USCIS has a new Director. Ur Mendoza Jaddou is the daughter of a Mexican immigrant and an Iraqi immigrant. She started her career on Capitol Hill working for pro-immigrant Congresswoman (and former immigration attorney) Zoe Lofgren, and later served in the Department of Homeland Security during the Obama Administration. Ms. Jaddou spent her Trump-Administration exile as a law professor at American University. Earlier this year, President Biden nominated her to direct USCIS. The Senate confirmed her nomination on July 30, 2021 and she assumed the directorship last week.
In her first news release, Director Jaddou states–
As a proud American and a daughter of immigrants, I am deeply humbled and honored to return to USCIS as director. I look forward to leading a team of dedicated public servants committed to honoring the aspirations of people like my parents and millions of others who are proud to choose this country as their own. USCIS embodies America’s welcoming spirit as a land of opportunity for all and a place where possibilities are realized.
Since January, USCIS has taken immediate steps to reduce barriers to legal immigration, increase accessibility for immigration benefits, and reinvigorate the size and scope of humanitarian relief. As USCIS director, I will work each and every day to ensure our nation’s legal immigration system is managed in a way that honors our heritage as a nation of welcome and as a beacon of hope to the world; reducing unnecessary barriers and supporting our agency’s modernization.
As we look to the future, I am excited for the work ahead and ready to roll up my sleeves to implement Secretary Mayorkas’ goals and the priorities of the Biden-Harris Administration to ensure that the work of USCIS lives up to our nation’s highest values.
I do not know Director Jaddou personally, but I have heard good things about her for several years now, and so her appointment is a cause for optimism. That said, she has her work cut out for her. From my perspective as an asylum attorney, USCIS is a disaster. There are so many problems that need fixing, it is difficult to know where to begin. Luckily, I am here to offer some suggestions. These will focus on asylum and “asylum adjacent” issues. Without further ado, here are ten great ideas for Director Jaddou–
Say Goodbye to LIFO and Hello to FIFO: I’ve written extensively about the unfair and unpredictable nature of the “Last In, First Out” system for affirmative asylum interviews. Due to LIFO, asylum applicants who filed years ago have still not received an interview and have little hope of ever seeing their cases resolved. Living in these uncertain circumstances, often separated from family members, is psychologically traumatizing. We need a system that is fair and predictable, so applicants and their attorneys know when to expect an interview and have time to prepare in advance. FIFO (“First In, First Out”) and the Asylum Office Scheduling Bulletin provides more predictability and more notice to asylum seekers. While we’re discussing asylum interviews, we also need rules about expediting asylum cases, so those with the most compelling needs are able to schedule their interviews more quickly.
Reasonable Security Background Checks: Security background checks at the Asylum Office often cause significant delays. Sometimes, these delays stretch on for years, with no real explanation. The worst affected people seem to be men from Muslim countries, but others suffer from these delays as well. We never see such delays in Immigration Court. Why? According to a former Asylum Division Director, it’s because there are different systems at the Asylum Office and in court. These systems should be harmonized so that background checks for asylum cases are completed in the same timely manner as background checks in court.
Overhaul the Texas Service Center: The TSC is a nightmare. Processing times are through the roof (for example, the processing time for an I-485 is up to 62.5 months or 5+ years! Contrast that to the processing time for the same form at the NSC, which is “only” 17 months). The TSC also routinely rejects cases for nonsensical or incorrect reasons. They sometimes “disappear” cases, and Valhalla help you if you ever want to add a dependent to an existing asylum case. These problems and others have been ongoing for years. It’s time–in fact, long past time–for a top to bottom re-do of the TSC.
Reform the Forms: USCIS forms are inconsistent with each other, confusing, too long, and culturally insensitive. I’ve written more extensively about this problem, but the short answer is that the forms need a major overhaul. While we’re at it, maybe we can make all forms available for online filing.
Asylum Office Websites: Speaking of online, it’s high time that the Asylum Offices had functional, informative websites that actually help asylum seekers understand the process and navigate the system. In fact, a few years ago, I offered a re-design of the Asylum Office website. Now would be a terrific time to implement my ideas!
Extend the Validity of the Refugee Travel Document: The RTD is valid for only one year. If you want to renew this document before your current RTD expires, you have to mail in the original (unexpired) RTD. As a result, asylees (and lawful permanent residents who received status through asylum) are left with long periods of time when they are either prevented from traveling or are forced to use their home country passport, which could have negative implications for their status. Why not make the RTD valid for five or 10 years? That would give asylees and refugees the ability to safely travel and return to the United States.
Make Advance Parole Easier: For most applicants with an asylum case pending, the only way to travel outside the U.S. and return is with Advance Parole. Unfortunately, AP is difficult to get because an applicant must show a “humanitarian” need for the travel, and USCIS can be strict on this point. Also, the AP document is valid for unpredictable periods of time. There was a time, during the salad days of the Obama Administration, when USCIS basically accepted any “humanitarian” reason as valid for travel. We should return to that system. Also, the AP document should be issued for a longer period of time and for multiple trips. AP would be less necessary if asylum cases took months. But they take years. And asylum seekers often have very valid and important reasons for travel, even if those reasons do not always meet USCIS’s definition of “humanitarian.”
Make EADs Easier: Last summer, the Trump Administration made it more difficult for asylum applicants to get their EADs. The change has been partly blocked by a court, but it is still significantly more work for an asylum applicant to get an EAD today, and some applications are being rejected. Also, the processing time for EADs keeps getting longer, and so many people are left with gaps in work eligibility when they try to renew their work permits. USCIS should return to the pre-Trump system for obtaining an EAD while asylum is pending. Also, because processing times are so long, applicants should be permitted to apply earlier for their initial EAD and their renewals. Better yet, USCIS should just send an EAD to every asylum applicant automatically and this EAD should be valid for the duration of the asylum case (dare to dream!).
Automatic Green Cards for Asylees: It should not take years for an asylee to obtain a Green Card. All asylees have undergone extensive investigation and background checks. Also, many asylees have already spent years waiting to obtain asylum. USCIS should be able to quickly process Green Card applications for such people. Even better, USCIS should automatically issue the Green Card after one year with asylum (and an updated background check).
Prioritize Follow-to-Join Asylee Petitions: Many people who receive asylum have been separated from close family members for years. Often times, those family members are living in unsafe conditions. Currently, the I-730 process is very slow (processing times range from 15 to 28 months + additional time for consular processing). These cases should be given a higher priority by USCIS, so asylee families can be re-united as quickly as possible.
So there you have it. If you have additional ideas, please leave them in the comments below. You never know who might see them. And to Director Jaddou, if you are reading this, I am sorry to give you so much homework! And thank you in advance.
Hello Jason
My father have health problems(heart problems) and he had a report from his doctor
He’s waiting for his decision on asylum since may 2017
If he expedited with the doctor’s report
Would they give him the decision for sure?
Or should he do something else?
He can try – there is no harm in that, but it may not work. It would help if the doctor’s letter indicated that the stress of his asylum case is contributing to his health problems, and that a decision in the case will help alleviate those health problems. Take care, Jason
Hello Jason, Will pending Asylum Seekers benefit from the immigration reform.
Thanks
It will depend on the final law (and if anything passes at all). The biggest bill I saw (from January 2021) would likely benefit most asylum seekers, but I doubt that will ever pass into law. Take care, Jason
Hi Jason, could you please tell me if there is a way to expedite processing of advanced parole for medical reason?
I did a post about expediting with USCIS in January 2020 – maybe that would help. Take care, Jason
Praying for afghan brother and sisters here and who are over there.. I hope US and UNHCR helps them resettle in other safe countries and provide them asylum in safe place .
Hi Jason
I appreciate a reply as usual.
My asylum is granted is last year im about to apply for my GC IN couple days! As im from Afghanistan, now you know things are in hand of Taliban . Is there anyway to bring my mom and dad and my 30 years brother who is single and fiance!!! All of them are in Afghanistan!!!!
Please show me as it kills me the situation
I have many clients from there and the situation is a disaster. Unfortunately, you do not have power to bring these family members based on your status as an asylee or even as a Green Card holder. Once you are a citizen, you can petition for them (parents are “fast” in immigration terms, but siblings take many years). I do not know that much can be done at the moment, and we are hearing very bad news about the Kabul airport and trying to get to the airport. Hopefully, the situation will calm down soon. You might check this link, which has resources for Afghans: https://refugeerights.org/news-resources/legal-resources-for-afghans?fbclid=IwAR0OW9kCtIkJaptloG6FLNaYiE-3hDkRGN5KHIjgIapL6y6SYUQ8EuOJKAQ. Maybe that has some ideas or resources that will help. Good luck, Jason
Hi Jason,
Thank you for this wonderful post and brilliant ideas. Do you think these ideas can be delivered to Ms. Jaddou? I also would like to present other idea which is backdate the green card to exactly one year after asylum, so if the asylum has been granted in 1/1/2019, and the GC was received some day in 2023, it should be dated 1/1/2020. This should mitigate for the delay in issuing GC and the HUGE and UNFAIR discrepancy between Nebraska and Texas service centers.
Thanks!
This is a good idea. Whether she will see the ideas, I do not know, but I do know that my friend who is a former member of the BIA passed the post on to his list serve, so maybe some in USCIS will see it. These ideas are nothing new, and they should already know about them, so hopefully, they will make some helpful changes. Take care, Jason
Thanks Jason. It is because of people like you that I haven’t completely lost confidence in humanity…
I read that I need Mandamus, but I am following your website like 3 years, I have not heard about it in your post
Hello Jason!
I see other lawyers recommend to sue USCIS. So, I have been waiting for my GC like 2 years and half. I have been asylum granted. Do you recommend me to do that? If yes, your office can help me?
We wrote about mandamus in the asylum context on October 2, 2018, but it is about the same for a GC case. I do not do mandamus cases, but it may be an option. The problem is that you are still within the “normal” processing time for an I-485 (you can check the processing times at http://www.uscis.gov), and so I do not know whether such a lawsuit would work. You can talk to a lawyer who does mandamus cases and maybe get the lawyer’s opinion on this. Take care, Jason
Jason, I have heard that these posted processing times are BS and mean absolutely nothing. If the application has been pending for a reasonable amount of time- say for 18 months to 2 years- USCIS must justify why a decision has not been made on the application as yet.
The idea/argument that COVID-19 has slowed down things does not hold water as most asylee-based I-485s do not need an in-person interview. Nor does the “background check” argument as asylees are already vetted. The only thing they should be checking for is whether the asylee committed a crime during the period between being an asylee and the pendency of the GC application/if there is fraud in the asylum application.
Furthermore, we should be asking TSC why is it that the center in Nebraska is able to complete asylee-based I-485 applications in a year or less, for the most part, and they (Texas) are not able to. We should also be asking them to prove why they need 3.5 years to process some asylee-based GCs/why they have a history of delaying asylee-based GCs.
There is no transparency at USCIS, nor is there any useful information coming out of USCIS, because they are not being held to account. They need to be! They provide a service that is being paid for- just like any other business. They are also required by law to provide the service in a fair and reasonable way.
I would advise any asylee who doesn’t have any thorny issue(s) in his/her case, and who has been waiting for more than 2 years, and if s/he can afford the cost, to file a lawsuit against USCIS so they are forced to make a decision on the case- or actually take a look at the application. As well, it is my understanding that if an I-485 application is pending for a very long time, and there is no justifiable need/reason to have the application pending for so long, USCIS would more likely make a decision on the application than fight the lawsuit.
I’m seriously considering a mandamus lawsuit. My case has been pending for more than 3 years at the Texas Service Center. I know people that have filed at the same time and were sent to Nebraska that are now preparing to naturalize. This is extremely unfair. TSC is playing with our lives. There’s absolutely no excuse for them to be moving at such a slow pace.
The only inconvenience is the cost of such a lawsuit. From what I’ve gathered, is goes from $6,000 to $10,000. If you ask me, it’s still worth the effort. I’m now feeling anxiety again. After going through a long wait to get my asylum; I feel like going through it again.
@cordy
Cordy if you don’t mind can you tell me which state did you file from so your case went to texas service center?
My application was filled in the Tristate area. This isn’t really a basis for anything because some of my peers applications were processed in Nebraska. I have no idea how to decide what application goes to what center but I’m willing to bet there’s some sort of profiling going on.
Take care,
Cordy,
Have you considered emailing that center if it is possible?
An email asking if you missed out on any of the steps towards obtaining your GC as the delay is excessive, and not consistent with other people in your category.
I will include the timeliness of the people who received their GCs, and then yours, because you will be asking a valid question with facts and data.
For asylum, we understand LIFO. For GC applications, we need to be asking valid questions, so we can understand why some people obtain GCs in a year or less, and others wait for 2+years.
I agree with you. If location does not determine processing center, something else does. We want to know what that is.
Tina,
I tried Obudsman. I tried the congressional inquiry. I tried expediting my case. Emails. Calls. None of that worked. TSC is a historically dysfunctional center. Try reading the reviews online. They are the least likely to respond to an applicant’s inquiry; most likely to make mistakes; and the bureaucracy there is over the top.
The most recent statistical data shared by USCIS showed that TSC processed on average 7 times less applications per month than Nebraska while they received 3 times more applications. There’s about 50,000 I-485 asylum cases pending there right now and growing. If nothing changes, we are almost certain to see another backlog with unbelievably long processing times. My case is not isolate at all.
USCIS is very politicized right now and they prioritize cases with the most pressing political issues. The chaos at TSC need to be addressed. The agency was recently sued because of the delay and potential wastage of 100k employment based GC. Now things start to pick up. People need to make them do their job. It’s ridiculous.
Take care,
Cordy,
Have you considered emailing that center if it is possible?
A class action lawsuit may be an option, but I doubt if we even have the right to do so, since it voids the confidentiality of our asylum case.
@Cordy- disregard the first sentence of my response.
Tina,
Yeah, I doubt a class action lawsuit will lead anywhere at this point.
As Jamie mentioned earlier, we need a lot more transparency from that agency. And less discretionary/arbitrary ruling.
Tina, no offense, but you need stop feigning ignorance. From your comments, I can tell you are a very intelligent person and someone who actually does her research and brings that research to any discussion. I am curious: what exactly do you mean by if we have the right to sue USCIS? Have you realized how you sound as of lately? I am not sure who you are trying to impress or fool. You can stop now cuz it’s no longer funny. Truth is, I find it very disingenuous.
Incase it flew over your head, ” if we have the right to sue USCIS?”- was regarding a class action law suit for asylum based green cards, which I was suggesting, and not individual lawsuits like Mandamus.
That was a genuine question, and so you stop reading what your mind is telling you, here is it again in context – “A class action lawsuit may be an option, but I doubt if we even have the right to do so, since it voids the confidentiality of our asylum case.”
Trying to impress who, to achieve what?
Your antagonism is becoming suspicious.
What’s the BEEF?
All valid points. I do not know how USCIS reacts to mandamus suits for I-485 cases. For asylum cases, usually they prefer to decide the case rather than fight the mandamus, so it may be the same for I-485s. Take care, Jason
May I ask a question,
is future fear alone in general harder to win compared to similarly situated past persecution cases ?
Hello jason!
Hope you are doing fine, i have a question,
I am asylee with a pending greencard application, i recently got married and my wife is an international student, is there a way i can add her on my application? Or i have to wait until my greencard is approved?
If you already received asylum, you cannot add her to your asylum case. Once your GC is approved, you can file for her as any GC holder would file for a spouse. If she can remain in lawful F-1 status that whole time (or some other valid status), she should be eligible to get her own GC based on the marriage without leaving the US. Talk to a lawyer to be sure, but it should work. Take care, Jason
Hello dear Jason
Please give me some light on this , I have online interview with court immigration judge ,, so what is the process ? Who els will join to this interview , my lawyer send me the link to join the meeting at the given time and date , have you ever had an online interview if yes please let me know how it is goes my attorney is busy he will not join to this meeting .
Thanks
Some cases are taking place on line (the system is called Web X). I do not see why you would ever attend such a meeting without your lawyer, though. That is very strange and seems inappropriate. The whole point of having a lawyer is to have help with the judge. I would talk to the lawyer to see why he is not attending and whether he needs to reschedule the case to a time when he can attend. Take care, Jason
Hi Jason,
What is your solution for those want to travel who have pending case and their home country passport has expired, and could not be renewed?
They cannot travel outside the US unless they win the case and then get a Refugee Travel Document. There are some “World Passports” that seem to work now and again, but I would not trust those and so I know of no other solution. Take care, Jason
Wait…is advance parole no longer an option for asylum pending folks ?
That may dent my medical progress…
Asylum Seeker,
I am sure Jason will respond to this.
I think you still need a valid passport even if you have a valid advance parole. It cannot be used in lieu of a
Passport. You can travel with a Refuge Travel Document alone on the other hand.
Take care,
Situation just keeps getting harder…
This is correct – you need a valid passport to travel with AP. Maybe I missed that part of the question. Thank you, Jason
AP is still an option. Take care, Jason
thanks 🙂
My family relative petition I730 got approved on 21st July 2021 and case was forwarded to department of state 26th July i did not receive any mail from NVC yet for further action?
It is not always quick, but you can inquire with NVC here: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/visa-information-resources/ask-nvc.html. Take care, Jason
Hello Everybody,
My stays changed online that my Interview is scheduled and I will get the notice. Any idea when I will get my notice after changing the online status.
I think it only takes a week or two, maybe less. Take care, Jason
Hi Jibs
Could you share that when you submitted your application ?
Did you ask for expedite or to be placed in standby list ?
Hello Jason
I sent many email to Arlington uscis office to transfer my case to court since 2016 but they are not transferring my case. Since I came her crew visa they don’t have jurisdiction. What do you advice me the best way to contact them?
Thanks
Email is usually the best way to contact them. Maybe you should try to expedite the case and then – if they expedite – they can see whether or not they have jurisdiction. I wrote about expediting on March 30, 2017. Take care, Jason
Thanks
I will do that
Hello Jason. My question: how to make the GC process faster? My reason. I do my master degree at Boston University and I do not have GC therefore I can’t apply for student loan. Is there any form I can fill out to make it faster and mention my reason
My asylum case was approved in 2018 July. I applied for GC in 2019 July. It has been over 2 years no news. I live in Arlington VA.
Btw thank you for your valuable advice!
@El
I’ll have two years in October. Nothing yet, and my medical will expire now in September. Did you have your biometrics done yet?
El, what do you mean that you can’t apply for student loan as an asylee? This is NOT true. You can apply for federal and private student loans as an asylee. I applied for loans for my masters degree in Accounting as an asylee.
Hi El,
I am sure Jason will respond to you.
I do not know about graduate programs, but undergraduate asylees are eligible for financial aid.
I would assume it should be the same for graduate programs, but please wait for Jason’s response.
Tina, the best people to answer this question are people who actually are using/have used the loan for graduate studies. Realistically, Jason can’t possibly answer every single question (not that I am saying he doesn’t know the answer to El’s question), and so some of the questions, especially the ones that are not related to asylum laws/procedures/practices, can be perfectly answered by people who have actually done exactly what is being asked about. El, as an asylee, is eligible to apply for both private and federal student loans for graduate studies. As such, this is not a good reason- nor is it in alignment/agreement with the truth or reality- to request that your case skip the line.
The question was specifically for Jason.
Even though some of us might have experience(s) with student loan or know the right answer, I believe there is nothing wrong with mentioning that I was not trying to overstep by answering question(s) that was/were directed at Jason specifically.
What point are you trying to make by addressing my comment.
Here is what happens when Jason doesn’t know the answer. He says so, but he always almost responds to every question directed at him.
Tina, most of the questions are for Jason. Obviously! And, usually, we let the person know that s/he should wait for Jason’s response/that we are giving our opinion. If we are offering our opinion based on what we know or our experiences, even after Jason has responded, we usually let the person know as well. An overstep would be when Jason answers a question that he knows the answer to and then someone else offers an alternative answer that is not true, or an answer that completely contradicts Jason’s answer.
In this particular case, I can’t see how you are overstepping if you answer a question- one that you clearly know the answer to because you, and people you know, have direct experience with what’s being asked- that has nothing to do with asylum laws/procedures/practices. I still maintain that the best people to answer these kinds of questions are your fellow asylees who have gone through the process of applying for federal loans for grad school. In fact, the person who has gone through the process may be able to provide some kind of advice/guidance.
You, on the other hand, were clearly trying to slyly make a point with your comment. The point you were trying to make is in your response- that the question was intended for Jason and we should allow Jason to answer the question.
I refuse to feed this argument!
And to add, in as much as I do not want to feed this argument, because I know how that derails this forum, I take exceptions to you describing by intentions in such derogatory manner.
You do not know me personally, so I have no idea how you got in head or mind to know what I was thinking at the time of my post.
People post general questions here, some say Jason or people here(not verbatim), some just mention Jason specifically.
I have no idea how my comment that Jason would respond to a question directed at him,before offering my 2 cents had a sly undertone.
This place happens to be a place I come to socialize, but here is the thing, most asylum seekers, asylees have had their shares of condescending, and derogatory remarks, and I have had a good share of those myself.
I can choose not to receive more on this forum.
NEVER you describe your perception of my intentions or actions in such derogatory manner.
Thats strange, if you have been granted asylum, you technically are a resident. Since you would have a work authorization and social security. The fact that the US government itself gave asylees such as myself stimulus checks, should qualify you for a student loan. What could be so special about a student load that you need to be a resident or citizen.
Besides that, if your GC might be coming soon. I noticed things to have sped up this year.
I did a blog post about trying to expedite with USCIS in January 2020 – maybe that would help. Take care, Jason
EL, you are eligible for a student loan as an asylee, I am an asylee and my wife is derivative asylee and we both received student loans. But don’t take too much, remember it is a loan and you have to be really careful. We used ours to cover some credit card debits which we had to use before been granted asylum and we were still graduate students.
Hello Dear Jason and the community!
Again, thank you for keeping us sane through this difficult time when USCIS is lost in backlogs with our cases. I love that you give us this opportunity to communicate through this blog, but I would like a suggestion if accepted. It would be great if we could get notified when you or others respond to our posts/questions. For instance in the past had asked others questions that never got a response and I am assuming that there is no way they know I did unless the go back and look for their comment – which it doesn’t happen if the person had a response from you already/ or the post is somewhat older. Is there a possibility that you would consider maybe having a discussion open for each post also on Reddit, where we can build a community that we can more easily have connection with others on this blog? Thank you in advance and as always extremely grateful for everything you do everyday for us, the asylum seekers!
Best regards,
Lena
It is certainly a good idea, but I do not have time to implement such an idea. If this were a bigger operation, we would certainly make some changes, but I do not think I will be able to do that any time soon. Take care, Jason
hello Jason
i have a question on SBI visas . my friend stayed longer then 1 year , he was DV win back in 2015 and he was coming in and out for more then 6 month each years but due to covied-19 he got stuck in the country and lost it by lucky he got back in us with SB1 visas now . so my question is did he need to apply a green card application again or they will send a new one , cause the old one they took from him in the JFK airport.
thanks
I do not know the answer to this – I am not sure I understand how he re-entered. If his passport indicates “I-551” that means he entered as a permanent resident (a Green Card holder) and USCIS should send him a new card. I think he needs to talk to a lawyer to look at his passport and other documents to see what status he has, and whether he needs to take action. Take care, Jason
This is not legal advice as I am not a lawyer. This is my opinion based on logic. Your friend, if he’s unsure, must seek advice from a lawyer.
The SB1 visa, which was granted to him by the U.S. embassy in the country where he was, allowed him to re-enter the U.S. If he’s allowed to enter to the U.S., he’d have been admitted as returning resident. The SB1 visa is a special visa given to LPRs who were not able to return to the U.S. in a timely fashion because of circumstances that were beyond their control. They must apply for the returning resident visa at the embassy of the country where they were stuck or resided during the time they overstayed their time outside the U.S.. If the visa is approved, they are allowed to return to the U.S. and continue their status as LPR. Since the GC was confiscated at the port of entry (which is very dumb on the immigration officer’s part), it seems like your friend will need to file the form I-90 (application to replace the GC with USCIS) as you are legally required to carry a GC with you if you are 18 years or older.
Hello Jason,
I hope you are doing well. I am Afghan. I am very shocked by the recent development in Afghanistan. I am very depressed.
My master hearing is scheduled for Nov 2021. Can I put a request to make a motion to bypass the master hearing and schedule me for individual hearings?
thanks
It is terribly upsetting. I have an interview tomorrow where my Afghan client’s son was murdered by the Taliban. The disaster in Afghanistan may or may not be a basis to make the case faster. You can certainly try. In terms of the MCH, some judges allow you to do that in writing, which can make the overall case faster. You can also try to expedite the case – I wrote about that on April 20, 2017. The situation there is quite dynamic and we really do not know how the Taliban will behave, but given there past history from the 1990s until today, there is little reason to be optimistic. Take care, Jason
How is the Arlington office doing these days? I assume they are still struggling with the LIFO cases given the COVID resurge and the border crisis.
I was there twice last week (though one case was postponed because they did not have an officer to conduct the interview!) and I have two cases this week. So they are interviewing a good portion of LIFO cases. I must say, though, I do not have a good sense of what is going on there now – hopefully, they will release some data soon and we will get an update about the backlog in each office. Take care, Jason
Let’s be positive good folks!
I do hope that some day:
1- Larry and all other asylum seekers get US citizenship and leave some spaces for others here to communicate.
2- Asylum Seeker, who is going to be very famous among us now, can find a job and stay busy with so many productive things to do.
Thank you so much Jason Dzubow! Whenever any frustration has brought tears to my eyes due to my asylum case, I have checked The Asylumist as the ONLY true and sincere platform dealing with asylum seekers. Thanks for bearing with some people who do their best to stop your great job! Your patience and respect through dealing with all different people here on this website is greatly appreciated!
Thank you – It is not a worry – people are passionate about these issues and that is a good thing. Take care, Jason
Bassam, number 1 makes no sense. I am sure Jason doesn’t mind having MORE people, regardless of their immigration status, commenting on his blog. What’s the purpose of having a blog if people are not actively participating? Sure, it can just be for reading purposes- but it’s more effective if people can interact with each other and share their stories/experiences. There is also ENOUGH space for everyone to share their thoughts. Furthermore, there is nothing wrong with disagreeing with someone else or being emphatic about a topic. What we can hope is that people do so respectfully.
To BASSAM, JAMIE, JASON,
Don’t worry you can have your precious space back. It took me almost 4 and a half years of therapy and recovery to heal from my Mental Trauma, Depression and PTSD. After living in mental agony for 4 and a half years and hitting rock bottom, I finally improved and recovered from my mental trauma and chronic depression……
If a person can suffer that much chronic depression and medical problems and still has the will to live and come back to life then that in itself is a big achievement…….I found this as a supportive place for many years…..I am not going to loose all the progress and recovery by getting angry and frustrated all the time while I have to read naive and dumb comments from some people on this platform…..
May be some of you are probably OK with discussing/even considering the idea of having your sisters, mother, daughters being forcefully sterilized by the U.S state but I am not……….
Don’t worry my mental health is more important than your precious space……If I can avoid this space for a while I will continue to do so………
JASON is a very king, generous and helpful human being. Believe me I paid my lawyer 4500$ but she never truly answered my queries (ONLY Jason answered my questions and that also for free)……….
But still JASON is a human being, I admire and respect him greatly…….But I still keep enough space in my mind to even object or argue with him when it is necessary…No human being is perfect……
Anyways best of luck with your space……
Sorry to hear this. I do think it is difficult to have a space that works for everyone, especially when it is public. I wish you good luck with your case and good health. Take care, Jason
Larry, I don’t know you, nor do I know what you’re going through mentally. Second, this is Jason’s blog- not mine. I believe his objective is/was to use the platform as a source of information- as well as allowing for anyone who has an interest in the U.S. asylum process/system to engage in respectful dialogue. What I certainly agree on, though, is limiting exposure to stimuli that can trigger trauma or anxiety. If giving the blog a break- which is a personal choice, by the way- brings you peace of mind or allows you to keep your sanity, please feel free. I can’t say I wouldn’t do the same thing if I felt the way you feel.
I am really sorry larry if I caused you harm. And sorry to hear about your medical condition. I hope you feel better.
I have a lot of questions and a lot of my comments are inquisitive…sometimes it could come off as too personal. I have gone through trauma and depression as well, but I’ve identified the root source of my problem and I am actively working to weaken the opponents because the evil people in the world will not realize their wrongdoings and apologize to people they have hurt. I wish there is a day when there are no persecutors and there will be no asylum seekers, cuz there is no need.
I still want to stress tho I really didn’t endorse the idea of sterilizing immigrant women…But I am being a little pugnacious myself I realized that. But it has become a natural defense of mine…a learned one.
I don’t have any hope for my life anymore. My life will not end well. The only purpose that I am still alive is so that people who need to be held accountable get to be held accountable. When everybody is before God, I am confident that he will deliver a fair sentencing…to each of our sins…and good deeds…
May GOD bless every asylum seeker
To JASON,
First of all I apologize that things escalated between me and ASYLUM SEEKER to this point.
1-> I understand your time is probably more valuable than ours of course and certainly we do not need to be wasting your valuable time arbitrating our stupid arguments here when you can be spending that time helping your paying ASYLEE clients with USCIS and in immigration court……
2-> Believe me when I say this I have better things to do with my time as well. In fact I was actually realizing last night that I wasted several hours on both Friday and Saturday replying to this ASYLUM SEEKER person and for what …….. whatever he says does not affect me directly……… It might affect other people who might naively follow his advice but that will not be my concern going forward either……. If other people fall in to traps while following misleading information then that is their karma….I leave them to it……
3-> 2nd It is basic human nature to speak up against racist and hateful speech. Let us try that experiment. I know several other people spoke against this ASYLUM SEEKER albeit not as harshly as I did (And not all used profanities either) a few including DAVID, ASYLUMGRANTED, ADAM and a few others……..If I stop objecting to ASYLUM SEEKER some body else will step up in my place. People on this forum are not going to keep quiet and let ideas like forcefully sterilizing women get normalized….That was probably normal in NAZI Germay 60/70 years ago but it is not today…….
4-> In my defense I tried talking nicely over a 100 times in last 8 months…Any body wants to verify they can go ahead and look at old comments……All the old comments are still there……
In any case, In the last six years I have only asked questions which are specific to my own asylum case, I have never really wasted other people’s time with conspiracy theories and useless time consuming and spam arguments……..Every genuine ASYLEE on this platform knows that usually you need to only worry about the specific details of your own individual case….. Wasting time discussing AIDS, cancer and every global problem known to man will not be helpful to anybody…………..It can create distraction as you said from more important specific issues that ASYLUM SEEKERS are worried about but hat was my concern in the first place……
I was the one who indicated over and over again in last 8 months that we are wasting our valuable time discussing conspiracy theories here and discussing opinions which have no basis in reality…..
Most of the Asylees in the U.S are living their lives happily to somewhat extent not including the delays in asylum interviews or EADs……..They are able to find jobs, housing , health insurance, no body is coming after them in the U.S…they are safe….They are not worried about AIDS or cancer or and they are certainly not worried about throwing nuclear weapons at 3rd world countries…….
Rest I leave for the people on this forum to judge for themselves…..I will stop objecting to ASYLUM SEEKER now……….but believe me somebody else will step up…….People are not going to let hateful speech be the new normal here………
Larry,
I don’t mean to interject in between this feud, but can we can back to important stuffs? Like sharing relevant informations that can hep asylees here better prepare for their interviews? or the updates at the asylum offices and USCIS?
Like Jason said, important messages get lost in the constant arguing. If you don’t like what asylum seekers has to say, ignore him. Don’t feed the troll. Cause at the end of the day, that’s what he is doing here. Trolling.
Cordy,
I agree with you and believe me when I say this I am only concerned about my own individual asylum case and not some global issues……..
You are right and I am also only interested in:
“Like sharing relevant informations that can hep asylees here better prepare for their interviews? or the updates at the asylum offices and USCIS?”
As I already indicated I will not be objecting to ASYLUM SEEKERs comments any longer……You won’t see my objections/arguments anymore…..If this community feels that it is a better idea to spend time discussing how we can throw nuclear weapons at poor countries then so be it……Who am I to judge……
From this point forward I will not be replying/arguing/objecting to ASYLUM seeker’s comments…….GOOD Luck to everybody……
Larry,
He was called out and will continue to be called out. Plus I’m confident Jason will remove any of his comments that steps out of bounce. But it is not any of ours responsibility to help him get back to reason. If he wants to persist in his xenophobic ways, that’s his business. We are here to support this community and whenever someone like him will try to spread misinformation, I’m confident she/he’ll be called out.
Take care,
Well said Cordy and Larry.
I will add that Jason has been very respectful and tolerant here.
I personally come back to apologize when people raise objections to my post, and not try to defend them, as a sign of respect to him and the people involved.
I think we should not take Jason’s tolerance and open mindedness for granted.
Asylum Seeker, from the bottom of my heart,please stop, so we don’t loose the whole purpose of this platform.
I was laughing so loud when I saw the speed with which Jason was deleting posts😊.
I noticed he mostly preserved your posts. But that doesn’t mean I am approving of everything you said.
But do you really “personally come back to apologize when people raise objections to my post, and not try to defend them, as a sign of respect to him and the people involved.” . Or is it to some people you do that ? and to some people you use different approaches ? Double standard is not good.
I only hope that you can talk to me the same way you talk to immigration officers…otherwise…I’d doubt the how authentic you are when you suddenly changed the way you talk to people.
Asylum Seeker,
I apologize if I ever offended you.
Apology accepted Tina.
good luck to you
Larry,
I really appreciate your concern regarding discrimination. There are many established racists and xenophobes out there, like Donald Trump and Steve Bannon, as opposed to an accused one. If you really feel strongly about this issue. You should start from them, not from a nobody…
1 – My time is not more valuable than yours or anyone’s, but I have limited time to police this forum, and I have to use the time I have. 2 – I do not think people are following his advice, but they can certainly question or challenge his views. 3 – I think it is commendable to speak up against hateful speech, but I also think that we–all of us–have limited time to fight every fight, and we have to focus on what is effective. 4 – I appreciate your comments here and your passion. I am also not offended by offensive language (sometimes, I think it’s fuckin’ needed). The issue for me is when these fights take over an entire thread and others are precluded from making comments. Take care, Jason
My bad!
May I ask?
To Jason,
I am going to request you to not delete my comments. I have the right to share my opinion and call out false ideas on this forum just as much as any body else……..
Now I admit that I made a mistake of using profanities (That wont happen again) but do keep in mind that I along with a few other people have been talking to this ASYLUM SEEKER person over and over again for almost 8 months now and I kept my composure and decorum through out this period…….. Yes I finally broke down and used profanities but only because he kept gradually increasing his racist hostility towards immigrants…..Any body can clearly see that this ASYLUM SEEKER person started on this forum with pleas of help and mercy 8 months ago and now has taken over this forum by sharing whatever racist idea comes to his mind……
I do not have time to review all this. I will delete all communication between you and asylum seeker until things return to normal. The solution is for you and he to stop engaging.
This is a good arbitration. Commend that
That’s why I have mixed feeling about Internet…Sometimes, I wonder…maybe the world is better in 1980s…or 1990s
The problem for me is that I do not have time to read all the back and forth, and these exchanges are becoming a problem. As such, I do not see an alternative to deleting the exchanges. Since I do not have time to read everything, legitimate posts from the people involved are likely to be lost, which is unfortunate, but it is a function of the time I am able and willing to devote to refereeing. I will leave things be and not delete posts for a bit to see how it goes. Presumably, this will pass, as people (including me) have better things to do. However, if it is still a problem, I will have to erase posts again, which hopefully all of you can help me avoid. Thank you, Jason
Let me be the first to pledge that: Yes I can do that 🙂 Except for need to defense, which hopefully can be avoided by several folks here.
Thank you, Jason
To JASON,
If you are going to take offense at profanity (Which you should, I agree with you) then you should at least take offense at racist and hateful rhetoric from this ASYLUM SEEKER person as well as a neutral impartial moderator………………..I am sure you want to show the rest of the community hear that you don’t condone racist comments which only target immigrants from 3rd world uncivilized countries and………
Well…if you can call me out for some alleged false ideas then I can def call you out for your double standard ?
I think people on this forum are quite intelligent…..You underestimate the intelligence of the ASYLEE community ……… People can probably judge for themselves….don’t worry……
See…you are again accusing me of underestimating the intelligence of the asylum community. Like…is this how you normally treat people ? Like throwing accusations around ?
To JASON,
If you actually read the comments that you deleted then you would realize that those were the ones where we at least conversed somewhat agreeably with each other and arrived at an amicable conclusion……..The ones with more harsh language are still present in the comments section below….you might wanna delete those as well
I admit I should not have used profane language but after conversing with this ASYLUM SEEKER over and over again for GOD knows how many times I guess I broke down and resorted to the only way that could get through to him and It seems to me that it worked at least to some extent……
Many other people indicated to you that this person was spreading racist rhetoric against immigrants and ASYLUM SEEKERS but you keep ignoring all this racist rhetoric which means you are at least allowing it to some extent………
Now you can blame me for using profanities and you would actually be right..I don’t contest that….That was wrong of me to use profane language but what is much worse is that this person will keep sharing much more propaganda and hateful rhetoric and some other people might be confused about it…….
If you are going to pretend to be a neutral impartial moderator then you might want to take a 2nd look at the comments where this other person suggests sterilizing women and not just blindly delete only my comments if you don’t like them……..Impartiality is necessary for you as a moderator…..I already admit that using profane language was not the right approach….
Anyways best of luck……..I was wrong to use profane language but I was not wrong to call out the racist and misleading comments by this ASYLUM SEEKER person…..
I leave the rest for the people on this forum to judge as they like……
TO JASON,
(ASYLUM SEEKER this message is not far you, do not respond, I don’t want jason to think that I am talking to you and delete this comment). This message is specifically for jason and other people on this forum……
Also if you actually at least once took objection on some of the racists comments by this ASYLUM SEEKER person as an impartial moderator then the situation would not have arisen where we took things in to our own hands and use whatever profane language we can…….But it seems that you don’t want to call out all false and untrue comments by this ASYLUM SEEKER person…..
According to asylum seeker (And the below are just a few examples, I have lost track of all the million false things that he has shared so far :
1-> Asylees can’t get EADS, can’t get jobs, can’t find housing, can’t get health insurance, their home country sends agents to persecute them, can’t speak english, breed too many children, are uncivilized from 3rd world, America should only have asylees from civilized western world, People from india and china are fraudsters…..
I guess all the above are true then……Do you want people to read all this false ideas and make mistakes in their own individual asylum cases based on all this false information…….
I am not pretending to be neutral. What I am is a person with limited time to police the website, and so going forward, I will continue to erase comments that are not helpful, as the communication between asylum seekers, you and several others has become a distraction. I will not read the comments fully, as that wastes my time, and I will erase comments that seem unhelpful. Take care, Jason
court of law vs court of public opinion & privacy:
Previously, I noted that undocumented alien are usually not favored in a court of public opinion. Hypothetically, when an asylum seeker or undocumented alien is engaged in some legal fight with say…other entities. If the other party brings the matter to the public…It would not be hard to evince that, a plurality of people may be turned against this undocumented immigrant, a large reason for that is because of a large sector of the society is not familiar with immigration law and many rights an undocumented alien has.
So my question is:
1) Could this court of public opinion affect in someway the judicial deliberation, affecting how the adjudicator or judge decide ? If the other party brings the matter to the public, it clearly has the attempt to use public opinion to influence the outcome.
2) The privacy concern. How could the undocumented alien in this setting, protect his/her/their privacy is the other party intentionally bring the matter to the public and expose the fact the individual is … an undocumented alien or asylum seeker…or in removal proceedings…and some other personal details ?…
@Asylum Seeker,
Even though you have been super offensive, racist, and Xenophobic, you always held it together regardless of what was thrown at you. Take it as a compliment.
Just to show a little respect to members of this blog, because they are humans, what is/ was your mission here? Since you are finally leaving, it will be nice for you to come clean.
Thanks!
You are deliberate. I am done!
Asylum Seeker:
I totally agree with Tina that you’re damn deliberate. I’ve seen your comments, and what amazes me is how you’re able to comment on this blog as “different people” lol. I am very good at identifying people who hide behind a keyboard by their writing styles. From all that I’ve gathered, it’s you and your xenophobic friends that are taking turns to comment on this supposedly safe platform for genuine asylum seekers.
Additionally, I want to counter what you said about people being more chill and courteous because they live/grew up in a developed society. Your statements suggests to me that you are frustrated that immigrants coming here to get a better life are doing better than you. FYI, I’ve met the most disrespectful people here in the US…. I mean people who are constantly angry whenever they here someone whom they think is American, but s/he speaks with a different English accent. Every country on earth operates the same way, whether Ist, 2nd, 3rd or 10th world as you like to say in order to denigrate and belittle people based on their national origin. Take yourself for example, the negative and xenophobic statements you make and are still making, tells a lot about who you are. I am glad many genuine asylum seekers on this platform have called you out for your BS!
You’re not better than anyone coming here from a developing country, so stop hating. If anyone had told you while growing up, that you’re superior to people from developing countries, I tell you that they lied to you. My advice for you is to leave this platform in peace and never return. We’ve all had traumatic experiences in the past, and we don’t need extra negativity from your kind! Go in peace… Mic drop!!!!!!!
To Jason and all other Asylees/Asylum Seekers on this forum,
For many months now we have seen this ASYLUM SEEKER person share a lot of misleading and confusing information here on this forum.
1-> It was probably 5/6 months ago when he said that he could not find a job or housing on his EAD. I was the person who replied back to him and suggested that we create a GoFundMe account for him so that I and other Asylum seekers on this forum can help him financially. I was willing to do that because personally I have suffered a lot of hardships and trauma in my life and I can understand the pain and suffering of other people……
2-> Then this asylum seeker kept sharing other B.S ideas that employers persecute asylees who use EADs by contacting ICE and DHS…..
3-> Now more recently he has come out of hiding and starting attacking other immigrants directly by saying that immigrants produce too many children or that America does not need asylees of color from third world poor uncivilized countries…..
My Answer to Asylum Seeker is this……Listen you POS racist Asshole……Americans like you survive because we pay hundreds and thousands of dollars every year in taxes……What you don’t realize is that most of the Asylees on this forum are professionals in high paying jobs like doctors, engineers and lawyers……..
Take your fucking bullshit elsewhere….WE don’t have time for your stupid bullshit…We have already suffered too much……There is so much hate and spite that person can take before he lashes back…..
If I see posts that seem inappropriate, I will take them down. I think the better approach for people annoyed by other posters is to ignore them. Take care, Jason
Ok Jason, That’s good and all….. I agree with you but can you please answer why you don’t delete the below comment on this page….ASYLUM SEEKER is suggesting that U.S should start sterilizing immigrant woman because immigrants having too many children will make america like a 3rd world country. Is this an appropriate comment in your opinion…..Why don’t you delete this then or say something about it….
Forcefully sterilizing immigrant women should be legal…is that it????????
ASYLUM SEEKER SAID:
May I ask why it seems that the immigrant women gave birth to more children than American women ? The demographic shift is something we need to concern when we admit asylees…I frequently see immigrant women with like 4-5 children or more and American family normally have 2 children…I am a little concerned that very soon, the United States will be more like some … other…developing countries…
And is ICE’s sterilization operation legal ?
I don’t have time to closely review everything, but I am going to delete your entire exchange with asylum seeker going forward, as I do not want to carefully read these and it is easier to delete them all. Take care, Jason
Sorry you have to do this, I feel this is one of the downside of the Internet. It moves the street fight and quarrel to online space…So I have a mixed feeling about this as well…
At this point, I will be erasing comments that seem to distracting or where you are fighting with others. While I do not find most of your comments problematic, they are obviously a distraction, and the respectful thing for you to do would be to try to reduce the problem. Take care, Jason
To JASON,
If you actually read the comments that you deleted then you would realize that those were the ones where we at least conversed somewhat agreeably with each other and arrived at an amicable conclusion……..The ones with more harsh language are still present in the comments section below….you might wanna delete those as well
I admit I should not have used profane language but after conversing with this ASYLUM SEEKER over and over again for GOD knows how many times I guess I broke down and resorted to the only way that could get through to him and It seems to me that it worked at least to some extent……
Many other people indicated to you that this person was spreading racist rhetoric against immigrants and ASYLUM SEEKERS but you keep ignoring all this racist rhetoric which means you are at least allowing it to some extent………
Now you can blame me for using profanities and you would actually be right..I don’t contest that….That was wrong of me to use profane language but what is much worse is that this person will keep sharing much more propaganda and hateful rhetoric and some other people might be confused about it…….
If you are going to pretend to be a neutral impartial moderator then you might want to take a 2nd look at the comments where this other person suggests sterilizing women and not just blindly delete only my comments if you don’t like them……..Impartiality is necessary for you as a moderator…..I already admit that using profane language was not the right approach….
Anyways best of luck……..I was wrong to use profane language but I was not wrong to call out the racist and misleading comments by this ASYLUM SEEKER person…..
I leave the rest for the people on this forum to judge as they like……
Like I always said, opinions and facts are different…If you feel my contents are supporting some of the ICE’s behavior, I cannot help you. I didn’t take a position in ICE facility’s operation. Most of my comments are neutral or…factual or inquisitive…and I never endorse or oppose something lightly…
So…I come here because I myself need some insight…about my research and other things.
I also really didn’t understand why you are mad at me or other people here in the forum…rather than … you know… write a letter of complaint or condemnation to ICE…like they did the operation…not me…right ?
It seems to me that condoning hateful posts from ASYLUM SEEKER is just OK even though it normalizes hateful behavior towards all immigrants and Asylees but that seems to be not a big problem I guess….
Larry, I think what Jason is saying is that you should tone down on using profanities/expletives/obscene languages… when you are trying to make your point. You can make your points, even if they provoke disagreement, annoyance or anger, but they must be made in a civilized way. I understand that some of Asylum Seeker’s comments are insensitive- offensive even- but they are mostly civilized. S/he is usually respectful with his/her responses, too.
“I am not against every color…if that’s a defense…”
“May I ask why it seems that the immigrant women gave birth to more children than American women ? The demographic shift is something we need to concern when we admit asylees…I frequently see immigrant women with like 4-5 children or more and American family normally have 2 children…I am a little concerned that very soon, the United States will be more like some … other…developing countries…
And is ICE’s sterilization operation legal ?”
I agree that we should keep it civil on this forum, but the above statements are far more offensive than F bombs.
Did anyone miss what he was saying in the first or second statement?
I think we have more than one “asylum seeker” working different shifts on this platform.
The evening Asylum Seeker writes in a more coherent, and polished manner.
Day shift “asylum seeker “, correct🤔?
To ASYLUM SEEKER,
Do you see Donald Trump, Steve Bannon and Stephen Miller on this forum or may be you are one of them who knows……
We will call out B.S from all racists whether it is on this forum or others…….
My advice to you is that you should keep your racist demagoguery to a minimum here….Most of the people on this forum have already realized who you really are…….
I don’t understand why they’re now prioritizing employment based GCs and not all of them ? This is just insane . Did you read their latest communication where they’re using all their resources towards those kind of application ? What about asylees who wait for ever and ever to receive some form of dignity . Deplorable . I don’t really see how things are getting better with this new admin. Their priorities are just not the right priorities or at least FAIR priorities
Hey Lana,
where did you see the communication ? It’s kind of not fair.
Read their Twitter account and website part for i485s . They are using all their resources to adjudicate these employment based as fast as possible . Meaning that as usual Asylee i485s are being put on hold forever . This is ridiculous . I’m sick of asylees being treated like they are the very last priority or as if they’re process don’t matter. Even in the budget the government is trying to pass , nothing related to asylees or seekers in it . Only DACA stuff . I don’t understand but to me what’s happened to us is nothing but cruelty . Waiting years for an Interview , years for gc , many years for citizenship. I’m sorry but the picture is clear to me , we don’t matter to them . And I feel like no one ever advocates for us in government
That is not good. Once again, asylum seekers are thrown off the bus. Sometimes because they have to deal with border issues, sometimes they need to prioritize EB green card…Sometimes…I feel that the asylum seekers are simply forgotten…
Don’t fucking pretend to show fake emotions you dumb looser…..I thought you were more worried about immigrants producing children of color in the U.S….Show your real NAZI face…….
……
At least one organization is advocating directly for asylum seekers – I wrote about that on April 6, 2021 and how people can get involved in the effort. Take care, Jason
Hi Lana,
I saw it too and I believe I mentioned it in a previous post on here. What seems to be happening is that they are trying to avoid the wastage of 100k green cards that could be used for I-485 employment based adjustment of status; before the end of the FY (Sept 31, 2021). Otherwise, those 100k GC would just be obsolete. I think that issue was ongoing for months and made public through the press. I do not necessarily see the fact that they say they are putting effort into clearing employment based GC and making it a priority, a bad news for asylum based GC. Even though it is true that everything seems to be politicized with that agency. I also understand your frustration. I also am someone who is extremely frustrated with the way USCIS treats Asylees.
The policy changed that have come forward yesterday seem to affect all adjustment based GC. Extension of validity of form I-693; less RFE etc…Not just employment based. We are going to wait and see what’s really going on. Wait-as usual- As if we didn’t WAIT enough. Smh!
Take care
I miss the Obama administration…when it’s still FIFO…when more people seem to be humane to asylum seekers…Is it true that … over these years…people have grown hostile to asylum seekers ?
To ASYLUM SEEKER,
Scram…Scram…. ……go away you hateful nazi dog……..You are more worried about immigrants producing colored children….you are a racist looser redneck piece of shit…..Fuck off already…
You keep lurking on this forum because in real life you are a looser with no friends or family , no job…..I bet no body even likes you that’s why you keep running to this forum so you can seek free attention and energy from other people…..
I am not against every color…if that’s a defense…
To ASYLUM SEEKER,
Go get a life you fucking looser…I am sure there are more important things for you to do then to lurk here all the time….I remember that you even post on this forum on weekends…..what kind of a fucking looser has no other job but to spread bullshit here…..
you are so dumb and pathetic……..Go get a life…….You are worried about country and world level issues….guess what we are just worried about our individual asylum cases….WE don’t care about all of your bullshit nonsense……
JASON is not your baby sitter here……..you post every dumb fucking idea that comes to your mind here…….We just care about simple and honest facts that help ease our pain and suffering so that we can settle peacefully in the U.S…
You are a dumb fucking racist looser……
I heard something about that. Perhaps it depends on who has the best lobbyists. Whether prioritizing employment based GCs will have a negative effect on other GC applications, I do not know. Also, there may be logical reasons for the decision. All that said, I agree that we need a broad-based fix for green cards and for all of USCIS. Take care, Jason
@Jason, respectfully, you need to start monitoring these comments and review them before they’re allowed to be posted. “Asylum Seeker” and “ Long Dick” need to be banned indefinitely. How can you make your blog not so public and require us to ask to join? On top of waiting years and going through hardships to get asylum/GC in this country; we come on this site for a piece of mind. People like those two deplorables add to the frustration and pain! Jason please review your guidelines and make this space a safe space, free of discrimination and hate!
That’s your opinion and I am sorry you feel that way.
There are many REAL racists and discrimination out there. Like Donald Trump, Steve Bannon…I mean, I hope the reason you are not going after them is … not because… they are more powerful than me ? I’d hate to see that accusations are thrown around just because I am just a nobody and people find it’s okay and very easy to accuse me of X, Y, Z. If you really hate discrimination, you should start holding the leading discriminator accountable.
There are also several people that has used very rude and vulgar words towards me, I didn’t see you call that out ? Double standard is not good…
To ASYLUM SEEKER,
Listen you looser POS. We have tried talking to you nicely for last many months…..All you have done so far is to spread misinformation and B.S ideas here.
Now as everybody can see you are saying that Asylees can’t get health insurance…You are a Liar and racist POS…..
This place is to share facts and genuine ideas so that we can help each other but you wake up every day and spam this forum with your bullshit nonsense…..You are worried about everything else in the world but not your own individual asylum case if infact you are what you claim to be…..I don’t think you are an asylee…
The real reason you keep lurking on this forum is pretty clear isn’t it….In real life you have nof riends or job and people don’t like you personally…..That’s why you keep bothering people here…
Who is paying you to ask all these questions and gather research and data on Asylees….Are you working for some conservative group to mislead Asylum seekers on this platform…….where are all these bullshit ideas and nonsense coming from??????
If I see something that I think is out of bounds, I remove it. For the most part, I have not seen comments that need to be deleted, but if I do, I will remove them. I think the best approach to people who make comments that are not helpful or annoying is to ignore them. Take care, Jason
This post a long with her background and message gave me some optimism. I hope she will be able to see these recommendations and act on them, especially the points about removing LIFO and returning to FIFO and issuing Automatic Green Cards for Asylees. Some of these changes could spare us years of living in this inhumane and traumatic asylum experience, and a chance to recover from it earlier. Director Jaddou has an opportunity to impact so many people’s lives. Please live up to the name of the great city of Ur!
Jason, given that so many asylum applicants wait 5+ years before even getting an interview, and then more wait time for a decision, we should be talking about that time or a portion of it counting toward citizenship. Do you think it is possible, and what is needed to achieve that?
Thank you!
I think to count the wait time for citizenship would require Congressional action. And so while I agree with the idea, I think given other priorities, this is not something any main stream organizations will be pushing for. If the asylum system can be made more efficient, and wait times reduced, the problem will go away of its own accord. Take care, Jason
USCIS can implement these changes and they do not need to get congress involved in this process.
I have mixed feelings regarding a lot of these measures. At this moment I only endorse overhauling the Texas Service Center unconditionally.
I do, however, have some concerns regarding … Reasonable Security Background Checks…I am guessing the reasonableness doesn’t necessarily mean less stringent…right ?
To ASYLUM SEEKER,
Listen you dumb piece of shit. No body gives a crap about your F##king stupid endorsement….How fucking dumb are you?????? You chopped off your own dick and now you pretend to be a woman…You are a racist klu klux klan piece of shit……stay away from this forum…no body wants to hear your dumb F##king piece of shit opinion…keep your ideas to your self and stay away from this forum you losser piece of shit….You are complete f##king moron
… I really don’t have a comment for you…but you can always be polite…
I think most or all of these ideas can be implemented without Congress. The only two that I am not completely certain about are the security background checks and the automatic GC, though I do not see why Congress would have to take action on either point. Take care, Jason
Jason, my question is about the perminent resident status. If a permanent resident of the United States spends more than 6 months outside the U.S. every year, is his/her green card annuled? Is this rule strictly enforced by the USCIS? Can there be any extenuating circumstances? In your practice, have you seen people lose their PR status because stayed long overseas? Thank you.
You can lose status if you have a GC and spend too much time outside the US. You can get a re-entry permit (form I-131, available at http://www.uscis.gov) that helps with this, as it allows you to stay outside the US and return for one year or even two years, in some cases. This is good for the short term, but stringing multiple re-entry permits together to remain outside the US for long periods of time (over a year) is difficult. Though it can be done (talk to a lawyer about that), there should be a more satisfactory solution to the problem, so people with a GC can live outside the US for longer periods of time without losing their status. Take care, Jason
Asylum seekers with terminal illness:
Will asylum seekers be put in a very bad situation if they are diagnosed with a terminal illness ? As far as I recall, not a lot of states offer insurance to asylum seekers. For seekers who are here alone, how to manage ?
in terms of:
1) getting medical treatment and psychological support
2) subsistences during treatment (I don’t think it’s humane to ask asylum seekers to continue to work when they are diagnosed with terminal illness).
3) Delaying/Expediting cases: I know it’s possible to expedite asylum interview or court proceedings using this ground, but could other processes like I-485 or naturalization be fastened ? or…..is it a better idea to stay asylum pending, since being repatriated could render me into a worse position ?
I am kind of worried that I will be diagnosed with cancer in the near future as several medications I am taking are tumor-inducing…so I want to get prepared. I am also at high risk of getting HIV. So it’s hard for me to think that I will be fine, I don’t believe that. I always…somehow…feel that…something bad will happen to me…
Let’s just say I was told that I am diagnosed with a late stage, malignant lymphoma and can only expectedly live for 5 more years. What a person should do ?
@Asylum Seeker,
May you always remain healthy! Be kind, love and be loved! Don’t hurts others. Try to help others as much as you can.
Thanks soul…I have a lot of friends who were diagnosed with cancer while waiting for interview…usually didn’t end well…
There are organizations that support asylum seekers. One is TASSC.org. If they are not near you, maybe they can recommend a local organization. Take care, Jason
Thanks Jason for weighing in 🙂
I always try to prepare for the unexpected…I don’t want to be in a situation where things hit and no where to go and not knowing what to do.
Hi Jason,
My has a Refugee Travel Document and wanted to travel to Macedonia (that is not the country he feels a persecution from) but now he is stuck in Turkey as they are telling him he needs visa to go from Turkey to Macedonia (apparently they changed that rule recently). Now my question is, do you have an experience with something similar? How can people with refugee travel document obtain visa if they can’t use their passport? Can visa be stamped on the refugee travel document?
Thank you.
Sometimes, countries do not accept the RTD and the person has to use their passport if they have one. It is not idea, but as long as they do not return to the country of persecution, it is usually not a major issue. They can re-enter the US with the RTD. Take care, Jason
Hi Jason,
Today, USCIS decided to expand the validity of form I-693 request for medical exams from 2 years to 4 years. Considering how long it takes them to process cases, It is a positive news, I guess! Now, of much of an impact will that have on processing times is to be determined.
Take care,
Why not just make it infinite? Better yet, why not process the GC cases in a timely way. Ugh. Take care, Jason
Hi Jason,
I received RFE to renew I-693 since it expired on August 8,2021. Today I saw USCIS extended I-693 validity till September 30 and I am planning to reply to USCIS consider the memo and adjudicate my I-485.
Also I am afraid if they sleep on it until September 30 passes and then reject my case. What is your advise?
Thanks a lot for the good you do to Asylum community.
Samuel
I think the RFE should be the priority. It is difficult to know how changing rules will specifically affect your case, and if they asked you for a new exam, I think you should send a new exam. You can try to ask them to rely on the memo, but there is a good chance that will not work and that they will then deny the case because you failed to respond as they requested. Maybe talk to a lawyer about this to review the specific situation, but my sense is that it is better (and probably cheaper) to just get an updated exam and give USCIS what it wants. Take care, Jason
Thanks Jason for your advise, I decided to finish the exam.
God bless you for helping hearts.
Samuel
Cordy, I will actually say it’s negative. So they are saying they are not trying to speed things up, but getting ready to slow things down more efficiently.
That’s a good point Tina. Considering what a disaster that agency is right now, it wouldn’t be surprising at all.
It looks like they are trying to act on I-485 backlogs related to employment based adjustment of status before the fiscal year ends, though. Sending less RFE related to form I-693 might be a sign something is happening. It might also be a relief of not having to send another Medical exam for those whose applications have been pending for more than 2 years. Anyway, that agency is causing so much pain to applicants.
Probably this means that 4 years will become the new normal waiting time. A few years ago, I-693 was valid for one year and they extended to 2 years, basically they are updating the new waiting times.
opinions and mindsets of asylum seekers:
Aside from cases’ merit, will individuality during the interview affect the outcome ? Due to different backgrounds some people may have opinions or approaches that are not common or even buck conventional wisdom. But I am very concerned that some ideas, I genuinely feel strongly about…after several rounds of testing water here, are not very well received…
I feel that if I say some of the things I really think of, there is a high probability that it could trigger unflattering responses from the adjudicators…But if I behave like what is expected…or desired…I will feel disingenuous (not the same as untruthful) about myself…
According to my observation, I feel that several asylum seekers or asylees here obviously talk to me in a different manner than how they probably talk to immigration officers…I guess I am wondering, is it a common scenario that asylum seekers adjust their behavior and demeanor during asylum interviews or court proceedings or are they simply just being their everyday self ? And does this choice play a factor ? I prefer to be myself in this scenario, but I am concerned that being in my true manner could hurt me because my personality is not in the mainstream spectrum.
Asylum Seeker, during the interview or removal proceedings, the adjudicators or asylum officers don’t care about what other asylum seekers or asylees say on this blog. They want to know why YOU want asylum/ why they should give YOU asylum. Though easier said than done, you should focus on YOU and YOUR asylum case. The asylum officer or immigration judge may not take you seriously if you begin to lambast other asylum seekers during the interview/hearing. In fact, they may deny your case because you’ve failed to convince them that you are eligible for asylum or another form of humanitarian protection.
You do not know the people who comment on here. And I doubt they impact your asylum case in any way, shape or form. As such, you shouldn’t take what people here say so personally- unless, of course, what they say to you can definitely help you or help you win your case.
I am not a psychologist, nor am I trying to offend you, but using common sense and experience working with people who experience traumatic events, I can infer from your comments that you might need some psychological help (if you are not already receiving psychotherapy). Expressing your thoughts on this blog in an incoherent way may be a way of controlling your angst or dealing with stress. If that’s the case, then please, continue. Though you are free to say what you want on this blog either way.
“Expressing your thoughts on this blog in an incoherent way may be a way of controlling your angst or dealing with stress”.
Jamie, the above statement has somewhat crossed my mind, but regardless of ones psychological state, most of what we say come from our deep rooted values and beliefs. The human mind is conditioned by values and beliefs.
“Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks”.
“Asylum Seeker has consistently expressed xenophobia. This is not the first time he/she/ they expressed concern for the American culture and values being overshadowed by Asylum seekers and the values they bring.
He directs all of the comments towards Asylum seekers, and never a mention of other means of legal immigration.
I guess I over analyze things, and will need to be convinced that this person is indeed an asylum seeker.
I am sorry if I impress as anti-asylum…I also want to say seeking asylum is also a means of legal immigration. And no, I don’t differentiate among means of immigration, let that stay.
I guess what I am saying is that, my personality is not a common one, personality is shaped by upbringing and background and many other factors. I have tested the water here and it seems uncommon personality might cause more misunderstanding…I am kind of worried this will be held against me in terms of getting support or being offered a positive outcome. And then I have to make a choice between upholding my own individuality or…comforming it for the sake of getting support, avoiding attacks, making adjudication more favorable…I don’t know…It’s such a hard choice to make. I thought I could be myself…
I can speak for myself and so many other people here.
No one has ever spoken to you in a disrespectful manner, but called you out on your misinformation, Xenophobic, racist and discriminatory comments.
People here have asked the state you are located, so they can point you to resources to help you find a job, until you started talking about not really looking for a job, but considering an illegal means of livelihood to protect your “privacy”. You seem to have dropped that EAD misinformation.
I remember that someone here even considered fund raising for you.
Even though we disagree with one another here sometimes, we have a lot in common-
We are not Xenophobic! We are not racist(hopefully)! We do not discriminate against other asylum seekers! We do not deliberately misinform on this platform!
I have since inferred from your many posts that YOU ARE NOT AN ASYLUM SEEKER.You may be a US citizen using reverse psychology to get into the minds of genuine asylum seekers.
Thing is, you have not been doing so in the smartest way.
If I am right, your beef with asylum seekers, and having more kids than US citizens could well be the food stamp line which most asylum seekers do not qualify for,and probably not interested in(FYI). I say so because if you have this much time on your hands, you probably live on Government assistance.
Are you seriously seeking protection of your human rights, but wondering about the legality of sterilization to prevent immigrant women from having as many kids as they would like?
That hit me very hard, and not because I am one for plenty children.
On your analogy that Immigrants have more kids than Americans, what did you base your findings on?
I know more Immigrants with one or 2 kids than Americans with the same number of kids.
Finally, I am beginning to wonder if you are the same person as “long ****** because you both seem to have identical brains.
I mean I didn’t do the sterilization…ICE did…
Okay… ? As I always said you are entitled to your opinion. I wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize your freedom of speech 🙂
Tina, thank you for your response! You are definitely right about how personality, and by extension one’s views or ideologies, is influenced by socialization. For the most part, this is true. Psychologists are not sure how much of an impact does biology (genetic factors), which is independent of environmental factors, have on personality development/traits. I tend to agree, though, that personality development, or how an individual perceives the world and reacts to everything in his/her environment, is a complex thing which is shaped by both biological and environmental factors.
I personally don’t think that Asylum Seeker is out to get people or other asylum seekers on the blog- at least, not intentionally. If anything, s/he is desperately trying to avoid anything that triggers his/her stress (for instance, his/her fellow country men or women- or people like them). I think Asylum Seeker’s seemingly bizarre comments are a cry for help or a sign of distress. Also, “abnormal” behaviors or speeches (or expression of thoughts and feelings)- such as feeling overwhelmed, paranoid, on edge, preoccupied with something, sleeping less/more, saying things that don’t make sense, etc.- can be manifestations of trauma or someone experiencing emotional stress- emotional turmoil, even. Obviously, these kinds of expressions or behaviors wouldn’t make sense to an untrained observer or someone who doesn’t have an understanding of these kinds of manifestations.
As well, some of the comments may be someone just scoring poorly on the cultural understanding and awareness marksheet. If that’s the case, Asylum Seeker will hopefully eventually learn to appreciate and understand, without losing too much of his/her own beliefs, cultural differences- especially if s/he intends to integrate into the American society.
The asylum interview is not a survey of your political views – it is a fact gathering exercise about why you need protection. So I do not see why any of that would ever come up. Take care, Jason
Sounds good :). I guess more specifically, the indignation of my persecutors and enablers might get the best of me and makes me emotional during the interview. The reason of this angst is mainly driven by medical concerns. I guess the best strategy is to prepare and take care of myself…
@asylum seeker
You’re exposed motherF***r and everyone knows you’re a white red neck US citizen so go F yourself and stay away of here you’re not the uscis office to determine who deserves asylum so if you don’t like it you can leave america and go any other coubter motherF*er
Please be polite…
@asylum seeker
Soon i will take screenshots of all your ignorant and racist comments and i swear i will send it to the closest FBI so they can expose your butt! Another redneck useless man here trying to focus on the asylees lives like for real go get a job or do you live in the government benefits mfer? B*tch im an asylee and i have more than 5 businesses in this country and pay tax more than your whole family combined so you can get free medical assistance m*therf*ker
Hi Jason, I just would like to thank your voice for the voiceless people!you really know our pain!
Thank you – but asylum seekers are not voiceless. There are many ways to help advocate for yourself. I wrote about some on June 28, 2020. Also, on April 7, 2021, I wrote about how to get involved in a lobbying effort to help asylum seekers. That effort is gathering steam, and several Congress people and Senators are planning to write a letter to DHS and the new USCIS Director. Take care, Jason
I have my first master hearing in arlington V.A early September but recently moved to Oregon and send my change of address to the court this week so will my master hearing venue be moved to my new state? or ill still have to fly out there or is the a way to move the master hearing close to Oregon? Thanks
Normally, you need to file a motion to change venue (an attorney normally does that for you). The court can move the case, but often does not. Most Master Hearings are sill being canceled, but some go forward. If your case goes forward and you are not present, you could be ordered deported. You should take action on this point – if you have a lawyer, the lawyer can do that. Otherwise, maybe you at least want to call the court to ask about how to proceed. You can find the court’s phone number if you follow the link under Resources called Immigration Court. It is not always easy to reach someone, and also they may not give you any useful advice. You can also try calling DHS (the prosecutor) and see what they say (ask for the Duty Attorney). You can find their phone number under DHS Office of the Chief Counsel. Take care, Jason
yes forms should be reformed and be an online interactive forms like the once used for US visas . why would would you ask me if I were member if of the NAZI party between 1939-1945 if i was born 30+ years after the end of ww2 !!
I think they should ask whether people were you ever in the Roman Army. That army was pretty brutal – just ask the Gauls. Take care, Jason
I applied 3wks ago for U-visa n also have my final asylum court in Dec. Will the new law been put together cover person like me if it is passed before my court hearing. I worked and stay working as an essential work for over 2yrs now. When the new law passed before Nov or Dec, will I be eligible to apply while my asylum case stay in court and ask for waiver though no one knows what the rules will be to apply if it passes? Also do u think by God’s help if the judge grant me asylum, I will have to withdraw my U-visa or keep it rolling? Or do u think he may not grant and ask me to wait for my u-visa? I am thinking what might happen putting all these option or happen ahead of me on the table. I am worry just like many of my friends waiting for a positive result. Been waiting for 5-6yrs for my asylum case and was almost kill last yr by some young Americans males and female.
You should talk to a lawyer about the specifics of the case – maybe you want to ask for prosecutorial discretion (to close the case) based on the pending U visa. I do not know whether the prosecutor (DHS) would agree, but it might be worth looking into. It sounds like you have two paths to gain status here (U visa and asylum) and you should be able to pursue both. U visas tend to be slow, but in our office, we had one approved and now we will have to decide whether to try to terminate the court case – I think that is the direction we are leaning, but we still need to decide for sure what is best. Take care, Jason
May I ask why it seems that the immigrant women gave birth to more children than American women ? The demographic shift is something we need to concern when we admit asylees…I frequently see immigrant women with like 4-5 children or more and American family normally have 2 children…I am a little concerned that very soon, the United States will be more like some … other…developing countries…
And is ICE’s sterilization operation legal ?
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/29/us/ice-hysterectomies-surgeries-georgia.html
I think its non of your business baby, just focus to your job and your family. 🙂
Well I have a right to identify the root cause of some phenomenon that I don’t prefer and I also have a right to take measures to prevent or slowdown the take over. It’s a free country …
Friends, behold thy “Asylum Seeker!!!!!!!!”
Calm down sis…it’s just 2 very simple yes/no questions I asked…
As I mentioned before i hope everyone here ignore @asylum seeker and don’t reply him i hope also jason doesn’t answer him whenever he asks a question cause this abnormal person is seeking for attention so when everybody and jason ignore him he will get disappointed and fade away or we can call the police on him and they can bring his IP for his racism against specific group i swear it can easily happen
Okay ? I mean…I am just curious…by asking yes/no questions, I give others the consent to answer or not…
This is a great point Mr. Asylum Seeker…people in poor countries tend to have larger families…and I suppose the reasons for having many kids are not simple….there are many social, cultural, religious, and more importantly economic reasons why people in less developed and developing countries have large families…I came from a less developed country and I have 5 sisters and 2 brothers….in my home country child mortality rates have been very high so parents intentionally have many kids because the grim reality is that sometimes children door survive…in my home country 28% of children die before they reach their fifth birthday. And in the US that figure is about 5%…I guess ICE should teach distribute free condoms to new arrivals…and they should make sure to have larger size ones as well as some may need large size…stay safe
…Thanks for shining the light on this. I guess that makes a lot of sense. The second generation tho, should be more normalized tho right ? like the offspring of the first generation asylum seekers should produce 1-2 3rd generation offsprings ?
Also, the math you present is staggering. Normally, I would expect a woman to spend 1 year and a half recovering before getting pregnant again. And it takes 10 months from pregnancies to births. 8 children means 8 pregnancies and 7 intermissions. it would be 206 months in total, which is about 17 years… of non-productivity.
I guess it’s because I am from a country that a lot of people give a lot of births…like what the heck…our country doesn’t have that much resources to feed all these mouths. I know some would argue…oh we produce a lot of young labor…well…it turns out not to be true…most high births rate countries are developing countries…
I am worried that the high birth rate could bring down a developed country…that’s what I am worried about…And then I would face a harsh reality that…I ran away from a very high birthed poor country to another…
I also always feel sad that I cannot produce offspring any more…A lot of people mock me for being childless and sterile…making me suicidal…
Greeting Jason ,
As you well mentioned , the asylum system in this country is very complicated .Asylee stays years and years with out getting interview ( first trap) and next when he/she applied for EAD , the process takes very long time ( second trap) . If the case denied and referred to court , it will be almost the end of the world (third trap). If some one is lucky enough and Asylum approved ; GC application case processing system is slow for ever (fourth trap). The family reunion petition at USCIS , NVC and embassies take years now a days (fifth trap). The application for citizenship take another more years. Only lucky Asylee reach this stage before passing away. Hence , Asylees expected a lot of change from the newly elected government to improve the system ; however nothing have been seen up to this date. These days , even it is getting worst and worst; it is very difficult to get a receipt for petition .
Still we do not loose hope ; hopefully the newly assigned director will quickly fix the problems and move our process forward . It is because as an Asylee descendant she might know the pain .Once against thank you for timely professional advice and suggestion .
Very respectfully ,
It is easy to see the negative (and I am probably not helping, since I usually write about negatives), but there have been positive moves on immigration – I wrote about a couple on June 9 and 23, 2021. But at the very basic level, USCIS needs to process cases fairly and in accordance with due process of law. Hopefully, the new Director will help move us in that direction. Take care, Jason
Jason, great ideas as usual. It should not be hard to implement these ideas but what I see is that immigrant phobia created by trump and his followers among Americans is weighing heavy on democrats, they are fearful in taking bold immigration related decisions. Let us hope we are able to recreate the immigration friendly image of this country as it should be and as it was, to some extent, before trump administration.
I think there is an important political element to this (I wrote about it on December 9, 2020) and the Administration is trying to navigate that. It is not easy. Take care, Jason
Great post, Jason!
I hope these proposals actually get to her and don’t fall into deaf ears. When I think about TSC the only analogy I can come up with is a hostage situation, where you find yourself in the wrong place at the wrong time, and the perpetrators are not asking for money in return, but just enjoy inflicting pains.
When in comes to LIFO this is a reversal that should have already been happening.
I like the hostage analogy. Thank you, Jason
Interesting! As always well addressed the hearts and soul of most asylum communities.
Thanks,
Hey I just wanted to say all of these are amazing ! I believe you are incredibly smart and quickly recognize the top priorities , and I would say the automatic green card for asylees is awesome idea , you know what else , honoring their wait time under EADS for citizenship . Is there a way you could send all of these amazing thoughts to Ms Jaddou ? Thanks again
Hopefully by putting this out in the ether, she (or maybe an assistant) will see it. In any case, they are pretty smart over there and they know what needs to be done. Whether or not they can get it done, we shall see. Take care, Jason
Jason, very impressive list of suggestions. Many of these are very reasonable and do not need Congress to implement. I was scouring the internet today for her email so I can email her this list. Couldn’t find any reliable email for her!
TSC!!!! They make me angry!
As a side note, nice play on words with her name and “ado”
Thank you – it is not easy to find emails for the higher-ups. I heard during the Obama Administration that their helpers give them copies of articles and blogs that mention them by name, hence her name is in the title (plus, she has kind of a cool name, so I like it for the title). As for the play on words, I didn’t even notice it (and I am still not sure I notice it – probably a sign of senility). Take care, Jason
LOL we should just start emailing the different asylum offices this list and hopefully one of the asylum offices will send her the list!
The director’s name (“Jaddou”) somewhat rhymes with “ado”. The sentence “Without further ado, here are ten great ideas for Director Jaddou…” has a very poetic style.
I am a poet and I don’t even know it. Thank you, Jason PS: We have been lobbying Congress about asylum and I did send the post to one Senator’s office. They have been pretty responsive, so maybe at least they will take a look.
Thank you Jason, great work as always!
On forms reform, there may be ways to reduce USCIS workload, giving them more time to process backlog. Since the bulk of information on all forms is similar, like names, addresses, relationships, travel dates bar questions etc, it may be better to consolidate all services on 1 form. i765, i485, i131, i730, SSN etc and applicants can tick all services they need and make 1 combined payment for all selected services. For example, on 1 form, you can tick i765, i485, i131, instead of having USCIS process 3 separate forms and payments from scratch.
Another way would be to extend the online filing option to all forms. I guess this would automate the process and free up USCIS to work on reducing processing times.
i730 needs complete overhaul. What are they really processing in those 15 – 28 months. There is no credibility interview or assessment of protected grounds qualification. It’s just Birth Certificates and Marriage Certificates to prove relations. Relatives should be able to take these documents together with the Asylum approval letter to the embassy and have a visa on their passport. Some people have lost their loved ones at the last hurdle. Imagine after waiting so many years, you finaly get approval but you lose them whilst waiting for the i730 processing.
Take Care!
These are great suggestions. I like the idea of a universal form where you just check the box for what you need. Maybe you can even just create an online account and update it when you change your address or circumstances. Then you can just check the box for what you need and pay the fee. We are probably a long way from having such a system, but you never know. Take care, Jason
My biggest scare is when I apply for my GC it goes to Texas SC i would suicide lol (just kidding) but for real i pray that hopefully my case will be moved to Nebraska i will even completely move out of Kentucky to Ohio cause i heard Kentucky usually goes to texas but ohio most likely to Nebraska!
Thank you Jason.
My idea is that a hard copy of this post be sent to her office.
I’ll see what I can do…
I think I am the most unfortunate asylum seeker. When I hear all of you telling your asylum related stories I say to myself that I am the most miserable asylum seeker. I applied for Asylum February 2015, passed my interview May 2017 and next May 2022 I will have waited for my interview results for 5 years. I inquired several times myself and using senators and congressmen but USCIS never tells us the why of this delay. I think my case is particular. I fear to make a Mandamus for 2 reasons:
1) They told me that it is expensive
2) It can impact negatively the interview results.
Need help from JASON or any other person
The fee for a mandamus varies by lawyer. You can look around to find a lawyer who is not expensive. Maybe you can also do it yourself if you can find a model online, but I do not know a resource that has such a model. In terms of the result, I think the only time it has a negative impact is if the security check is not complete and USCIS cannot grant the case, they might deny it. In any event, that may be better than waiting forever. I wrote more about these issue on June 2, 2021, including another idea you might try – the USCIS Ombudsman. Take care, Jason