On October 27, 2022, a group of torture survivors held a protest outside the Arlington Asylum Office. The protesters were asylum seekers who have been waiting for five years or more for an interview. Their request was simple: Please interview me and give me a decision in my asylum case.
According to the most recent data, there are more than half a million cases pending at our nation’s Asylum Offices. Many of the applicants have been waiting five, six, seven years or more for an interview, with no end in sight. Imagine living years in the U.S., uncertain whether you can stay or will have to leave, and without knowing when–if ever–you will see your loved ones again.
In response to this situation, the Torture Abolition and Survivor Support Coalition (“TASSC”), other torture survivor groups, and the torture survivors themselves have been lobbying Congress and USCIS for help. As a result of this advocacy, last summer, the Asylum Division committed to adding 80 additional Asylum Officers (“AOs”) to work exclusively on old cases. TASSC was informed that these AOs would be “dispersed across the asylum offices to focus on backlogged affirmative asylum cases, specifically targeting cases with a filing date of January 1, 2016, or earlier.” TASSC spread the word about these new AOs, and many asylum seekers finally started to feel some hope after such a long wait.
Then, last month, we learned that none of the new AOs had been assigned to the Arlington Office. Torture survivors in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, DC were the ones who launched the campaign, and now they would not receive any relief. After hearing this bad news, DC-area asylum seekers rallied in protest. Led by Andrea Barron, TASSC’s Advocacy & Outreach Program Manager, and some of the torture survivors themselves, they demonstrated in front of the asylum office. According to Ms. Barron, who also led the lobbying effort, the protesters were asking USCIS to assign 10 new AOs to the Arlington Asylum Office to interview those who have been waiting the longest.
Below are a few of the protesters’ stories. In some cases, the names have been changed to protect the person’s privacy.
Autelien Nana: I attended the demonstration because I have been waiting seven years for an asylum interview.
I come from Cameroon, where police tortured me because I led an organization that supports human rights and equality for all Cameroonians. Then in 2014, unknown men attacked me with machetes. I lost consciousness and ended up in a hospital. A few months later, I was arrested and tortured for eight hours after attending the funeral of someone in my organization. Finally, I fled Cameroon to save my life. I had to leave behind my wife and six children.
I reached the United States and applied for asylum in 2015. I don’t know why USCIS will not interview people who were persecuted because of our political opinion. USCIS says it does not have enough asylum officers. But it has enough officers to interview people who applied in 2021 or 2022 under LIFO, the last-in, first-out policy. This is very unfair.
I have suffered so much stress and pain during this long wait. In 2020, police in Cameroon attacked my wife and beat my two young daughters. I often have severe pain in my chest, left arm, neck, and back. I was hospitalized multiple times because of pain and stress, and I even blacked out a few times.
USCIS said it hired 80 new officers to interview asylum seekers like me, who applied before January 1, 2016. But this plan has not been implemented. No new officers have been sent to the Arlington office. Our only choice is to demonstrate so USCIS will see that “Torture Survivors Matter Too.”
Desire: As a survivor, running from persecution in your home country, once you make it to the USA, you feel relief, because you hope and believe that your torture is over. But in fact, you are moving from one form of torture to another. Waiting for asylum for five to 10 years is itself a form of torture.
I am not sure whether the U.S. government and the Asylum Officers understand the strain that torture survivors go through on a daily basis. I came to the demonstrate on October 27 to let USCIS know how terrible it is for us. Being an asylum seeker keeps you in limbo. You have to wait for a decision before you can move forward with anything in your life. It’s like being in a tunnel with no light at the end. Your whole life is on hold. Having memories of torture is already a great burden, and added to that are many additional challenges for asylum seekers: Obtaining a driver’s license, getting an education, renewing a work permit. The worst part is my surprise and disappointment with the asylum system. I was so hopeful when I heard 80 new Asylum Officers would be assigned to interview people like me, who have been waiting seven years. But this turns out not to be true. Why did USCIS give us reason to hope and then go backwards?
Patrick: I was studying physical geography at a university in Cameroon and was president of the student rights association. We exposed government corruption. As a result, government agents jailed, tortured, and almost killed me. I left Cameroon out of fear for my life, and I came to the United States in October 2014.
I applied for asylum in May 2015. Now I have been waiting more than seven years for an interview. I have suffered so much, with so much stress because of this long wait. I don’t know what is going to happen to me and I sometimes lose sleep because I don’t understand why the Asylum Office will not interview me.
I came to the demonstrate on October 27 because I believe that USCIS should interview people waiting for seven years or longer. They promised us that we would be interviewed by new Asylum Officers. But I recently learned that no new officers will be sent to Arlington. We don’t know why. All this waiting and not knowing is so difficult for me.
Sisay: I was teaching computer courses in a high school when I was tortured by the Ethiopian government due to my Tigray ethnicity and my political affiliation. I meet the criteria for asylum under U.S. law, but I have waited for over five years and cannot even get an interview. I followed all the rules and spent so much money on a lawyer, but the lawyer cannot get the Arlington office to schedule me for an interview.
While I greatly appreciate that the United States has given me a chance to come here and apply for asylum, I have had so many setbacks because of the long delay. I have suffered emotional and psychological issues, and I am in a state of constant anxiety where the smallest misunderstanding causes me to re-live the injustices I ran away from in Ethiopia.
Every time I go to the Arlington office to ask about my status, I am told that my case is pending and that they do not have enough officers to interview me. But then why do I keep hearing about people who applied for asylum after me who already received their Green Card? Why are there Asylum Officers to interview them but not me? This is what brought me to the October 27 demonstration.
* * * * *
Unfortunately, these stories are all too common. Hopefully, the Asylum Division will listen to these asylum seekers and fulfill its commitment to interview applicants who filed for asylum prior to January 1, 2016.
If you are an affirmative asylum seeker who has been waiting for more than five years, and you would like more information about TASSC’s effort to assist people with long-delayed cases, please contact Andrea Barron after November 30, 2022 at andrea@tassc.org
I have a question about I-765 form, my work permit will expire on July and I don’t know how many days before expire should I fill out the form and send it to USCIS
Thank you
If the work permit is based on asylum pending (category c-8), the soonest you can file to renew is 180 days before the current card expires. Take care, Jason
Dear Jason: I’m waiting for my individual hearing in September next year at the LA court and i am pretty sure i’ll be in LA at least four months before the court day. But I need to take on-site classes this spring term (jan-may) in other states. I understand the school will check my status. so to what extent that they normally go? just knowing the general info like the student is waiting individual hearings, or they got to know more details, like my previous b1/b2 visa details and the specific area the case is with? i know some of my personal info is confidential but does that apply to the background check from college? thx Jason happy holidays!!
SRY need to clarify my concerns. does court know my admission? and does school know my status details?? thx!!
I do not know how the court would know about the school, and the school can only learn limited info about your court case. Take care, Jason
If you have a work permit, you should be allowed to attend college, though different colleges seem to have different rules. I do not know what they would check, but there is only so much they can learn about your immigration status – mostly that you have a court case and it is pending, and that you (hopefully) have a work permit. Leaving for a few months should be fine in terms of the LA case, since it sounds like your move is temporary and you are not giving up your LA address. Take care, Jason
Hi, I am Greencard holder, I have valid travel document, can apply Re-Entry permit while my Travel Document is valid? Do I need to return my travel Document? If yes, once my Travel Expires, and If I still didn’t get my Re-Entry Permit, can I re-apply Travel Document while I have pending Re-Entry Permit?
You should check the instructions for form I-131, available at http://www.uscis.gov, but as far as I remember, you can apply for a new Re-Entry Permit before your old permit expires (for a Refugee Travel Document, you cannot do this). I am not sure, as I have not done this in a while, but the instructions should help. Take care, Jason
Hi, challenging question:
How can you get an interview scheduled?
Suing Uscis?
What’s a solid reason for an expedition?
Are any successful cases in mind?
Thank you
You can try to expedite – I wrote about this on March 30, 2017 and March 23, 2022, and maybe those will help. The “best” (i.e., most likely to work) reason to expedite is a health problem, but there are other reasons as I discuss in those articles. We have had cases expedited. It is largely a matter of luck, but as they say, you can’t win if you don’t play. If an expedite request does not work, you can try a mandamus case. We wrote about that on October 2, 2018. Take care, Jason
Dear Jason
1.I just filled for GC based on marriage and they sent acknowledgment of the paperwork. How long does it take to get the interview?
2. Would you mind breaking down the process please from submitting the papers? What will be next and next?
3. I recently renewed my passport (i am an asylee) will that have any effect on my asylum case?
Reason for renewal is incase i get AP i want to with meet my elderly mother in another country. I have not seen her in 7 years and she is in her 80s.
4. Does AP get approved first before the GC interview? Or it’s a package that gets attention same time?
Thank you
1 – If you married a US citizen, it may take about a year, but processing times are not very predictable. 2 – You will probably get a biometrics appointment in a month or two, and then the EAD and Advance Parole in maybe 4 or 5 months (if you applied for them). 3 – Possibly. You may need to explain why you renewed a passport of a country that wants to harm you and why the government was willing to renew the passport. If you do not fear the government (but maybe fear non-state actors), this should be easy to explain. 4 – If you applied for an EAD and AP with the marriage case, you will get a work permit card that allows you to re-enter the US. In other words, the AP is part of the EAD card (some people call this a combo card). Take care, Jason
Subject: I-824, Application for Action on an Approved Application or Petition and USCIS e-request form
Dear Jason,
I am USA Citizen filled I-130 petition for my parents who are living outside the USA.
I moved to a new house and updated my new address to uscis but uscis made an error they said in their email they have updated the address of the beneficiary. And address change concerned about me not beneficiary. The beneficiary is not in the US and they don’t have P.O Box or zip code. Below is the email I received from USCIS.
We have updated the beneficiary’s address in our electronic system with the new information you provided in your request. If the petitioner requires a change of address as well, please complete another service request providing the petitioner’s information.
Unfortunately, i did not receive my original I-130 Approval due to the USCIS error. May I know if this is a typographic error or not? How do i request my Original I-130 Approval?
I am confused between the two forms. Which form do i qualify to request my original I-130 approval the I-824 or USCIS e-request?
For the e-request form there is a section that requires mailing address.
If I provide my new personal mailing address in that section, do you think they will mail my original i-130 to my new address?
Mailing Address
In Care Of for Mailing(optional)
Street Number and name
Apartment
unit number
city
state
zip code
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
I hope a feedback.
Thanks you
This is not something I really know about, sorry. You can probably do another change of address to correct the beneficiary’s address, but in terms of getting the case moving again, I am not sure. I know you can get a copy of the I-130 via FOIA, but whether that is needed in this case, I do not know. You may want to talk to a lawyer who does consular cases to get some guidance. Take care, Jason
Hi Jason and friends, I got a TNC for photo mismatch from e-verify for a new job. I used old EAD + 540-day receipt.
Has anyone experienced this using automatic extension ???
The employer has NOT A LICK of clue of all this. And they are reluctant in following up with me. I am worried that soon I will receive a FNC and get fired from my job … again 🙁 …
The e-verify leaves too little time to fix the issue, and I am afraid that, it seems that the employer is trying to try out possible errors one by one…So that’s why I think I will receive an FNC before they are able to figure out what has gone wrong…
@Jason, do you know is e-verify also part of USCIS branch ? like they are USCIS employees ?
I do not know much about e-Verify, but the web page does have some guidance about problems. I think if that is not sufficient, you will need to talk to an immigration lawyer, as many such lawyers do compliance cases. Also, I did blog post on May 11, 2022 about EADs with some links to USCIS web pages, and these web pages provide information about the 540-day extension and employment eligibility. Maybe those would help convince the employer. Good luck, Jason
Thanks Jason 🙂
I highly suspect the employer gets it wrong by indicating my photo is not matching. I sent my new photo for renewal and when it turned up in e-verify…it doesn’t match my old EAD…
AHHHHHHH
If USCIS has a wrong photo, maybe you will need a lawyer to help communicate with the government to get that corrected. If the problem is the EAD itself, you can check the I-765 instructions, available at http://www.uscis.gov, as there is information about correcting an error on the EAD. Take care, Jason
Hi Jason.
Hope you are doing well. Just want ask that USICS made unfair decision regarding my case
In 2017 and referred it to immigration court. If court approve my case can I ask the judge to start counting for sitizen from date of USICS interview.
Thank you.
Sorry for error and repeating same message
No worries, that is why we have cut and paste: I do not think that is possible. Even if you get asylum, it does not count towards citizenship. After you get asylum, you have to apply for a GC and once you have that, only then do you start counting towards citizenship (the GC is supposed to be back-dated one year, so it saves you a bit of time). Take care, Jason
Thank you Jason
Hello Jason,
I have pending asylum case in asylum office. I applied for GC through marriage with US citizenship. I had done biometric fingerprint when I applied for asylum. Does the USCIS waive fingerprint or I should go for fingerprint for the second time?
Thanks
Often, they waive the fingerprints, but if they ask you to go to an appointment, you must go; otherwise, the case could be denied. Take care, Jason
Hi Jason and dear blog reader fellows, thank you for always participating and leaving your helpful feedback.
I wanted to ask here once one year is complete after asylum granted how long it takes to receive a greencard in hand? anybody had a recent experience can share there timeline that can be very helpful.
Thank you again everyone and will hear to say what Jason thinks.
Take care!
It was taking close to 2 years, but some people have been reporting faster time frames (less than a year), and hopefully that is the case. Take care, Jason
Good morning Jason,
I there a way to expedite Adjustment of Status based on granted asylum? Like a premium fee.
It is very strange how the US government is treating asylum seekers while lecturing other countries on human rights. I checked USCIS processing times on their website, for adjustment of status, the longest time taken to process adjustment of status is based on granted asylum 37.5 months while as others categories range from 14 months-34monhts depending on the office.
However, from your above response it seems that the adjustment of status based on asylum is way faster than what is shown on USCIS processing times. Is it so?
Thanks,
Asylee
We have seen asylee adjustments take 2 years and sometimes more, but I have been hearing about some cases going faster than that, and I hope we will see the wait time go down (since it is ridiculously slow). You cannot premium process a GC case based on asylum, but you can try to expedite – I wrote about expediting in general with USCIS on January 29, 2020. Take care, Jason
Thank you sir!
Jason
The processing time of I-485 marriage based dramitically jumped up to 18 to 23 months from 8 months to 12 months in just 2 months period of time. This is so sad believe me. Not quite sure exactely whats going with USCIS. we were told things getting moving quickly couple of months ago But its the opposite and worst scenario at present time. whats your thoughts about it ?
Regard
Everything is very unpredictable. I have not checked that processing time lately, and our marriage-based GC cases have been taking maybe 8 to 12 months, but maybe things will be changing now, or maybe it is just temporary. Unfortunately, there is no way to know. Hopefully, this is a temporary blip and things continue to improve. Take care, Jason
Another reason to count my blessings and stop complaining about the one year gap it took to get my GC. I can definitely relate to the anxiety when my case was pending. Didn’t know what the outcome was going to be. But winning asylum itself is a huge boost to ones mental state. I was able to start planning my future and see a path to fullfiling my identity in this amazing country. When you think about the fact that many of us are trying to do good, we pay taxes, build up local economies; not to mention the amount of money in laywer and USCIS fees, its a shame we are not treated better.
Hi @all folks, I am sorry to repeat this issue. But I want to ask, when you asylum seekers with an old EAD + 540-day receipt try to find jobs (or frankly a current, valid EAD with C8 code). Do you have better success in finding everify jobs or noneverify jobs ?
My previous experience is that, the professional jobs, those who participate e-verify, the HRs/Recruiters don’t seem to like the C8 code in general. I was denied a lot of job opportunities right out of gate. This is obviously discrimination, but unfortunately, it’s hard to prove and launch a successful discrimination suit. I cannot afford that either. It appears that this issue has also affected a lot of DACA people, https://news.bloomberglaw.com/daily-labor-report/dreamers-denied-jobs-explore-reach-of-hiring-bias-protections
So, I would like to hear some of the advice from people who claim that they are making 6 digit-salary…I would like to ask, how do you find an everify employer that is willing to look past your C8 code, and move forward with you ?
So, after so many rejections, I turn to noneverify jobs. I thought it would be easier…But it seems that the hit-or-miss situation is as bad if not worse. It seems to me that they are more cautious (maybe because they are without e-verify ??? probably they are worried about get in trouble ?) and more exclusive…The majority of them only accept State ID/DL and SSN as I-9 documents…because that’s the most dominant combinations.
I am in a really bad situation, because job hunting costs money itself. I have no money now to afford phone services and transportation. I cannot even go to some charity organizations for help, because I don’t have access to a phone or transportation. This is a vicious cycle.
So I want to ask, where can I find the employers (everify or noneverify) that will not not hire me because of my work authorization situation ? I cannot afford to try one by one, every job in my city. Are there some features that can be indicative that this employer is … more receptive ? For example, more latino employees ? retail ones ? restaurant jobs ?
And finally, I want to comment that this is such an irony. I follow the rules and frankly the government is also not culpable of this situation. They make it clear that C8 can work, C8 plus 540-day receipt can work. This kind of employment discrimination could cost livelihood. In an ideal world, the employers should be the one who feel ashamed about their differential and discriminatory treatment of asylum seekers. However, in reality, it’s the asylum seekers that have to cater to this kind of behavior by narrowing the range of job search.
I don’t want to be all negative here, so I also want to share some useful tips that I have tried that seem to have positive effect.
First, I look for jobs that only asks 2 questions:
1) Are you authorized to work in the U.S ?
2) Do you need sponsorship now or in the future to continue to be employed ?
These two questions are the standard nondiscriminatory questions. If I see an application with these 2 questions, I will immediately know that they must have dealt with issues before or at least hired noncitizens before. It’s facially neutral and it will get me into at least the next round. This combination is mostly for everify jobs.
Second, I also changed my name to an American name. I used to have an ethnic name, and I always get asked for what kind of visa status I am in. It seems they are not very receptive to anything other than OPT/H1B…This I really don’t understand, there are way more work authorization types than OPT/H1B, why do employers seem to favor OPT/H1B ? In my opinion, OPT/H1B and C8 asylum seeker, DACA are both noncitizens. C8 and C33 EAD holders can actually work for more employers than OPT/H1B. I want to get answer to this question if I may. So I sometimes claim I am a green card holder. I don’t consider it lying, because I am providing my answer to a discriminatory question that should not have been asked in the job application stage. I haven’t had the experience of going through I-9 after claiming I have a green card, I either voluntarily quitted the interview or didn’t get an offer. But anyway, claiming I have a green card seems to advance me in interviews. But after I changed my name, I never had this question asked me.
Third, I find that it’s easier to look for jobs in which the I-9 inspection is a separate, specialized department. They are there specifically for I-9 inspection. So an employer, if they are not themselves knowledgeable, can get feedback from the knowledgeable I-9 inspectors. Some of my failed/fired jobs, the superior is the one who inspects the I-9, if this person is not familiar with the I-9 rule, then the asylum seeker or DACA recipient is at risk of losing their jobs.
I feel all those advice helps, but probably not by much…I want to solicit others’ perspectives.
Most of my clients are able to get jobs while their asylum cases are pending, and so I am not sure what is going on with your situation. Also, you might look into government resources. State governments have agencies that assist with finding jobs and maybe could also assist with helping employers understand your eligibility to work. Good luck, Jason
Thanks 🙂
Hmmm…Seems like I am the only one.
Nope you are not alone, I have a problem at my current job too.
Oh no, I am so sorry to hear that @Nicki.
Do you mind sharing your experience ? And how are you addressing it ?
I feel I have to deal with this issue frequently…Like how you get/maintain your current job ? and you have issue because your EAD is about to expire ? and they don’t like the EAD + 540-day receipt ?
I am one of Jason clients and my asylum is pending. there is a lot of jobs out there. Don’t say that you cant get a job. I have a business i can hire you for well above minimum wage.
Thanks 🙂
Hi Jason.
Hope you are doing well. Just want ask that USICS made unfair decision regarding my case
In 2017 and referred it to immigration court. If court approve my case can I ask the judge to start counting for sitizen from date of USICS interview.
Thank you.
I suggest you focus on winning asylum in the court first…
Asylum pending,
Which state are you located.
I will be happy to relocate for 6 figure.
Deal?
Hey EVerify—-
I used my C8 EAD and got professional job with Fortune10 company.The HR officer didn’t ask me anything! When my EAD is about to expire in 2021, I presented my new EAD (I got renewal in 4 month then) now I am about to renew again and see how things go! All the HR team are new by now🙂
Congrats !!!
I guess EAD alone is definitely better than all these weird, unusual combinations of EAD + 540-day receipt…less likely to arouse questions.
But also, I have a feeling that you didn’t … affirmatively mention to HR “I am a pending asylum seeker”, right ? Like this topic is not touched on during the interview stage ? (Since it’s not normal for them to ask immigration status when interviewing).
But thanks, apparently it’s something doable :). Give me some hope :P…
At least one of the fortune 10 company does ask for immigration status tho. That I can confirm…I printed out my application page.
Hi Jason,
I want to know,would one have to go for interview when applying for Advance Parole?
Thank you.
Emmanuel
I have never seen anyone get an interview for AP. I do not know that it is impossible, but I have never heard of that. Take care, Jason
I want to ask whether it’s better to just be undocumented and work on noneverify jobs using fake documents for the rest of life. or applying for asylum, get an EAD but declare presence to the government, putting yourself at risk of targeted apprehension and removal. The statistics tell me that asylum applications are more likely to be rejected in the end rather than granted, whether it’s in asylum office or EOIR. So I feel it’s a very risky move to apply for asylum. For people who are able to enter without inspection and apprehension, it’s highly likely that the government won’t know them, and just like the Guatemalan woman, they can purchase fraudulent documents and get noneverify jobs using it for the rest of their lives, many noneverify jobs pay well btw.
When I was using my asylum EAD + 540-day receipt. I actually try to find noneverify jobs, I assumed that, since they are noneverify, maybe they will be more lenient and flexible. Turns out almost all of them don’t know this combinations and legality, and then they take a “rather safe than sorry” approach, denying my employment. I feel like in this scenario, an undocumented immigrant with a fake SSN + ID will fare better than me.
So my experience gets me thinking. Whether an undocumented immigrant, purchasing fake documents to get noneverify jobs and bear low risk of removal, is actually better than an asylum applicant who will experience EAD discrimination, and have low chance of asylum success and high risk of targeted removal ?
I do agree that the EAD process is a problem and that employers do not understand the system, for this reason, it would be better for USCIS to standardize and simplify the EAD system and eliminate categories printed on the cards. However, if you think that it is easier to be undocumented with a fake ID, that is simply not the case as I have observed it. Also, your comments here are again becoming too much, and so I would appreciate if you would limit them to relevant questions, as I do not wish to repeat the trouble we had before, and I am now going to have to start erasing comments that I deem unhelpful. Thank you, Jason
I am sorry 🤐…I am sometimes annoying…this is a symptom of being too opinionated…but it’s well received 🙂 … There is something else I am working on so I won’t spend a lot of time here.
No worries, but I want to try to stick to points that are more immediately relevant. Thank you, Jason
The C8 EAD renewal delay is agonizing. But I wonder what could have resulted in this ? Will the 12-14 months of C8 EAD renewal become a new norm ?
It doesn’t make any sense. If it’s because of COVID, then why other types of EADs continue to be adjudicated efficiently ? It has also been proposed that asylum seekers require more background check. Shouldn’t it be done (have already been done) during the initial EAD adjudication ? Granted that a person will have lived in the U.S. for 2 – 3 years, so more background…to check..But it doesn’t explain the significant increases among almost all asylum seekers ? Could 2-3 years in the U.S. really generate that many additional records to check ?
Is there any other nondiscriminatory explanation ?
And frankly, why asylum seekers need more background check, not H4s or OPTs. Why this differential treatment ? Shouldn’t these H4s and OPTs and sometimes K1s and 485 combo cards also be carefully background checked when they apply for EADs ?
I think they created the 540-day extension and after that, they are not focusing on increasing processing time for these EADs. Maybe eventually, they will get around to it, though it would be better if they just issued an EAD that was valid for the entire period that asylum is pending. Take care, Jason
Thanks Jason for weighing in 🙂
And sadly…
Dear Jason,
I have filed for asylum in 2017 at Arlington VA office and six months ago I moved to California. I informed USCIS that I moved and changed my address. Two weeks ago, I filed for expiate. Where will be my Interview?
Thank you.
If you filed the change of address (AR-11, available at http://www.uscis.gov), you should file the expedite request at the new asylum office (if you are not sure, follow the link under Resources called Asylum Office Locator to find the new office). You can also get their email address there and maybe inquire whether they now have your case and whether they got the expedite request. Take care, Jason
Hi Jason,
I have filed the i485 last week with a personal check, but the uscis has not cashed the check. How long does it take to cash the check and send the receipt of the documents?
Thanks
These days, we are getting receipts for I-485 cases in maybe 2 or 3 weeks, so you should have it soon. Take care, Jason
I came to this country by ship. I did not have a visa. I took refuge in America in 2015. My trial is still pending. asylum case. I got married in 2019. 2 years later they did it without calling interwiem. but they did the case approved. We filled out the 485 form for the green card. do you think i can get a green card? thank you.
If you did not have a visa, I do not see how you would qualify for a GC based on marriage unless you leave the country and also get a provisional waiver to return. Talk to a lawyer about whether this is possible, or whether there might be some way to get the GC without leaving (which I think is unlikely unless you win asylum). Take care, Jason
This is exactly why this country is a oligarchy just like Russia . Money only spent for themselves . I will not stay in US a day after I get my papers . I’m only here because I already wasted years of my youthful years in This stupid gender bender country
Dear Jason,
My EAD is expired, I have filed for renewal and I am currently working with the 540 days of extension. What should I input as the expirationd date of my work authorization when I am filling an I-9 form for a new employer? Should it be the expiry date of my already expired EAD card or it should be the date when my automatic extension expires? Thank you so much.
I have not filled one of those forms for a client, so I am not sure, but if you have the 540-day extension, that is when your work eligibility expires. You might want to check with the employer about this, but that makes sense to me. Take care, Jason
The date is the auto-extension expiration date. I had the same issue and an USCIS agent told me to relate this to my bosses, with a few links from the USCIS’ website where they’re taking about the auto renewal. Everything went well. After I finally received the EAD I just brought it to the employer and they updated the information needed. Hope this helps a bit.
Hi Jason.
Hope you are doing well. Just want ask that USICS made unfair decision regarding my case
In 2017 and referred it to immigration court. If court approve my case can I ask the judge to start counting for sitizenship days from date of USICS interview. Is that possible?
Thank you.
I do not think that is possible. Even if you get asylum, it does not count towards citizenship. After you get asylum, you have to apply for a GC and once you have that, only then do you start counting towards citizenship (the GC is supposed to be back-dated one year, so it saves you a bit of time). Take care, Jason