumstances, being a victim of private criminal activity constitutes a cognizable ‘particular social group’ for purposes of an application for asylum or withholding of removal.”
We must remember that Central American “gang violence” has ALWAYS been a difficult asylum claim to win because: 1) passing a “credible fear” interview gave asylum seekers false hope that they had a valid asylum claim. Such interviews were always meant to have a very low evidentiary standard; 2) immigration courts, the BIA, and the Circuit Court of Appeals are generally resistant to accepting gang PSGs such as “Salvadoreans resisting gang recruitment”, and PSGs cannot be defined by the alleged persecution they experience; 2) the fact that the majority of gang claims involved the actions of private individuals, NOT the government (and the judges and BIA accepting that the Central American governments were at least “willing” to try to control gang behavior); and 3) that the Circuit Court of Appeals precedent makes them very deferential to the IJs and BIA and will only overturn decisions if evidence “compels” a reversal. In other words, the cases are NOT decided de novo.
Also, it has to be pointed out that something like 75% of Central Americans asylum claims are DENIED. And that’s for those REPRESENTED by attorneys. Those without legal representation lose some 95% of their cases. In other words, it was more LIKELY THAN NOT that their asylum claim would be denied.
In all the online articles I’ve read, this one, https://www.vox.com/2018/6/11/17450374/sessions-asylum-domestic-gang-violence, does the best job of explaining how gang based asylum claims are difficult to make, and win. Although the article is meant as a criticism of Sec. Sessions, it CORRECTLY points out the LEGAL definition of asylum (versus the “common sense” version of asylum held by the general public ignorant of the law) and the difficult standards asylum seekers must meet in order to win their cases.
Thank you for this. I do wonder how the federal courts will react when the ARCG PSG is raised before them. I agree that the AG has a lot of authority to interpret the statute, but there are many precedential cases about PSG, and we will have to see what happens. A number of the cases relied on in AB are dissenting opinions, and so maybe there is a chance that we will see some progress on this in federal court. Take care, Jason
1 – This decision seems bad, and it is – for victims of DV. However, as I read it, I am thinking that it will be difficult to interpret it in a broader way than that. It does provide some cover for an IJ who wants to deny a case where the persecutor is not the government, but such IJs would likely deny such cases anyway. It certainly makes things harder for (mostly) women and children fleeing DV, but I think the effects will not be as great as Sessions hopes. 2 – They have to satisfy the new standard or come up with an alternative theory. 3 – Those people have asylum. Whether their status will be affected by the new ruling, we don’t yet know, but I think it will be challenging for the government to identify such people are try to take their status away. I am hopeful that such people will not be affected. 4 – Apply for asylum on another basis or apply for another type of relief. 5 – There will be. I don’t know whether it will be over-ruled. I tend to doubt it, but there are some real flaws here (the AG opines about a lot of issues that are not in the actual case at hand, for example, such as persecution by gangs), and so I think there are some vulnerabilities here. We shall see. Take care, Jason
Hello Jason,
I recently applied for asylum with my husband and son as dependents. However, myself and my husband have been having lots of arguments and little fights hence we decided to file for divorce. My questions are:
(a) can I file for divorce here in US? Note that mybout marriage was contracted in a foreign (African) country;
(b) I intend to remove my husband as dependent what are the steps?
(c) can I remarry and file for GC with my asylum application still pending?
Your prompt response will be appreciated.
Regards
A – Yes. Talk to a divorce lawyer about that, but you can. B – Contact the asylum office and tell them. You can find their contact info if you follow the link at right called Asylum Office Locator. C – Yes, but first you must be legally divorced. Take care, Jason
Dear jason
Thank you for your continuous help. I have a question that i would be thankful if you clarify. I am a pending asylum seeker since july 2017. Me and my husband had our ead for two years since last february. We have very good educational background and very good experience in our fields. But no company accepts to hire any of us because we are not permnant residents or green card holders. We receive many calls but as soon as they know we do not have green card, they hang up. My question, can this be a good reason for expediting the case and if so how can i get an evidence for such a reason. We really are suffering. We have young kids and we cannot find work. It is really hard.
That is a reason to expedite. Maybe you can just write a letter listing the companies and the job denials and dates of denial. It is not easy to expedite, but if you do not try, your case will remain pending for a long time. Take care, Jason
First of all, it is illegal to discriminate aliens w/ EADs.
EAD holders must be treated equally as green card holders from hiring perspective. It’s the law. I find it troubling they haning up after knowing you are on EAD. At least they should try prentending rejecting you due to valid job specific reasons… they should all go through some legal training and seriously, next time record the conversion and sue them!
however technically, this will not be a reason to expedite because you are issued EAD which already give you employment authorization. Of course it will not hurt to try but if I’m the office director I would not grant such requests considering the workload on hand and other urgent requests pending.
Good luck with your future job/asylum interviews.
@ Asylee …… That was the exact and ONLY I requested the office to expedite my case this year in January, and within one and half month the request was granted.
@ Asylee … In my case I only just did write down 3 sentences of simple, short and to the point email to USCIS of my office with NO paper evidence in attachment whatsoever. Do not forget mentioning of your Alien number. Good luck
I think a lot of it is luck – if you are lucky, the case will be expedited. But as they say, you can’t win if you don’t play. Take care, Jason
Congrats.which office did you apply? please can you give me your timeline.i just posted my application to expedite ,I am still waiting for positive results.
@aryan
Could you kindly mention which office you apply in. And what do you write or what kind of evidence you tell them to approve your expediting request.
Thx alot for your help.
Hi Aryan,
What asylum office were you applying to (what office did you send the expedite request to?)?
Thank you!
Hi Asylee,
Any updates? Were you able to send them a letter for expediting the process? If so, did you hear back?
Thank you!
Oh and Asylee, when did you apply originally and to what office?
Hello Jason,
I’m an Iraqi citizen. I came to the states on a visa and applied for asylum in March 2016. I had 2 interviews done on July 2016 and in April 2017 and still no decision. what can I do at this point? every time I go to inquire about my case they say its still pending.
There is not a lot that will work – you can try the USCIS Ombudsman, a link is at right. If that does not help, you can talk to a lawyer about filing a mandamus lawsuit. Take care, Jason
Mohammed, which office is your case pending at?
Hey mohamed what kind of question asked you in secound interview and how long and why they interview you twice can you answer if you dont mind ?
Dear Jason,
I submitted my 2nd Inquiry with USCIS about my pending I-485 application at NSC office, according to the response of my 1st inquiry they said, I should receive response in 60 days, after completed the 60 days I submitted the 2nd inquiry and still waiting for the response from USCIS. can I reach out to congresswomen and request for expedite my case. would it be any issue? my EAD will be expire in 2 months from now, I was just waiting for GC, so I don’t have to pay for the fee. Kindly advise?
I would also like to add that I have been waiting for my GC since 1 year, I complete the medical test last year in June, do I need to complete medical again?
Hi Kiki
Can you mention your case status updates so far how they changed step by step?
Like mine was
1. Fingerprint fee was received (4 months ago)
2. Fingerprint review was completed (a month ago).
So that i can expect next step about my case.
Thanks,
Mine still stuck from the day first “Fingerprint fee was received” 🙁
Hi Kiki,
My case status hasn’t changed from ” Fingerprint Fee Received” till date. I’ve heard that the system doesn’t update everyone’s status during the adjudication process. I had my biometrics 2 months ago and no update at all since that time. I really don’t understand USCIS!!!!
Nobody understands USCIS, including USCIS. Take care, Jason
Hi Riz,
How long did it take USCIS to update your case status online as ” Fingerprint Review Was Completed” after your initial biometrics for your I-485?
Hi David
It took about 2 months.
Most likely, the medical exam will expire and you will need to do it again (and pay again), but you will have to wait to see whether USCIS asks you for this. Hopefully not. Take care, Jason
If you case is under Taxes office that can take up to two years for green card.
You can reach out to a Congress person – that usually does not help, but you never know, and there is no harm. As for the EAD, you should be able to file your I-765 with a copy of your I-485 receipt (showing you paid) and this should allow you to get the EAD without paying again. In practice, this often does not work, and it is probably safer to just pay the fee for the new EAD, or do the fee waiver, form I-912, available at http://www.uscis.gov. Take care, Jason
I applied April 2016 not interviewed
Which office did you apply?
Please, could you share your experience with your pending asylum in Arlington, VA office?
I applied in April 2016, still waiting for an interview.
A 2016 case will not be interviewed any time soon. You can try to expedite – I wrote about that on March 30, 2017. Take care, Jason
we applied in November,2014. Still waiting
Applied in July 2015, still nothing
Hello Jason and everyone,
I started my asylum application and I have done my interview, the person who did my asylum was a thief, he charged me $3000 to start and pay $800 but because the lifo started he didn’t expect it he refused to let me see my lawyer he also said the lawyer can’t follow me to the interview, so I had to hire a new lawyer who was asking me what was the essence of paying $3000 to someone who can’t follow me to court, so I had to pay for her to follow me to court but she said she can’t continue my asylum application except I pay extra, I’m not working and I couldn’t so I’m waiting for my decision, but it’s almost 180 and I heard the first EAD is free but the man who filed my application said I have to pay $800. I have discontinued with him, but how do I take over my application and file for my EAD when it’s 180 days. I don’t have any money to pAy again. Please what do you guys think I should do?
You can file your own EAD – form I-765, available at http://www.uscis.gov. You might look into finding a free lawyer – I wrote about that on September 22, 2016, with some links that might help. If those organizations cannot represent you, maybe at least they can refer you to a lawyer who is not a crook. Take care, Jason
Hi Jason and other people here!
I am getting my RTD soon. I plan to travel to Turkey ( this is a third country) and visit my family members. Do you think Turkey requires RTD holders to apply for entry visa? Thank you.
I do not know, but you should check their website or contact the Turkish embassy to ask before you try to go there. Take care, Jason
@Sara,
As soon as I get my approval (granted asylum- waiting for the decision for 8 months), I have to obtain RTD to go somewhere like Turkey and visit my father who is very sick. Could you please update here anything you are going to do to travel there? I also don’t have passport as well and Travel Document would be enough?
The RTD is like a passport, and so you can use it instead of your country’s passport. However, not all countries recognize it, so you need to ask their embassy or check their embassy website to be sure. Take care, Jason
That’s the best way to find out for sure.
Hey Sarah,
Googled this and I think a visa is required. Not sure, though.
Or! Go to Spain or Greece instead. Google is telling me they don’t require visas with the RTD (double check, of course), and they’re way more fun in my not so humble opinion. Tapas and paella all day every day, or a beautiful Santorini summer <3
Let us know if you find out about the visa requirements for whatever country you decide to make your travel destination.
Happy researching and planning!
Almost all countries require visa when you have RTD since you travel as “Stateless”. Only a handful countries in Europe doesn’t require one (I know Germany for sure and I think 4 or 5 more). So there’s 99% chance that you need a visa to Turkey…
Hey All,
I appiled for asylum in DC on August 2017 and no call for interview. Is there any one who applied 8n 2017 and got call for interview?
To get an interview for a 2017 case, most likely you would need to try to expedite. I wrote about that on March 30, 2017. Take care, Jason
Hi Jason,
As an asylum seeker with a pending case. Can an American citizen sponsor me to get GC on anyway? ( we’re just friends)
Not really. You can be sponsored based on a family relationship, such as marriage, a job, and certain other ways. Talk to a lawyer to go over the specifics of your case if you think there is some way this can work. Take care, Jason
Does anyone knows the situation of Newark office?
I applied on August 2016
I’ve applied for Newark office on Jun 2016 and I’m still waiting for it.
Applied May 05 2016, still waiting , i don’t get a call
I’m sorry. I’ve applied on June 2017 in Newark office (NJ) and I’m still waiting…
Applied in November 2016. No interview notice yet
I applied in 2018, and I was called for interviewee.
Hi Jason,
Are there any news about your clients applied in March 2018 Arlington office, regarding their interview appointments?
Thanks
I think we only filed one or two in March (we stopped filing for a couple months after they changed to LIFO, as we had to change how we did cases), and I believe that neither person was interviewed yet. Take care, Jason
If March 2018 cases have not being called, and same for 2014, I do not quite understand who they are interviewing now?
Who knows? Maybe April 2018? I think they are interviewing some spring 2018 cases, but others are falling into the backlog. This is what happened when they had the LIFO system before 2012 or 2013, so it is not surprising. Take care, Jason
They are probably trying to see which system allows them to interview more cases LIFO or the previous one…but again, maybe not
I don’t think so – I think they have switched to LIFO in order to try to discourage people from filing for asylum, but we shall see. Take care, Jason
Hello Jason, thank u for your advises. I received my green card through asylum and I have heard it for 6yrs. I brought my wife and she made an allegation of domestic violence after getting another man in USA. She applied a restraint order, and we went to court which put me on pre-trial probation. Case was later dismissed. Now I want to apply for citizenship, will this affect my citizenship application. Thank you.
It is very possible that it would affect your citizenship. You should get a copy of the court disposition (the final outcome) and then talk to a lawyer to see how it will affect your case. Take care, Jason