Perhaps you’ve heard the rumors–reported in the press but never verified by USCIS–about a “pause” on Green Cards for asylees and refugees. While the exact details of the pause remain unknown, it may have been implemented to give USCIS time to re-evaluate the Green Card process in light of the Trump Administration’s jaundiced view of humanitarian migrants.
Now, a new memo from USCIS clarifies when a Green Card interview is required for asylees and refugees, and seems to signal an end to the pause.
The new memo updates the USCIS Policy Manual, which lists the interview criteria for an asylee who applies for a Green Card using form I-485 (similar requirements apply to refugees seeking a Green Card). Under the new rules, asylees and refugees would need an interview as part of the Green Card application process–
- Where USCIS has questions about your identity
- If you obtained asylum as a dependent based on form I-730 and did not previously have an interview
- If there is some reason to believe you are inadmissible, usually due to criminal or national security issues
- If USCIS has some reason to believe your asylum approval was based on fraud
- If you are a derivative asylee and your derivative status may have ended (I wrote about how derivative status ends here)
- Where the USCIS officer “articulates an inadmissibility concern regarding that the alien is a citizen of, or last habitually resided in, a country that is now, or was at the time of last residence, a state sponsor of terrorism [these are Cuba, North Korea, Iran, and Syria],” or
- Where the USCIS officer ” articulates a concern regarding identity, inadmissibility, national security, public safety, or fraud, and recommends an interview to help to resolve that concern”
I’ve simplified this list, as it is long and boring, so check the full list if you think you may fall into one of these categories. According to USCIS, these interview criteria are designed to “help ensure program integrity and improve the detection of fraud, misrepresentation, national security threats, and public safety risks.”
I am a bit skeptical of USCIS’s reasoning here. What evidence exists that asylees and refugees pose a threat? Moreover, if they do pose a threat or engage in fraud, shouldn’t that be examined during the asylum process? What makes USCIS think that re-visiting these issues during the Green Card process will have any different outcome than when the issues were examined during the asylum process? I imagine that USCIS would claim that the Biden Administration failed to properly vet asylum seekers, but what evidence exists for this assertion? Personally, I view the new policy as USCIS’s response to President Trump’s largely baseless claim that humanitarian migrants are a threat to our country, and another example of how the President’s lies are shaping policy and harming innocent people.
Justified or not, the new policy went into effect immediately, and so it is worth discussing some practical implications.
One issue is more delay. We saw this during Mr. Trump’s first term, when USCIS had a policy to interview all Green Card applicants. While the Agency never achieved that goal, the number of interviews increased, and this slowed down the Green Card process for everyone. What will happen this time around remains to be seen, but it does seem likely that more interviews will result in slower processing times.
A bigger concern is that Green Card interviews will become mini (or not so mini) asylum interviews. If–as the Administration asserts–some applicants’ asylum cases are fraudulent, USCIS may revisit parts or all of an asylum claim at the Green Card interview. This is problematic for a number of reasons: asylum claims usually involve detailed stories, which are not always easy to remember, particularly with regards to dates, and applicants may not remember all the dates or details of their claim years after the initial asylum interview (and even more years after the events themselves). Also, for many applicants, discussing the harm they suffered is re-traumatizing, and so forcing people to relive difficult events can cause great harm.
The issue of identity can also be problematic for some asylees. USCIS generally wants a birth certificate issued at the time of birth. Many asylees and refugees do not have such a document and obtaining alternative evidence can be difficult, particularly from countries that are unstable or where the applicant fears the government.
In addition, it can be difficult to maintain consistency between the asylum form (I-589) and the Green Card form (I-485). Both forms contain many questions. Often these questions vary slightly from one form to the next and this can cause confusion. USCIS usually views inconsistent statements as misrepresentations, and so you have to be careful. I wrote about this issue here, but the bottom line is that you need to make sure your I-485 is consistent with your I-589 (and any other previously-filed forms), and if there are inconsistencies, you should be prepared to explain them. If you do not have it, you should request a copy of your USCIS file and your Immigration Court file.
Because it is just now going into effect, we don’t know how the new interview policy will look in practice. Presumably, we will see more and tougher Green Card interviews for asylees and refugees. But if you prepare your I-485 carefully, and review your asylum case and your I-485 before any interview, you will be better able to overcome whatever obstacles USCIS puts in your way.
Hi Jason, thank you for all your help. Filling out green card application and there is a question if you were ever detained/arrested. I was detained in my home country but there is no charges or any documentation available. Lawyers suggest to mark this question as ‘Yes’, but not provide additional details in the notes section as all the informations is in the case. What do you do in these kind of cases? Thank you in advance
My preference is to mark “yes,” circle the question, write “see cover letter,” and provide an explanation in the cover letter. If the incident was explained in your asylum case, you do not need a long explanation – I would just write that it was a political arrest (or whatever is correct) and that you explained this in your asylum application. As long as USCIS does not think you are trying to hide the incident, you should be fine. Take care, Jason
Hello Jason, thank you very much for your post and all you do to help this community. I wanted to ask you about form I-485, part 9, specifically questions 13 and 18. Is applying for asylum and WOR a basis of violating the terms and conditions of a nonimmigrant status? Also, is asylum and WOR considered applying for a protection from removal if asylum was granted?
I think there is not a clear answer to the first question, but generally we answer that “no” for our clients. If you are concerned, you can answer it however you think best, circle the answer, write “see cover letter,” and provide an explanation in the cover letter (basically that you are not sure whether you violated your status, but you filed for asylum after arriving, or whatever explanation you think is appropriate). As for the second question, applying for asylum and WOR are only applying for protection from removal when you are in immigration court (when the government is trying to remove you from the country). Otherwise, they are affirmative applications and not a defense to being removed. Take care, Jason
For question number 13, From your experience, which answer make the case more complicated. Because most asylum seekers, especially who came by airplane, have lied at some point to scape from harm.
I am not sure what that question says, sorry, but if you lied to get a visa, that does not generally block you from asylum, though you need to reveal it during the asylum process. If you have not done that, you definitely want to talk to a lawyer before filing the I-485. Take care, Jason
The ironic part is that when you are from one of these designated countries you already go through intense security background check. After 6 years of waiting for my individual hearing, when we went to the court the USCIS lawyer said the background check was not ready yet so they postponed the hearing for an extra 5 weeks. Even when you apply for a visa and you’re from one of these countries sometimes the background check takes for years, let alone applying for asylum.
I have seen that too. It is common for asylum applicants from majority Muslim countries to wait longer than applicants from non-Muslim countries. Take care, Jason
Hi Jason,
My wife and I filed separate asylum applications. I have already been granted asylum, while my wife attended her interview, but has been awaiting a decision for over five months. Since she is listed as my derivative, I would like clarification on the following:
1. Can I file a derivative petition for her even though her asylum decision is still pending?
2. My wife filed her asylum application after her visa had expired. If her case is denied, would I still be able to petition for her as my derivative?
Thank you for your time and assistance.
1 – I think she was probably not a dependent on your case. If she was, she would have attended your interview and received asylum at the same time as you. If your wife was listed on the asylum form and you were legally married at the time asylum was granted, you can file an I-730 for her. This has to be filed within two years of the date you received asylum, and you can file it even if her own case is pending. It is probably a good idea to do that, as she should be able to get asylum from you even if her own case is denied. 2 – You can file the I-730 even if her asylum case is denied, as long as you file it within 2 years of receiving asylum yourself. Take care, Jason
Hi Jason, thanks for your help on immigration issues.
My question is that what is the faith for people who has a traffic offence or police citation during interviews?
Would traffic offence affects people during the course of interview.
Thanks
I believe these days, it might be viewed as a negative discretionary factor. I do not think it would cause a case to be denied, but you need to tell them about any offenses and provide evidence that you paid any fine. Also, if you have done anything to help avoid such problems in the future (such as take a driving class), you can provide evidence of that. In addition, you might want to submit evidence of good moral character to help counter any negative effect of traffic issues. This can be letters from people who know you, proof that you paid taxes, evidence of volunteer work or anything else that helps show you are a good person. Again, I think if you do this, you should be ok. Take care, Jason
Hi Jason,
I would like to know, if my asylum clock stops because I missed the interview, can I renew my EAD? I already ?have an EAD. Also, is my current EAD still valid ?
Thank you
Once you get an EAD based on pending asylum, there is no effect if the clock stops. It is only a problem if you did not yet have 180 days on the clock, so you should be able to renew the EAD as normal. Take care, Jason
The newest country condition worries me because they paint some countries too nice.
Now, obviously we want to use last year’s…But what if the adjudicators challenge the recency of country condition report (“The recent country condition report improves, you are fine now, go home”). What would you say ?
I remember you mentioned before that they deliberately write the country condition report too well for some countries…to prevent people from those countries to obtain asylum…What should we do in this case ?
There are plenty of other sources of information, and I posted about that earlier today. Take care, Jason
It’s after all, a reduction of available resources.
If we are Okaying this one (“never mind, let’s just find something else”) I am concerned what kind of message we are sending to this administration…they are just going to be more aggressive. If there anyway to counteract such measure ?
Like for example, Texas republicans trying to redistrict, now democrats are trying to do that to. That’s a counteract.
Now they curtailed some available resources, should we develop some…new resources to counteract ? ( going to other available resources where we could always go regardless of country condition report is still a net loss for us)
While I agree with you that we should oppose the changes in the country reports, we also need to deal with the situation as it is. Hence, we need to rely on other more legitimate reports. Take care, Jason
Hi Jason, I recently heard about a case in CA where a person with a pending asylum case for 8+ years, and who entered the U.S. legally with tourist visa, was detained at home. Their tourist visa had expired long ago, but they had no criminal record (not even a traffic ticket). The justification for detention was that legal stay does not mean legal status. I’ve also heard similar cases about people who filed for marriage-based green cards and were detained under the same reasoning. I thought that having authorized legal stay meant you could remain in the country (without risk of random detention).
Could you help provide some context on this? What legal options does someone in this situation have? Can a request for stay of removal be submitted in these cases? (even if there is no order to deport).
The government has wide power to detain people, and so they can detain people with pending cases. In general, such people are eligible for release on bond with the Immigration Court. So while such people can be detained, they can usually get released relatively quickly. For that reason, such people are often not detained at all. Of course, these days, the government is treating people as cruelly as possible, and so it is not surprising that they are detaining non-criminals who are eligible for release, if only to scare and intimidate them and others. I have not heard about this type of detention happening on a wide scale, but I guess we will have to see how things go. Hopefully, because it is inefficient and a waste of resources, it will not become too common. Take care, Jason
That makes me feel a little better.
Hi Jason, thank you for response. I guess I’m trying to understand if legally ICE can detain people with pending cases – shouldn’t they have(provide) a justification for detention? Their website mentions that people can be detained ‘to ensure their presence for immigration proceedings, to facilitate removals to their countries of citizenship, and to protect public safety’, so if none of these apply – what is the basis of detention, and can people sue government for unlawful detention then?( do pending cases have a right?)
If a person is out of status, meaning they have no other status aside from a pending application, ICE could detain them and they could be placed in removal proceedings. Most such people would be eligible for release on bond. If a person has a lawful immigrant or non-immigrant status, there would be no basis to detain such a person. ICE would have to charge them as removable, and absent that, I do not see why they would be detained. Take care, Jason
Hi Jason,
Thank you for the explanation. What happens to the bond after the person is released? Does it stay with the government, or is it returned once the individual obtains legal status?
I would appreciate your clarification.
There is a process to get the bond money back, whether you leave the US or whether you win your case and remain in the US. The process is not so easy, but it is possible to get the money back. Take care, Jason
Dear Jason, I hope you are doing well. I wanted to seek your advice on a critical development in our case. Our assigned immigration judge in New York was removed from the court in April (appointed last year during the Biden administration and fired by Trump administration), and our May hearing date was suddenly postponed by two years. Since then, no judge has been reassigned to our case. Despite our attorney leaving two Motion to advanced the Case requests, each was referred back to an overburdened court judge who despite my submitted medical documentation denied both requests. Given that we filed for asylum in 2016, were referred to court in 2021, and have already waited four years for a hearing, this indefinite delay is extremely concerning.
Could you please advise on:
1. Effective ways to compel or strongly encourage the court to assign a judge to our case.
2. Whether contacting my local congressional representative could have a meaningful impact.
3. Any additional legal or procedural strategies you recommend to accelerate at least the judge assignment process.
Your insight on all potential options would mean a great deal to us at this stage. Thank you for your time and expertise. Best regards, Roxana
1 – It sounds like you are doing what you can. You can always ask again if you have new, stronger evidence for a reason to expedite. Also, maybe it is possible to file a mandamus lawsuit to force the court to give you a sooner date, but I have not heard about people doing that and I do not know whether it is possible. You can talk to a mandamus lawyer to ask about that. 2 – There is no harm, but I do not think they will be able to help. I guess you never know, and so you can try contacting the Congress office to see what they say. 3 – You could move to another jurisdiction where cases might move more quickly. That is a risk, since it is not very predictable how fast a case will go or which judge will be assigned. Also, I did a post about expediting cases in court on April 20, 2017. I am not sure it will help much, but maybe it will give you some ideas. Take care, Jason
Dear Jason,
Recently, I read a message on your website from one of your subscribers about the “Notice of Intent to Deny,” along with your response to it, but I couldn’t find your reply to this message. I am currently waiting for my interview and very interested in knowing whether it is truly possible to contest a negative decision, whether a “Notice of Intent to Deny” is always sent before the final “Decision Notice,” and what I can do if I receive either a “Notice of Intent to Deny” or a negative “Decision Notice” to keep my case in USCIS as long as possible instead of being transferred to immigration court.
I would also like to know how long these two processes (after Notice of Intent to Deny or Decision Notice) usually take nowadays, and where my case currently stands during this time, in USCIS or immigration court.
Thank you very much for your help!
I wrote about the Notice of Intent to Deny (NOID) on February 21, 2018. The only people who receive that are people who are in lawful status at the time of the decision. And so if your status has expired, the case will be referred to court. If you do get a NOID, you have 16 days to respond and convince them to grant your case. Once they get your response, the wait time is unpredictable, but usually not too long. Most cases where they issue a NOID end up being denied, but in some cases, it is possible to get them to change their mind, and so if you get a NOID, it is usually worthwhile to try to respond. Take care, Jason
Hello jason, i came in with B2 visa after which i applied for change of status to F1 and was denied, at that point i have already overstayed my visa and almost over a year which make it difficult for me to apply for asylum ,my partner came into the country like a year and 4 months after my arrival and filed for asylum and included me as a dependent, and we get our asylum approved and went ahead to get our green card almost 4 years ago, My Question : can any of these situation affect my naturalization application process. Thanks for your quick response.
Based on what you write, I do not see how this would affect your naturalization. Unless there is some sort of criminal issue or a prior removal order, the mere fact that you had an overstay prior to receiving asylum (as a dependent) should have no effect on a citizenship case. Take care, Jason
Hi Jason,
If someone files for change of status (COS) from B2 to F1 visa while their B status is valid and the application gets denied and they file for asylum later, would them applying for COS denial affect their asylum case?
I doubt there would an effect, as long as they filed timely for asylum (within one year of arrival) and there are no inconsistencies between the COS documents (the I-539 form) and the asylum application. Take care, Jason
Can you please clarify what you mean by inconsistencies? Is applying for nonimmigrant status and requesting asylum as an alternative pathway considered inconsistent?
I mean that the info on the different forms should be consistent, so if you have listed your addresses, for example, that should be the same for all forms. I do not know that it is necessarily inconsistent to apply for a non-immigrant status and then later apply for asylum, which is permanent. Basically, all affirmative asylum seekers do that. I do think you should be able to explain why you applied for an F-1, why it was denied, and why you later filed for asylum, in case you are asked about this. Depending on the timing of events and the facts of the case, I guess it is possible that USCIS will view some of this as inconsistent. I doubt it would be a major issue, but you should still be able to explain if asked. Take care, Jason
Hello Mr Jason greeting sir, I had my final court hearing on November 2025. Am in Virginia and I had try to reach out to you through your number but no response so please how can I reach you for help.please I really wish you handle my case.
The best way is to call to arrange a consultation: 703-952-3275. They will collect some info and schedule a consult, which is the first step toward hiring us for a case. Thank you, Jason
Hi Jason,
I have a green card granted through approved asylum. Am I allowed to travel to any country other than the one I originally came from? Have you heard of any cases where someone in this situation faced deportation?
I have no criminal offenses except for a resolved traffic ticket.
Thank you,
I also have similar questions.
I am not very worried about re-entry as long as I am able to make it to the port of entry.
I don’t plant to renew my passport. But I am worried that so many countries will deny my entry simply because I only have a Us re-entry document…
In addition, many countries have extradition agreement with my former country…I am worried that the countries I will be traveling to send me back…
As long as you do not return to the country where you fear persecution, you should be ok. Also, it is better to travel with a Refugee Travel Document and not your passport. I wrote more about that on May 25, 2022. Take care, Jason
Hi Jason.
I was in removal proceedings when my spouse filed an I130 for me. We sent a signed letter from my spouse with the I130 to describe our life as a married couple and the love between us. No formal title/form of 204(g) but inside I-130 we mentioned my removal proceedings.
The application was approved without an interview. Then termination of removal was granted. Is everything good moving forward ?
If you have an approved I-130 and are not in removal proceedings, you should be eligible to adjust status (get your GC inside the US), as long as you entered lawfully, have not other immigration bars, and no criminal bars. If you are not sure, talk to a lawyer, but presumably, the court closed the case because the judge thought you were eligible to adjust status, and so hopefully, that is the case. Take care, Jason
Bona fide marriage. No unlawful entry. No fraud. No misrepresentation.
So the approved I 130 during removal proceedings without the exemption title formality won’t cause any issues in future when it is revisited?
If the I-130 is approved, and the person is eligible to adjust status, the fact that the person is in removal proceedings would have no effect on the approved I-130 and the person can either adjust status with USCIS or in court. Take care, Jason
Hello Jason,
I filed my EAD renewal application (pending asylum C8) in September 2024. It is still pending, whereas the processing time is 8 months for this category per the USCIS website. It is frustrating, although I have the 540-day notice. Do you or others in this blog have the same experience? Thank you.
It does seem like things have slowed down for EADs. Unfortunately, there is little you can do about it during the 540-day extension, and hopefully, you will get the new card soon. On the processing time web page (at http://www.uscis.gov), you can scroll down and enter your filing date, and the system will tell you whether you can make an online inquiry. That might be worth a look. Take care, Jason
Hi my friend we filed for our EAD renewal Dec 2024 still waiting for it.
Thank you Jason and Suli. I hope they process applications faster. god bless
Hi all,
Can you please give timeline for green card processing these days, location and if from a banned country, want to see how many are getting accepted. I can start :
Applied July 2024 for green card
Location: Arlington VA
Yes I am from a banned country
Thanks would really appreciate it!
We have been seeing most asylee GCs take 1 or 2 years. With the new policy for interviews, maybe it will be slower (or maybe it will be faster since the “pause” seems to be ended). In short, I think it is not very predictable. Take care, Jason
Hi Jason
My asylum have been approved couple months ago – its been 8 month i filed i -730 for my wife and 3 child who are in Turkey .still pending,
Could you please till if i 730 is not impacted by Trump administrators-
Im originally from Afghanistan and i admitted here as a parole- then applied for asylum.?
I have not done a case since the travel ban went into effect, but as I read the travel ban, it does not block I-730 people and does not affect asylees or the ability to get asylum, so I think they should be able to come here. The processing times are slow, and so the waiting time is “normal.” You might try to expedite if you have a reason. I wrote about expediting in general on January 29, 2020. Take care, Jason
Hi Jason,
In early 2023, I became a naturalized U.S. citizen after being granted asylum. My asylum interview in 2014 was denied, but I later won my case in NYC immigration court in 2016 and received my green card in 2018. I’ve been reading about the current administration’s efforts to denaturalize some naturalized citizens, and I’m concerned about whether I should be worried in my situation.
Should I be concerned, and what documents or preparation should I have in place in case of the worst-case scenario?
If I were to receive a notice to appear in immigration court, I currently live in a conservative state under the jurisdiction of a conservative immigration court. Since I originally won my asylum case in NYC, would it make sense to move back to New York to potentially improve my chances?
Your advice will be greatly appreciated!
I think it is very unlikely you would have an issue, and at this point, I have not heard about anyone in your situation having their citizenship case questioned. The process to de-naturalize a person is very difficult and would normally require a case in federal court (as opposed to Immigration Court). It would not hurt to have a copy of your file. If you do not have that, you can get it by following the links under Resources called FOIA EOIR (for the court case) and FOIA USCIS (for the asylum office, green card, and citizenship cases). However, I would not recommend moving to a new location just because of this issue. If you see on the news that many citizenship cases are being reopened, maybe then would be time to take action, but at this stage, I do not see any reason to take any action, as you should be fine. Take care, Jason
Thank you so much Jason! Thank you for everything that you do!
Hello
My family I 730 is approved and sent to the embassy ,they live as asylum seekers in thirdcountry, it’s time for them to go for interview at the embassy in that country. They are unable to get passport from our country of persecution, we are in a situation we can’t even wish to get our government agent to know where we are.
The embassy requires my family to go for embassy with a valid passport which we can’t get.
We are stuck , what other alternative for them to get a travel document. Have you had such case where there is no possibility of beneficiary of i 730 to get passport.
What can we do in this situation ?
I believe there is a way to process the I-730 when the family member does not have a passport. There is some info about that on a USCIS website here: http://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/questions-and-answers/FormI-730RefugeeAsyleeFollowing-to-JoinNationalStakeholderEngagementQuestionsandAnswers.pdf (on page 3, Question 7). I have not done it myself, and I think it would be helpful to have a lawyer assist you to figure out the best way to do this, but it should be possible. Take care, Jason
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Hi Jason,
I read your post about changing offices once you move.
I already have my EAD, and now I’m on the West Coast after moving from upstate New York (Newark Asylum Office) to Nevada.
My question is this:
Is it possible to keep my asylum office in Newark (as I have people there who are familiar with my case) while living in Nevada?
I haven’t “officially” moved yet and I’m still subject to NY taxes, so I would like to change my residency to Nevada but hopefully keep my case in Newark.
Thank you.
You can keep your mailing address in NY and update your physical address to Nevada. Maybe that would work, but generally, if you move to a new location, the case will move as well. If you do not update your address, and you go to an interview in the old location, the asylum officers tend to not like that. Sometimes, they reschedule the case to the new office; other times, they do the interview. According to the Asylum Officer Manual, they can do the interview at any office, even if you no longer live there, but the officers generally do not like that. Also, if you do not update your address and they think you are lying about the address to choose a particular asylum office, that could have a negative effect on the case. So maybe the best bet is to keep a mailing address in NY, but let them know about the new physical address, and hope they do not move the case to Nevada (though most NV cases are interviewed by the San Francisco asylum office, which is generally a very good office). Take care, Jason
Thanks for the reply, Jason.
I do have a follow-up question though: you said most NV cases are interviewed by the San Francisco? Is that true even if my zip code (using the Asylum Office Locator page) falls under the Los Angeles Asylum Office Jurisdiction?
Much of Las Vegas falls under their jurisdiction.
Sorry about that. In that case, the interview would be in LA, as it depends on your zip code. Take care, Jason
Hi Jason,
I hope you are doing well. I recently had my interview which was very unfair since the beginning. The officer did not give me any chance to explain myself. And they only asked closed questions with no allowance for explanation. Therefore, they did not get my full story. Neither they did read my personal statement with full comprehension.
Now they’re sending me an NOID for what I understood that they couldn’t understand my case, and they did not read my supplemental evidences. They’re basically telling me that the government is not systematically targeting us as a minority, despite providing them with dozens of evidence.
My question to you now I have to respond to this letter, my lawyer is asking me for $2500 to respond to the letter? And from what I understand that this kind of letter is near impossible to overturn return specially if it got refused by the same officer whose I believe have an prejudice against my race? Worth noting of the day of the interview I complained to the supervisor, I’ve sent an email to reconsider interview in the same day?
I feel all of the above will make responding to know it is worthless, what is my other options after NOID??
Best
To be honest, I am afraid I may also encounter such an officer.
It’s easier to win at asylum office. But if your officer doesn’t like you. They can easily make your life ten times harder by sending you to immigration court…
At this point, in terms of the asylum case, I think you have to respond to the NOID. Whether you do that yourself or use the lawyer, you should respond. Whether you should include your complaints about the officer in the NOID response itself, I do not know, but that may make sense. I do think it is possible to succeed when responding to a NOID, but it really depends on the case, and if this officer is prejudiced against you, or simply incompetent, it may be harder to succeed. It sounds like you have already tried reaching out to a supervisor, though I know it is not easy to get their attention. It may be worth to keep trying to reach the supervisor. Otherwise, since it seems you are still in status, maybe after you deal with the NOID, you will want to explore other options – maybe obtaining a work visa or a green card based on employment or family. If you have not done so, it might be worth reviewing the options with a lawyer. If nothing else works, you can re-apply for asylum if the current case is denied. Take care, Jason
Hello Sir Jason,
I am a keen follower of your page and appreciate what you do. My Asylum has been pending since 2019 with USCIS. I am from Nepal.I have been so depressed. I have a Bachelor’s Degree from my country and over 12 years experience. With a pending Asylum Application do you think I am eligible for an EB2 visa or the national Interest Waiver? Please do let me know what my options are
I do not know whether you would qualify for an EB-2/NIW, but maybe. Also, even if you did not qualify for that, I would guess you would qualify for some other types of employment-based visas. If so, you could potentially get a green card based on that. Most likely, you would need to leave the US to get the GC overseas. Whether that would work depends on different factors, including whether you spent 6 or more months in the US out of status and whether you initially entered with a visa. If you have TPS or some other status, maybe you could get the GC inside the US. I wrote about these issues on August 28, 2018 and September 6, 2018, and maybe those would help, but you should talk with a lawyer about your specific situation to see what can be done. Take care, Jason
I am a green card holder based on approved asylum, about 8 years ago my brother filed an I130 for me.
This immigration petition is no longer needed, please do you advise we withdraw the application and how do we go about the withdrawer process.Thank you.
There is really no need to do that, as the pending case should have no effect on you or your brother, but if your brother wants to withdraw the petition, he can send a letter with a copy of the I-130 receipt to USCIS and ask them to close the case (use the last address that sent him mail). Since your brother filed the case, he is the one who has the authority to close the case. Take care, Jason
Hi Jason,
I don’t believe this interview criteria is new. During the Obama administration, I was an asylum seeker and was called for an interview even after being interviewed by an asylum officer. Later, after my denial, I had two individual hearings with an immigration judge. I’m not sure what triggered the interview, but I was worried and took a lawyer along. However, the so-called interview was barely five minutes long. They swore me in, rapidly asked me biographical and other “have you ever” questions from a form, and informed me that my green card was approved. It didn’t seem like a fraud-detection interview, which I was concerned about.
It was always the case that some GC applicants would get interviews, and the criteria in the new memo are not particularly surprising, so maybe it is not really new. I expect the implementation will be more rigorous than in the past, but we will have to see how things go. Take care, Jason
Hi Jason,
I am Syrian and a green card holder based on asylum. I applied for RTD last year to travel back and forth to Mexico for study purposes. I had to use my Syrian passport and the Green card to go back and forth as I would have lost my chance to pursue the study program if I waited for the RTD. I was 90% of my time in Mexico for this purpose during the past 12 months. In the RTD application, I explained why I have a Syrian passport. I applied for the RTD when I was in the US between gaps in my travels to Mexico. USCIS sent RFE (Request for Evidence) asking that their records indicate that I MIGHT have been outside the US when I filed my application. I have no proof but the airflight tickets that I used to travel before and after the filing date; which I am planning to send.
1- Is this enough?
2- Do I need to send them the full travel records for the last 12 months?; which is too much, as I am traveling back and forth a lot. Or only the two records before and after the filing date?
3- Do I need to explain the purpose of the travels?
4- Will this cause any legal implications on my current Green Card, future naturalization, or any other issue?
1 – It should be, but also provide a written explanation explaining your travel and maybe listing each date of departure and arrival in the US. 2- It depends what they asked for. If they only asked for evidence that you filed the I-131 while in the US, then the tickets should be enough. Of course, if you have stamps in your passport, that would also help. 3 – Unless they asked about that, I do not see why you would need to. 4 – If you spend too much time outside the US, the US might consider your GC abandoned. Typically, if you return to the US frequently, this is not an issue, but now the government is getting nastier, and so you may want to talk to a lawyer about the travel to think about how best you can avoid this problem. Also, being absent from the US will likely delay your ability to naturalize. I think in this case, you might want to talk to a lawyer just to go over the specifics of your case and make sure you know how best to preserve the GC and to know about eligibility for citizenship. Take care, Jason
Thank you, Jason,
I’m just curious, why does USCIS indicate that I might have been outside the U.S. when I applied for the RTD? They should have a log of all my travel incidents, for both departing and arriving, right? They scan my green card each time I leave or return to the country.
I don’t think they always know as much as we think they know. Also, it is your burden to show that you were in the US, and so they are asking you to do that. I guess it saves them the trouble of figuring it out. I doubt there is anything problematic about the request and so hopefully, you can just provide them with the evidence they need. Take care, Jason
Hi Jason,
I’m writing on behalf of a friend who came to the U.S. with her husband on an F-2 visa. They are no longer together, but they never officially divorced and there is no legal documentation confirming their separation. Their marriage also did not take place in the U.S.—only in their home country.
She is now considering applying for asylum. Her concern is whether her application could affect her ex-husband in any way, given their past F-2 status.
Additionally, her situation has become increasingly dangerous. She is a member of an organization whose house was recently raided by the government. Most of the organization’s top leaders have been arrested, and some have been killed.
However, she has been in the U.S. for more than one year. Would she still be eligible to apply for asylum? And is it absolutely necessary for her to hire a lawyer, given that she cannot afford one? What are chances of getting her case approved if she is filing after a year, assuming she can without a lawyer? Any general suggestion would be great.
Thank you for everything you do!
If she is still in lawful F-2 status, then that can be an exception to the one year rule. There are other exceptions, and it is very important that she try to find one; otherwise, asylum will be denied as filed too late. I wrote more about this on January 18, 2018. Otherwise, she just needs to prepare the case as best as she can and gather as much evidence as possible about her membership in the group and how the group is now being persecuted (if the persecution is new, that might be “changed circumstances,” which is another exception to the one-year filing bar). A lawyer can obviously help her, but many people file without a lawyer and if she is careful about preparing her case and getting evidence, and dealing with the one-year bar and any other issues, she should have a decent chance for success. As for her husband, I do not see how filing her own case would harm him, but I guess it depends on what she says in the case (for example, if she says he has tried to harm her). Take care, Jason
Thank you. Is there a seperate document that she has to fill out to ask for the excception or she could do that in the cover letter stating the reasons for why she is applying for asylum now?
I feel like ” changed circumstances” would be right thing for her. But I wonder how does the F2 exception work?
If she can show that she was in valid F-2 status for the whole time before she filed for asylum, that would be an exception to the one-year filing rule. She can show that by showing she was still legally married to the husband and that he was a full time student the whole time (so submitting his transcripts, diplomas, DS-20 forms, OPT work permit, etc). For changed circumstances, the asylum must be filed within a “reasonable period of time” of the change, and that usually means a month or two, but it is not really defined. I think the article I referenced gives more info on that. It may also be worthwhile to at least do a consultation with a lawyer, who can look at the specifics and hopefully give some guidance, even if the lawyer is not hired for the case. Take care, Jason
Hi Jason,
Thank you for your great community service and professional guidance. I am wondering how I can best prepare for my first USCIS interview as an affirmative applicant. I submitted my application in 2017 from NY. Do you have any articles or mock tests to help with preparation? Also, would it be a good idea to bring my family, including my 2-year-old toddler, to the interview?
Thanks
I wrote about the interview on September 8, 2016, and that might help. In terms of who to bring, anyone who is a dependent on the case must attend, but if your family members are not dependents on the case, it is better to not bring them, especially small children, since they can be distracting. Take care, Jason
Hi Jason, I have asylum granted about a month ago. Do I have to wait one whole year to submit greencard application or I can submit now and wait my queue?
I have been recommending waiting 6 months. I wrote about that on February 6, 2023 and explained the reasoning. I still think that is ok. I am not sure I would apply any earlier than that, as you have to have at least one full year inside the US after asylum is granted in order for USCIS to approve the GC. If they adjudicate the case before one year, they might deny the GC application and you will need to start over again. Take care, Jason
Hi Jason. Thanks for sharing this. We just got an update on our asylum based I-485 that says: “Case is ready to be scheduled for an interview”. Do you know what this means? We don’t meet any of the criteria above for the interview, meaning that it should be waived. Why would they call us? Can they still waive it despite of the update we got? How long could it take to move to next step? Thanks!
I do not know that this message necessarily means you will have an interview, but you could. I also think they will be interviewing many I-485 cases, whether they seemingly meet the listed criteria or not. Also, you would not necessarily know whether your case meets the listed criteria, as USCIS may have questions about your identity or something else, and you would not always know that. If they schedule you for an interview, I think you should just review your applications, including your asylum case, so you are ready to answer any questions. And if you notice any inconsistencies or errors, it is best to tell USCIS about those in advance and explain what happened (but talk to a lawyer if you find such problems, as you want to be careful about that). Take care, Jason
Hello Tina,
Would you mind sharing your timeline? Mine has been pending for over two years but with no update. I would greatly appreciate it if you could share your timeline and the office having jurisdiction over your case please? Thank you.