The Double Marginalization of LGBTQ Asylum Seekers

by Jason Dzubow

This post is by the good folks at AsylumConnect, a web resource for LGBTQ asylum seekers.

There are still 70 countries, mostly in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia, where homosexual activity between consenting adults is illegal, according to the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association’s latest State-sponsored Homophobia report. There are also currently six countries in which homosexuality is punishable by death.

According to Amnesty International, even in countries where homosexuality has been decriminalized, LGBTQ people can still face violence, arbitrary arrest, imprisonment and torture. An estimated 400 million LGBTQ people continue to face the risk of criminal imprisonment due to their LGBTQ identity.

As a result, every year, millions of people flee their home countries due to persecution based on their sexual orientation or gender identity (an estimated 5% of U.S. asylum claims are based on persecution of sexual orientation or gender identity, which suggests there are over 40,000 currently pending LGBTQ asylum cases in the United States).

AsylumConnect is a great organization. And it has a cool logo.

After fleeing violence, imprisonment, and death threats in their home countries, LGBTQ asylum seekers arrive in the U.S. in pursuit of a better life. However, many LGBTQ asylum seekers are traumatized when–nearly as soon as they arrive on U.S. soil–they are thrown into immigration detention facilities that replicate the very persecution they sacrificed so much to escape. LGBTQ asylum seekers, especially trans and gender non-conforming asylum seekers, are routinely targeted in ICE detention. For example, trans asylum seekers in detention are often denied access to hormones and gender-appropriate clothing, and some are physically and sexually assaulted.  

The psychological and physical trauma endured by LGBTQ asylum seekers at the hands of their own government and families makes them especially vulnerable when they arrive in the United States. In addition to facing challenges as asylum seekers, LGBTQ asylum seekers face unique obstacles due to their LGBTQ identity:

  • An estimated 44 percent of LGBTQ refugees suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) when they arrive in the United States.
  • LGBTQ asylum seekers may be forced to “prove” their sexual orientation and/or gender identity to an asylum officer or immigration judge. Many are forced to face gendered stereotypes when dealing with those who are not properly trained in processing LGBTQ/SOGI (sexual orientation and gender identity) claims.
  • After experiencing severe levels of transphobia and homophobia in their home countries, many LGBTQ asylum seekers fear the organizations that they go to for help in the U.S. will also discriminate against them based on their LGBTQ identity. Once in the U.S., LGBTQ asylum seekers must find services that are both immigrant-friendly and LGBTQ-friendly during the lengthy asylum process.

While organizations that help LGBTQ asylum seekers do exist in this country (such as LGBTQ centers and verified LGBTQ-friendly immigration services), information on where to find these resources is difficult to access.

In 2014, a lesbian American and a gay asylum seeker co-founded AsylumConnect to fill this information gap. AsylumConnect is a nonprofit organization providing the  first and only resource website and app designed for LGBTQ asylum. The AsylumConnect catalog currently helps LGBTQ asylum seekers find verified safe resources during the U.S. asylum process. LGBTQ asylum seekers can use AsylumConnect as a one-stop-shop to meet their needs in all aspects of their lives, including where it is safe to go for help with housing, hygiene and clothing, legal assistance, food, medical care, mental health treatment, community support, translation, transportation, education, and employment. Nonprofits and attorneys can also use AsylumConnect to easily gather verified resource referrals for their LGBTQ clients.

There should never be a moment when someone does not know where it is safe to go for help due to their LGBTQ identity or immigration status.  

For more information, visit AsylumConnect.org. You can also make a tax-deductible donation to AsylumConnect to help persecuted LGBTQ people find safety.

Continue reading

123 Comments

The Jewish Holocaust Deniers

by Jason Dzubow

President Trump recently spoke to the Republican Jewish Coalition in Las Vegas. The speech was vintage Trump: Lies, distortions, middle-school insults. Frankly, it’s no longer news worthy or even interesting. But what’s different here is the audience. They were Jews. And for me, as a Jewish attorney who represents asylum seekers, their reaction to the President’s comments were horrifying:

The President says our nation’s asylum program is “a scam” and claims that asylum seekers are “some of the roughest people you’ve ever seen–people that look like they should be fighting for the UFC.” The crowd laughs.

“They read a little page given by lawyers that are all over the place,” the President continued. “You know lawyers, they tell them what to say.” Imitating one of these allegedly-coached asylum seekers, the President deadpans, “I am very fearful for my life [and] very worried that I will be accosted if I am sent back home!” More laughter.

“No, no, he’ll do the accosting,” retorts the President. Laughter, applause.

Mr. Trump went on to mock those who support our asylum system: “Oh, give him asylum,” the President whined in the persona of one of these bleeding hearts, “He’s afraid, he’s afraid!” “We don’t love the fact that he’s got tattoos on his face–that’s not a good sign [and] we don’t love the fact that he’s carrying the flag of Honduras or Guatemala or El Salvador, only to say he’s petrified to be in his country.” More laughter and applause.

“To confront this border crisis,” Mr. Trump concluded, “I declared a national emergency.” Loud cheering.

Jews yucking it up, as the President denigrates and slanders people who are fleeing for their lives. To me, this is the ultimate in Holocaust denial.

Passover is a good time to decide: Are we the Egyptians or the Israelites?

Of course, these deniers are nothing like the anti-Semitic buffoons who claim the Holocaust was a hoax. The denialism of this group of Jews is much more profound and insidious than that of “traditional” deniers. That’s because this group knows better. And because they are Jewish.

They know that the Holocaust happened; that the Nazis and their allies murdered six million Jews and five million other “undesirables.” They know too that the international community largely turned its back on refugees fleeing Nazism. The Jews in Las Vegas likely celebrate Oskar Schindler and other “righteous gentiles” who rescued Jews during the War. They lament the tale of the St. Louis–a ship carrying hundreds of Jewish refugees that was denied entry into the U.S. and forced to return to Europe, where many of the passengers perished in death camps.

Indeed, the story of the St. Louis is just one episode in our country’s shameful response to Nazism. We enforced and over-enforced visa quotas to prevent Jews from finding safety in the United States. This response was fueled by lies and half-truths: The Jews fleeing Germany were enemy aliens, they were spies and Communists, Jews and other southern and eastern Europeans were inferior to Northerners, the Jewish refugees brought disease, they would take American jobs.

And of course, blatant anti-Semitism also helped shape American attitudes towards Jewish refugees. Witness the words of Charles Lindbergh at an “America First” rally in the autumn of 1941: “Leaders of the Jewish race are not American in interests and viewpoints,” he declared. There were three groups pressing the U.S. towards war, Lindbergh continued, “the British, the Jewish, and the Roosevelt Administration.” In other words, the Jews were a threat to the United States. Certainly, we should not be admitting more of them into our country.

Luckily, not all Jews were kept out. My wife’s grandfather was released from a concentration camp after he secured a U.S. visa. If not for that visa, his children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren (including my wife and children) would never have been born. Three generations of Jews exist today because some unknown consular official issued a visa, and saved a life.

On a grander scale, the magnitude of the Holocaust, and the world’s indifferent response, led to the creation of international laws protecting refugees. Our own country’s asylum system derives directly from our commitment to “never again” sit idly by as innocent people are slaughtered on account of their religion, race, political opinion or ethnic group. In that sense, the sacrifice of the Six Million was not in vain. Their deaths helped galvanize the world to try–however imperfectly–to prevent future Holocausts.

Despite this history, the Jewish audience in Las Vegas laughed and cheered to affirm President Trump’s false statements about asylum seekers. Perhaps by pretending that today’s refugees are a threat to our country, or that they are mere economic migrants, the Las Vegas Jews hope to avoid the burden of history and the burden of Passover–to welcome the stranger and to comfort the widow and the orphan. These Jews should know better. When they mock desperate men, women, and children who have come to our country seeking protection, they mirror those who mocked us in our hour of need. In so doing, they dishonor the memory of our martyrs and–in the most fundamental way–they deny the lessons and sacrifices of the Holocaust.

Continue reading

168 Comments

My Attorney Sucks. Now What?

by Jason Dzubow

It’s not always easy to find a decent immigration lawyer, especially for people who are new to the country, who don’t speak much English, and who don’t really know what to expect from an attorney. What do you do if you’ve hired an attorney and have now lost confidence in him?

Before you take action, you should think carefully about whether the attorney really is failing at her job. Attorneys are busy, and we are not always as responsive to our clients as we might be. We also have to prioritize our cases based on government deadlines, and so some clients’ cases get put on the back burner until we can work on them. In addition, clients often make “small” requests that are not so easy to accommodate: Can you write a letter about my status for my job, school or landlord? Can you help me with the DMV or with the Social Security Office? Lawyers may not have the time or expertise to assist with all such requests, and they may charge extra for tasks that are outside the contract. Aside from all this, the asylum system is a mess. Cases move slowly or not at all, cases get lost, the government makes mistakes. Much of this is outside the attorney’s control, and so blaming a lawyer for systematic failures is not fair. In short, be aware that lawyers often can’t give you everything you want, when you want it, and that there is much that is outside our control.

You should probably fire your lawyer if (a) he’s a nut; (b) he’s Rudy Giuliani; or (c) he’s all of the above.

That said, lawyers are required to communicate in a timely manner with our clients. We are required to be honest with them (and with the government). We are required to do our work competently and on-time. These are requirements of the bar association–they are not optional. If we fail to fulfill these duties, we can rightly be punished. If a lawyer never gets back to you or fails to keep you updated about the case, if he changes the terms of the contract after you’ve signed it, or if he is dishonest with you or with the government, that is a problem. If the lawyer is unprepared for a hearing in court or at the Asylum Office, or if the quality of the lawyer’s work is poor, that is also a problem. If the lawyer refuses to give you a copy of the case to review before it is filed, or a copy of the case after it is filed, that is a problem too.

So let’s say your lawyer really is failing you, what can you do?

First, you may want to talk to the lawyer to explain your concerns. It would probably also be a good idea to put your concerns in writing (maybe in an email). If you are calling your lawyer, and he is not responding, keep notes about the dates and times you called. If the lawyer tells you something orally, write it down and email it to the lawyer to confirm that this is what he said. In other words, document all your interactions (or attempted interactions) with the lawyer. When a lawyer knows he is being watched carefully, he is more likely to behave properly.

Second, get a copy of your complete file from your attorney. Lawyers are required–again, this is not optional–to give our clients a copy of the complete file. Even if you owe the lawyer money, she is required to give you a copy of the file. She cannot “hold your file hostage” until you pay any outstanding fees. Lawyers–including me–don’t love this rule, as it seems unfair to give a client her file when she owes us money. Nevertheless, it is the rule, and lawyers who fail to turn over a file can face discipline (we can, however, charge a reasonable copying fee for the file). If the lawyer refuses to give you the file, you can report that lawyer to the bar association (see below).

Third, find another attorney to review your case and evaluate whether you are receiving proper representation. Lawyers love nothing better than to dis the work of our fellow lawyers–it is one of our guilty pleasures. Hopefully, a second opinion can clarify whether your current attorney is doing her job, or whether it is time to find someone new.

If you do switch attorneys, you will need to get a copy of your complete file from attorney #1, so you can give it to attorney #2. The new lawyer should be able to assist with this if necessary. Also, it is a good idea to get a copy of the file from the government, especially if you do not trust attorney #1 to give you everything that he submitted.

Also, you may be entitled to a partial refund from attorney #1, depending on the contract and on how much work the lawyer has already done for you. Some attorney contracts are “hourly,” meaning you pay for each hour (or minute) the attorney spends on your case. For such contracts, you usually submit a retainer (a lump sum payment) that the attorney “draws down” when he works on the case. So if the attorney charges $200 per hour, and works on your case for four hours, your bill is $800. If you gave that attorney a $1,500 retainer, you would be entitled to a refund of $700, which represents the “unearned” portion of the retainer fee.

Most immigration attorneys I know, including me, have “flat fee” contracts, which means that you pay a certain fee for the case. So for example, we might charge $4,000 for an affirmative asylum case. Even in flat fee contracts, however, we have to account for our time. This means if a client pays me $4,000 for a flat-fee case, and then fires me before I complete the case, the client would be entitled to a refund of unearned fees. My flat-fee contract indicates that my time is billed at $300 per hour, meaning if I worked for five hours on the case, I would get to keep $1,500 and I would have to refund the remaining $2,500.

If you fire your attorney, you can ask for an accounting of her time and a refund of unearned fees. This means, she would have to tell you about each task she worked on and how long it took. This accounting is not optional; it is required. And if the accounting seems suspicious (why did it take you three hours to write an email?), you can challenge it.

In practical terms, it is usually not so easy to get a refund, and most attorneys can justify their fees. Often, it is easier for the client to just move on. However, if you feel you were ripped off, you can and probably should pursue a refund.

Further, if your attorney was dishonest, or damaged your case, or failed to properly account for her fees, you can file a bar complaint against her. Bar complaints are also sometimes required to reopen a closed case. What is a bar complaint? All attorneys must be members of a bar association. This is an organization that monitors attorney conduct and provides training and services for lawyers and the public. Each state has its own bar association. The attorney’s contract, letterhead, website, and business card should all list which state bar association(s) he belongs to (hint: if an attorney does not make this information available, he is best avoided). If you Google “bar association” + the state, you should find the bar association website, which should have information about making a bar complaint. Once the complaint is filed, the bar association should investigate the attorney’s conduct (some bar associations are better about this than others) and, if appropriate, punish the lawyer. This punishment can range from an “admonishment” (basically, a public statement that most lawyers would find embarrassing) to disbarment, wherein the lawyer would no longer be able to practice law. 

Of course, most attorneys would rather avoid having to deal with a bar complaint, so we try to follow the rules. If your lawyer is doing something wrong–not giving you your file, for example–the threat of a bar complaint might cause her to shape up.

So there you have it. In some ways, lawyers have more power than their clients, particularly immigrant clients, who tend to be less familiar with “the system” than native-born people. But clients are not powerless. You should not feel trapped in an attorney-client relationship that is not working. If your lawyer sucks, take action. Fire him. Move on. These cases are important and often life-changing. Don’t let a bad lawyer destroy your opportunity to remain in the United States.

Continue reading

112 Comments

For Asylum Seekers, Filing On Time Is (Almost) Half the Battle

by Jason Dzubow

If you look at the most recent statistics from the Asylum Division, the likelihood of receiving asylum affirmatively is only about 27%, nation-wide. However, if you remove people from the mix who filed late, or who failed to appear for their interviews, the situation is better: Nearly half of such cases (49%) were approved.

The obvious lesson here is this: If you want to win asylum, file your application within one year of arriving in the United States and show up for your interview.

That’s the nation-wide picture, but when we look at data for the various Asylum Offices, things become less clear. Different Asylum Offices have very different denial rates for one-year bar cases (asylum seekers are required to file for asylum within one year of arriving in the United States or to meet an exception to the one-year rule; otherwise, they are barred from receiving asylum). The table below shows the likelihood that a particular Asylum Office will deny (or more politely, “refer”) an application for failure to timely file (the chart excludes cases where the applicant failed to appear for an interview):

Asylum Office Percentage of Cases Referred to Court for Failing to File Within One Year of Arrival
Arlington 34.2%
Boston 52.9%
Chicago 13.2%
Houston 13.8%
Los Angeles 16.8%
Miami 40.3%
Newark 33.9%
New York 53.6%
New Orleans 27.3%
San Francisco 20.6%
United States 30.6%

Why should the different offices be so different in terms of late-filing referrals? It seems to me that there are two possible explanations, broadly speaking: Either the Asylum Offices are responsible for the disparity, or the asylum seekers themselves are responsible.

Unless you have a time machine, it’s best to file asylum before the one-year deadline.

The first possibility is that certain Asylum Offices are more aggressive than others about enforcing the one-year bar. I know this is the case with Immigration Judges. I am thinking of two IJs in my local court (two of my favorite IJs, by the way). I have presented several one-year bar cases to these judges. One almost invariably denies the asylum application based on the late filing (though in my cases, he granted other, lesser relief); the other looks to the “spirit” of the rule, and as long as the applicant did not have a bad intention (for example, to commit fraud), he usually excuses the late filing. It’s easier to see how this could happen with individual judges, rather than as an office-wide policy, but I suppose this is one possible explanation for the variability between Asylum Offices. If this is the correct explanation, then it makes sense for late filers to choose more friendly offices, such as Chicago or Houston, to file their cases (meaning, such people would have to live in the jurisdiction of these offices).

The other possible explanation is that the different offices are receiving different types of cases. Maybe asylum seekers in New York are too busy or too ill-informed to file their cases on time, while those in Houston have more free time, or are just more conscientious. To me, this seems a bit far-fetched (though I guess New Yorkers are pretty busy). Or maybe it has to do with the different populations served by each office. Maybe–for example–Chinese applicants are more likely to file within one year of arrival, since the Chinese community is well-aware of the one-year rule. In contrast, perhaps Central American applicants tend to arrive in the U.S. without an initial intention to seek asylum, but then decide later that they cannot return home, and in this way, they run afoul of the one-year bar. If LA has more Chinese applicants and New York has more Central Americans, perhaps this could explain the disparity. If (and its a big if) this explanation is correct, then it really doesn’t matter where you apply for asylum, as the different Asylum Offices are not responsible for the uneven one-year denial rates.

A third, hybrid explanation is that some Asylum Offices are cherry-picking their cases, and interviewing more one-year bar cases than timely-filed cases. We know, for example, that the Asylum Offices sent letters to asylum applicants who filed after 10 years in the U.S. and offered them an option to skip the interview and go directly to Immigration Court. If some offices, and not others, are deliberately selecting late-filed cases to interview, that could explain the disparity. 

Frankly, I do not have much confidence in any of these explanations. But the disparity does exist and the fact is, some Asylum Offices are significantly more likely than others to deny asylum based on the one-year bar. So what can you do with this data? Does it mean that if you are filing after the one-year deadline, you should avoid Boston and New York, and instead file in Chicago, Houston or LA?

Given that it is difficult to draw a firm conclusion from the data, and given the severe consequences of filing late, the simple answer is to avoid the problem altogether by filing your asylum application on time. For those who miss the one-year deadline, it is important to prepare an explanation (with evidence) about why you filed late (I wrote about that here). This advice applies regardless of which office has your case. But I suppose the question here is: If you are filing late, should you move to a jurisdiction with an “easier” Asylum Office? (And remember, if you want your case heard by a certain office, you have to live within the jurisdiction of that office–you can check which office will adjudicate your case here).

I hate giving advice about where a person should live, but looking at the available data, it is impossible to say that a late-filer is not better off in one of the “easier” offices, like Chicago, Houston, LA or San Francisco. Obviously, there are other factors to consider–most people have to live where they have family support or a job. Also, in some instances, the one-year bar is easily overcome (for people who are still in status, for example) and so there is no reason to worry about which office has your case. But for those with more difficult one-year bar issues, it may make sense to “forum shop” and move someplace with an Asylum Office that is less likely to deny a late-filed application. 

Continue reading

155 Comments

Human Rights Lawyers Under Attack in Iran and the U.S.

by Jason Dzubow

“The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers.” So says Shakespeare’s Dick the Butcher in Henry VI Part 2. Dick is advising a pretender to the throne about how to seize power. The idea is, if we get the lawyers out of the way, the lawless can prevail. Four hundred years later, it’s still good advice: If you want to violate the law, you have to somehow neutralize those who are sworn to uphold it. In recent weeks, we have seen two different governments–Iran and the United States–take steps to intimidate and marginalize attorneys who are perceived as obstructing their goals.

The more vicious case is taking place in Iran, where “prominent Iranian human rights lawyer and women’s rights defender Nasrin Sotoudeh [was sentenced] to 33 years in prison and 148 lashes.” This is on top of an earlier in absentia sentence of five years imprisonment. Her “crimes” include “inciting corruption and prostitution, openly committing a sinful act by… appearing in public without a hijab, and disrupting public order.” Ms. Sotoudeh has long been a peaceful advocate for women’s rights and against the death penalty, and Amnesty International writes that her punishment is the “harshest sentence” that the organization “has documented against a human rights defender in Iran in recent years, suggesting that the authorities – emboldened by pervasive impunity for human rights violations – are stepping up their repression.”

According to the Mullah Report, Nasrin Sotoudeh is guilty of obstructing injustice.

This is an important point–the actions of the Iranian government do not occur in a vacuum. They are part of a malignant pattern of torture, harassment, intimidation, and murder of peaceful political opponents. The obvious purpose of this terror campaign is to keep hold of political power and intimidate dissenters into silence. And of course, Ms. Sotoudeh is not alone. As the U.S. State Department notes, “hundreds of others” are also “currently imprisoned simply for expressing their views and desires for a better life.”

Commenting on Ms. Sotoudeh’s case last summer, the U.S. State Department said, “Ms. Sotoudeh has spent the past several years harassed by the Iranian regime and has been routinely placed behind bars for daring to defend the rights of those in Iran.” “We applaud Ms. Sotoudeh’s bravery and her fight for the long-suffering victims of the regime.” A State Department spokesperson called Ms. Sotoudeh’s more recent sentence “beyond barbaric.”

I agree. But unfortunately, it’s more difficult for us to condemn Iran and claim the moral high ground when our own country is also intimidating and mistreating human rights attorneys. The extent of our malfeasance is not equal to what we see in Iran, but it’s not what we expect from the United States either.

Earlier this month, NBC News reported that “Customs and Border Protection [or CBP] has compiled a list of 59 mostly American reporters, attorneys and activists who are to be stopped for questioning by border agents when crossing the U.S.-Mexican border at San Diego-area checkpoints, and agents have questioned or arrested at least 21 of them.” CBP claims that the people on the list “were present during violence that broke out at the border with Tijuana in November and they were being questioned so that the agency could learn more about what started it.” The ACLU calls the government’s actions an “outrageous violation of the First Amendment,” and argues that the “government cannot use the pretext of the border to target activists critical of its policies, lawyers providing legal representation, or journalists simply doing their jobs.”

According to the NBC News report, several lawyers have been targeted. They have been held for hours in secondary inspection, questioned, had their cell phones searched, and–in at least one case–been accused of “alien smuggling,” which is a serious crime. Referring to the NBC News report, one attorney said that it “appears to prove what we have assumed for some time, which is that we are on a law enforcement list designed to retaliate against human rights defenders who work with asylum-seekers and who are critical of CBP practices that violate the rights of asylum seekers.”

Another lawyer described his brief detention at the border. CBP officials told him that “their job is to investigate terrorism and criminal activity on the border” and they asked him questions about the work he does, the organization he works for, and how the organization gets funded. They also asked him for his cell phone, which he handed over and unlocked. “I have nothing to hide,” the lawyer said. “I’m not a criminal. I’m not a terrorist. I’m just doing my job as an American citizen.”

The effect of these tactics is not simply to frighten and inconvenience the lawyers who are stopped at the border (and to potentially violate attorney-client privilege). Targeting lawyers (and others) in this manner also has a chilling effect on anyone who might be inclined to assist migrants and try to protect their legal rights. One lawyer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said, “I was going to go [to Mexico] this week, but I had to worry about whether I could get back in [to the United States].”

Being detained for a few hours and questioned is not the same as being sentenced to lashes and imprisoned for decades. However, the treatment of attorneys in the U.S. and Iran has something in common: It is designed to prevent people from exercising their rights as human beings by reducing their access to legal representation. Whether those people are migrants seeking asylum or women seeking equality, they are entitled to attorneys to assist them in securing their legal rights.

I agree with the U.S. State Department’s assessment of Ms. Sotoudeh’s case. She should not be punished for “daring to defend the rights of those in Iran.” But neither should U.S. attorneys be punished for daring to defend the rights of those lawfully seeking asylum in the United States. Our country should be setting an example for the world. We should not be lowering ourselves to the level of one of the worst human rights abusers on earth. 

Continue reading

130 Comments

To Dream the InfoPass-able Dream

by Jason Dzubow

Last week, I attended a meeting about InfoPass for the Asylum Offices. InfoPass is an online system that allows you to make an in-person appointment about your immigration case. It has been in use by USCIS for about 15 years, and now the Asylum Offices are debuting their own version of the scheduling tool. The system is operational in my local office (Arlington, Virginia), but it is not yet available nationwide. Here, I want to talk about why the Asylum Offices are implementing InfoPass and what it will do. I also want to offer some constructive criticism (or, as we say in Yiddish, I want to kvetch).

There seems to be a couple main reasons why the Asylum Offices are adopting InfoPass. First, they want to be better prepared when people show up for an inquiry. With the current walk-in system, the Asylum Office (“AO”) does not know who is coming in or why, and so they cannot prepare in advance for the meeting. InfoPass will give the AO a heads-up, which will (theoretically) allow them to pull the file, and possibly have an answer when the person arrives. Second, InfoPass will reduce the likelihood that the AO will lose documents (a problem at my local office) because they will have the file available when the new documents arrive. Third, the new system will help manage the flow of visitors to the office and reduce wait times. The overall goal is to provide better, more efficient service.

“Well, at least we can make the whole ‘sinking thing’ a bit less unpleasant.”

So what can you do with InfoPass? Once you reach the InfoPass appointment page (and remember, this link is only for the Arlington office), you will see that there are about a dozen different options, from changing your address to changing your lawyer, delivering documents, inquiring about an interview or a decision, asking about the asylum clock or missing receipts, and withdrawing the case. There is also an “other” option for nonconformists. Depending on the reason for the visit, appointment availabilities and the time allotted for your visit will vary. So if you are dropping off documents, you will receive a shorter time slot than if you are inquiring about a delayed decision. If all goes well, when you arrive at your appointment, you will be received by a person who has reviewed your file, and is ready to help you.

Before we turn to the constructive criticism/kvetching, it is important to acknowledge that the Asylum Office is trying to make things better, and they should be commended for that. For me, one take away from the meeting last week is that creating an Asylum Office InfoPass system is really hard. Not only are they building something new and integrating it with existing systems, which is technologically challenging, but they also have to account for the human factor–desperate people trying desperately to talk to a human being. It ain’t easy.

The AO’s efforts are laudable, but I have some concerns about the system as it is currently envisioned.

The first problem is that people who are seeking USCIS InfoPass appointments–as opposed to Asylum Office InfoPass appointments–are filling appointment slots at the AO. During the first day of testing, something like 40 appointments were filled up almost as soon as the system went live. All but one were taken by people who were not asylum seekers, and who were actually seeking appointments with USCIS. The problem is that “regular” InfoPass appointments are almost impossible to get, and so these non-asylum seekers migrated from the regular InfoPass webpage to the AO InfoPass webpage. It doesn’t help that links to both types of InfoPass appointments appear on the same USCIS webpage.

The obvious solution is to limit AO InfoPass appointments to asylum seekers. However, as I understand it, there are technical issues that make it difficult to implement such a system, and so the AO is stuck manually going over the appointment requests to determine whether they are actually for asylum seekers. This seems untenable, and I suspect some technological fix will eventually become necessary. Maybe an interim solution is to put a link to the AO InfoPass webpage on the Asylum Office website, as opposed to the USCIS website. At least that would reduce the likelihood that “regular” InfoPass people would sign up for an AO InfoPass.

Another problem–and this is more for lawyers than for asylum seekers–is that we now need an InfoPass appointment to file documents. While I understand why the AO is requiring this (so they can pull the file in advance and insert the new evidence), it will be a hardship for lawyers. Most cases require the submission of additional documents before the interview. The problem is, we only get about three weeks notice before an interview, and (at least in Arlington) all evidence must be submitted one week prior to the interview. Thus, once we get notice of the interview, we have precious little time to complete the case. Adding a further constraint–such as the need for an appointment to file documents–is going to be very challenging. We often don’t know when the evidence packet will be ready, and so it is difficult to know when to schedule an appointment. Also, it is easier for repeat players, like lawyers, to file documents when they are going to the AO for some other reason. If we have to make extra trips to file documents, we may need to pass the expense on to our clients. This will make it more difficult for asylum seekers to afford legal help.

I expect that most lawyers would rather file documents by mail than make an InfoPass appointment. The problem is that evidence filed this way is more likely to get lost, which could result in the interview being rescheduled.

A third problem is that appointment slots are limited, and I fear that many will be filled by asylum seekers who repeatedly appear at the AO to inquire about their cases. While I understand that people are anxious and want to talk to a human being, without some limitation on the frequency that asylum seekers can appear at the AO, others who need appointments may not be able to get them. One (partial) solution here might be to identify questions that are amenable to telephonic or email responses, and then to contact the person prior to the appointment. The AO is hoping to implement such a system, but probably not anytime soon.

To me, the basic issue is that we need knowable, enforceable rules about InfoPass and about the asylum system in general. I’ve written previously about how the AO could make its webpage more useful. If people were more well-informed, they would have less need for InfoPass.

Based on the meeting last week, I think the AO is aware of these (and other) issues. They are open about the fact that the new InfoPass system is a work in progress, and that it will evolve as they learn more about how it is being used and what people need. While I can’t say I am thrilled about the new document filing system, InfoPass for asylum seekers is otherwise a positive development. Hopefully, the AO will continue to upgrade their systems and respond to the needs of stakeholders. If so, I expect they will improve efficiency and help ease the pain for those who are waiting.

Continue reading

186 Comments

On the Morality of Deporting Criminals

by Jason Dzubow

National Public Radio recently reported on the Trump Administration’s efforts to deport Vietnamese refugees with criminal convictions. Currently, Vietnam only accepts deportees who entered the United States after 1995, but the Trump Administration wants to convince Vietnam to accept all of its nationals with removal orders, regardless of when they came to the U.S. If Vietnam agrees, the change could affect more than 7,000 refugees and immigrants, some of whom have been living in the United States for over 40 years. Not surprisingly, negotiations over this issue have stoked severe anxiety in segments of the Vietnamese-American community.

The NPR piece focuses on an Amerasian man named Vu, who was ordered deported due to his 2001 convictions for larceny and assault. The convictions have since been vacated, but the deportation order apparently remains. Amerasians are children of American soldiers and Vietnamese women. They face severe persecution and discrimination in Vietnam, and Vu still fears return to his native land. If Vietnam ultimately agrees to the Trump Administration’s proposal, Vu could be returned to his birth country. “I think about it often and I don’t want to be deported,” Vu says, “I wouldn’t be able to see my children. I would lose everything. I would miss most being around my kids.”

“Seeking forgiveness for old sins? Don’t hold your breath.”

Legally, people like Mr. Vu, who have a removal order, can be deported (assuming their country will accept them, and assuming they cannot come up with a new defense against deportation). But what about morally? When–if ever–is it morally acceptable to deport criminals?

For me at least, this is a difficult question to answer. As a starting point, I must note that it is not easy to apply morality to any aspect of the immigration system. There certainly is a moral component written into the Immigration and Nationality Act (“INA”). For example, to receive asylum and many other immigration benefits, an applicant must show (among other things) that he deserves relief as a matter of discretion. Good people deserve a favorable exercise of discretion; bad people do not. The problem is that, how we define “good” and “bad” bears only a passing relationship to morality, as we might normally imagine it, and so referencing the “moral component” of the INA only gets us so far.

Another problem exists with regard to how the INA delineates gradation of criminal conduct. You would think that the worse your conduct, the more likely you are to be deported, but that ain’t necessarily so. Crimes that might seem more worthy of deportation are sometimes less likely to result in immigration consequences. Put another way, under U.S. immigration law, you might be better off killing your mother than possessing cocaine.

The point is, it is very difficult to understand how morality applies to aliens with criminal convictions, at least when speaking in the abstract. It is easier–at least in my opinion–to approach the problem by looking at a specific case, and working from there. So let’s look at the example of Mr. Vu from the NPR piece.

First off, Mr. Vu’s case is quite sympathetic. His crimes occurred a long time ago, the convictions were vacated, he has U.S.-citizen children, and if deported, he faces persecution. Also, Mr. Vu might argue that his prior crimes were a consequence of his difficult upbringing (and few people have had a more difficult time than Amerasians during the post-war era in Vietnam). In addition, Mr. Vu has been in the United States for a long time, and so perhaps America is more “responsible” than Vietnam for setting him on a criminal path. Finally, as an Amerasian, Mr. Vu would not even exist if the U.S. hadn’t been present in Vietnam, and so this might also constitute a reason that we–and not Vietnam–are responsible for him.

On the other hand, Mr. Vu committed some serious crimes (larceny and assault), which harmed other people. He would likely have been deported in 2001 (per an Immigration Judge’s order), but was able to remain here only because Vietnam was not accepting its nationals for repatriation at that time. Further, as a sovereign nation, we have a right to determine who gets to stay in our country, and Mr. Vu violated that covenant. Worse, Mr. Vu likely came to the U.S. through a program to assist Amerasians. If so, we brought him to our country, only to have him turn around and slap us in the face by committing crimes. Finally, if we give Mr. Vu a pass, won’t that send a signal to other aliens that they can come to our country, commit crimes, and avoid the immigration consequences?

As I see it, there are legitimate reasons to deport Mr. Vu, and legitimate reasons to allow him to stay. Of course, making a moral determination in his case–or any case–hinges on how we balance the competing interests. The all-or-nothing nature of our immigration system compounds the challenge of reaching a fair conclusion: Either Mr. Vu gets deported, or he gets to stay. There is no middle ground.

Though I know where I stand on the case, I am not so sure that there is a correct answer here. Maybe it depends on one’s individual moral code. For what it’s worth, if we could somehow rate criminal-immigration cases, I think Mr. Vu would land on the more sympathetic side of the continuum. So if you believe Mr. Vu should be deported, there are probably few criminal-aliens who you believe deserve to remain in the U.S.

So is it morally right to deport Mr. Vu? Or any person with a criminal conviction?

For me, the answer to these questions is tied to the immigration system in general. I have seen far too many examples where non-citizens and their families are severely harmed for seemingly arbitrary reasons. If we had a more fair, more just, and more rational immigration system, I would have less of a problem with deporting criminals. But given the system that we are stuck with, it is difficult for me to morally justify most deportations. That is doubly true in a case like Mr. Vu’s, where his prior bad behavior has apparently been long overshadowed by his current equities. To deport Mr. Vu and break up his family seems cruel and pointless. But sadly, that is often exactly what we get from our current immigration system.

I hope that the Trump Administration will abandon its plan to remove Vietnamese refugees, especially Amerasians. But if it persists, and if Vietnam agrees, I hope that Mr. Vu–and others like him–will fight to remain here. He has been here for decades, his family is here, and this is his home. Despite his criminal acts, I believe he belongs here. To send him away would be immoral.

Continue reading

144 Comments

Applying for a Work Permit When You Have an Arrest Record

by Jason Dzubow

USCIS recently modified the form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization. The new form, question 30, requires asylum seekers to disclose whether they “have… EVER been arrested for and/or convicted of any crime.” What is the purpose of this question? What if you have been arrested or convicted of a crime? Can you still get an Employment Authorization Document (“EAD”)?

First, this question applies to asylum seekers, whose EAD is based on category c-8. People with asylum, and most others, are not asked about their arrest history when they request an EAD.

Under 8 C.F.R. § 208.7(a)(1), “an applicant for asylum who is not an aggravated felon shall be eligible” for an EAD. This clearly refers to people who have been convicted of an “aggravated felony,” but it presumably also refers to people who admit to having committed an aggravated felony, even if they have not been convicted. The purpose of the question, then, is to determine whether you are an “aggravated felon” (convicted or not) and if so, to deny you an EAD.

So what is an aggravated felony? The term is defined in INA § 101(a)(43), which lists all sorts of crimes that are aggravated felonies. Some of the behavior is quite bad (murder, rape); other behavior seems less severe (passing a bad check, certain illegal gambling offenses). In some cases, a conviction is required. For example, a “theft offense” is an aggravated felony only if the term of imprisonment is at least one year. In other cases, a conviction is not required: If you committed the bad act, you are an aggravated felon.

Even criminals need to work.

On first glance, then, it may seem easy to determine whether someone is an aggravated felon: Just compare the person’s offense with the crimes listed in INA § 101(a)(43). Unfortunately, things are not nearly so simple. Indeed, there is a whole sub-specialty of law–dubbed with the clever portmanteau “Crimmigration”–devoted to analyzing how a criminal offense interacts with the immigration law. The problem is compounded by the fact that criminal laws vary significantly by state and by country, and that we have precious little guidance from the Board of Immigration Appeals or the federal courts. In short, the analysis of whether a particular crime is an aggravated felony can be very complicated and often involves more guess work than seems appropriate for a country where the rule of law is (supposedly) paramount. According to the I-765 instructions, “USCIS will make the determination as to whether your convictions meet the definition of aggravated felony.” Given the complexity of the analysis in some cases, my guess is that USCIS will not always get it right.

All this means that any person who checks the “yes” box for question 30 should be prepared for trouble. Depending on the situation, that trouble could range from delay to outright denial of the EAD.

Who needs to check “yes” for question 30? According to the form itself, you must check “yes” if you were arrested for, or convicted of, any crime (according to the instructions, p. 8, “minor” traffic offenses do not require you to check “yes,” but more serious offenses, including alcohol- or drug-related offenses require a “yes”). What if you were arrested, but it was not for a crime? As I read the form, you could get away with checking “no”. However, the I-765 instructions are a bit different. They read, “For initial and renewal applications, you are required to submit evidence of any arrests and/or convictions.” Thus, even if you were arrested for a political reason (i.e., not a crime), you would have to check “yes”. How to resolve the conflict between the form and the instructions? I do not know. For my clients, I would probably check “no” if the arrest was not for a crime, but I would circle the question on the form and write “see cover letter.” I would then provide an explanation in the cover letter. I would also provide some evidence about the arrest. My concern is that USCIS will accuse the client of lying about an arrest (for a crime or otherwise) and that this would create problems down the line. By providing an explanation, I am trying to protect the client from this danger.

So what happens if you must check “yes” on the I-765 form? First, you will need to get some evidence of the arrest. For a criminal arrest (especially in the U.S.), this would normally consist of the arrest record and the court disposition (the final outcome of the case). Court documents should be certified by the clerk. To get such documents in this country, you would normally contact the court where the case was heard, and ask the clerk for a certified copy of the case. Obtaining such records from overseas will likely be more challenging.

What about for political arrests? USCIS does not provide guidance here, but presumably, you have to get what you can: Court and police documents, lawyer documents, letters from witnesses. Sometimes, people are arrested for a crime, but the arrest is politically motivated. How USCIS will handle such cases, we do not know. But if this is your situation, you would want as much evidence as possible to show that the arrest was pretextual. Maybe letters from people familiar with the case, country condition information (explaining, for example, that the government falsely charges political opponents with crimes) or expert reports would help.

What if the police stopped you, but did not actually arrest you? What about an illegal detention where you were not charged with any crime? Again, it is unclear what to do. Depending on the situation, you could potentially answer “no” to question 30, but I think you need to be careful, as you do not want to be accused later of failing to disclose an arrest. Provide an explanation, and talk to a lawyer if you need help.

Even where a person has an arrest or conviction that is not an aggravated felony, USCIS could potentially deny the EAD. The I-765 instructions note, “USCIS may, in its discretion, deny your application if you have been arrested and/or convicted of any crime.” Thus, even if your arrest or conviction (or admission of a crime) is not an aggravated felony, USCIS could deny the EAD. Presumably, this denial would be based on the discretionary language of INA 208(d)(2) (“An applicant for asylum is not entitled to employment authorization, but such authorization may be provided under regulation by the Attorney General”). This language is somewhat in conflict with the implementing regulation, 8 C.F.R. § 208.7(a)(1), which states that “an applicant for asylum who is not an aggravated felon shall be eligible” for an EAD. How this conflict would ever play out in a lawsuit, I do not know, but my guess is that if USCIS denies an EAD as a matter of discretion, it will be difficult to reverse that decision.

Finally, what if you are denied an EAD due to an arrest or conviction? Potentially, this is a decision that can be appealed (using form I-290B). However, a discretionary denial is unlikely to be reversed (since USCIS has discretion to do as it pleases, within limits), and given the complicated legal analysis associated with some aggravated felony determinations, an appeal of that issue might be difficult (and would likely require help from a lawyer). Given that an appeal is expensive (a whopping $675.00 for the DHS fee), it probably makes sense to consult with a lawyer about whether there is any chance for success.

The big question in my mind is how USCIS will implement this change. What will they do with political arrests? Will they deny EADs for small matters, in the exercise of discretion? For people with arrests, will the EAD be delayed, and for how long? All this remains to be seen. For people with any sort of arrest, I do think it will be important to get court records and certified dispositions (final results) for all arrests. I also think it would be important to present a legal argument in cases where the EAD could be denied as an aggravated felony or as a matter of discretion. In short, if you have to check “yes” on question 30, it is probably best to consult with an attorney to help you present your application for an EAD. This is an unfortunate expense for asylum seekers, who are probably already overburdened, but if you need a work permit, it is probably money well spent.

Continue reading

189 Comments

When the Judge Is a Jerk

by Jason Dzubow

The vast majority of Immigration Judges, DHS attorneys, Asylum Officers, and USCIS officers are professional and respectful. But what if they are not? What do you do then?

First off, I think it is important to understand that the bad officials are a small minority. I’ve been to many interviews and court hearings, and I’ve only ever made one complaint (against a USCIS officer at a Green Card interview). In other words, at least in my experience, government officials in immigration-world are generally pretty good.

Now admittedly, I am a lawyer and I know my clients’ rights and what to expect from “the system.” Pro se (unrepresented) applicants may not receive the same level of respect. They are easier to abuse, and it is more likely that decision-makers will cut corners in cases where the applicant is unable to protect herself.

That said, I am also involved in the BIA Pro Bono Project, where I review a dozen or so unrepresented appeals cases each month. I see the transcript of the Immigration Court case, and I can read how the Immigration Judge and the DHS attorney treated the applicant. While it is fairly common to see Judges and DHS attorneys moving quickly through a pro se hearing, it is also common to see these same officials taking extra time to ensure they are properly adjudicating the case. Once in a while, I see a case where the Judge steamrolled the proceedings to reach a quick decision, but that is the exception. In most cases, even those that were adjudicated quickly, the outcome seems fair, given the available evidence and testimony (one big caveat – many of these pro se cases are not well developed and are lacking in evidence. This is because the cases we review are for individuals who are detained. If these people had access to a lawyer and could better prepare their cases, many—even most—would achieve a better outcome).

The government takes your complaints very seriously.

While outright hostility and rule breaking seem quite rare, adjudicators can sometimes be testy, intimidating or unfriendly. What to do if you have the bad luck of encountering a hostile or impolite decision-maker?

The first thing to do is to remain calm. The demeanor of the decision-maker is often unrelated to the outcome of the case, and we have seen examples where an unfriendly officer issues a positive decision. Remember too that this person is not someone you will likely ever encounter again in your life. All you want from him is a favorable decision. Even if your experience at the interview is unpleasant or frightening, that won’t matter much if the case is granted. If you can keep your cool, answer all the questions, remain polite, and not lose your composure, you increase the likelihood of a good result. Getting angry, or arguing with the decision-maker is unlikely to get you the decision you want.

Second, make your record. This means, if you have something that you think is important to say, you should try to say it. In other words, don’t let an aggressive officer or judge intimidate you into silence. Court hearings and some USCIS interviews are recorded. Asylum Officers are supposed to write down everything you say (and if they do not write down what you say, you can complain to a supervisor). Even if you are ultimately prevented from saying something, if you indicate that you had something else to say, that exchange might be reviewed on appeal (or by a supervisor) and could result in a new trial or interview.

In making your record, you can be explicit. You can say to the judge or officer, “I think you are treating me unfairly because you are not allowing me to talk about X.” Say this politely and calmly, and it might soften the decision-maker’s stance. Say it aggressively, and you will likely harden the decision-maker’s position. I remember one case where the DHS attorney seemed (to me at least) to be taking a very aggressive position towards my asylum-seeker client. Finally, I simply asked (politely) why DHS was so opposed to asylum in the case. The attorney explained his motivation, which helped me better understand the case, and ultimately, the client received asylum.

Third, especially if you are unrepresented, you should write down what happened after the interview or court hearing. When things go wrong, it is important to try to understand what happened, and the more information you have, the better. If you write down what happened immediately, the information is more likely to be accurate. This will be useful if you later want someone else, like a lawyer, to review the case. It is also important if you need to make a formal complaint against the decision-maker.

Finally, if you feel you were subject to unfair treatment, you can make a complaint. Different forums have different procedures for complaining. For example, if you are with an Asylum Officer, you can ask to speak with a supervisor. You do this during the interview itself by telling the Asylum Officer that you would like to speak to a supervisor. For an Immigration Court case, you would typically contact the judge’s supervisor (called the Assistant Chief Immigration Judge) after the court hearing, or–more typically–you would just file an appeal to the Board of Immigration Appeals.

Periodically, I receive decisions that I think are wrong or unfair, but my clients have never been subject to treatment by an Asylum Officer or Judge that warranted a complaint. I did make a complaint once about a USCIS officer. I spoke to the officer’s supervisor immediately after the interview, and then sent a written complaint directly to the supervisor. I do not know whether the officer herself was informed of the complaint (I never saw her again), but I do know that my client’s case was approved in short order.

Most Immigration Judges and Asylum Officers are professional and respectful, and so hopefully, you will never encounter an official who is treating you unfairly. But if you do, keep calm, remain respectful, and politely make the points you need to make. This is the best way to maximize your chances for a positive decision.

Continue reading

175 Comments

The Emotional Toll of Asylum Lawyering

by Jason Dzubow

A recent paper by Neil Graffin, a Lecturer in International Law at the Open University, explores the emotional impact of working as an asylum lawyer. As you might expect, the study found that those of us who represent asylum seekers suffer from burnout and emotional stress. As a “protective mechanism,” we tend to detach ourselves from our clients, and we sometimes become “cynical or disbelieving of client narratives.” More surprising, perhaps, the author found that this “complex reaction” had both positive and negative effects in terms of case outcomes. The paper concludes that “more should be done to protect practitioners working in this area of law,” since “we cannot discharge our duties to asylum claimants, without protecting those who deliver assistance in protecting their rights.”

In researching his paper, Professor Graffin spoke to nine asylum advocates in England and one in the Republic of Ireland. The interviewees had a wide range of experience in the field, from one year to 30 years. Some worked for private firms; others for non-profits.

As we all know, we Yanks tend to be a lot tougher than the wilting flowers in England. Even so, Professor Graffin’s findings largely track with my own experience and that of my colleagues on this side of the pond. So as far as I can tell, the emotional impact of representing asylum seekers is essentially the same for lawyers in the U.S. and for our more fragile British cousins.

It seems to me that Professor Graffin’s findings can be divided into two broad categories: Effects on lawyers caused by dealing with individual clients, and effects caused by “the system.”

Corporate Lawyers

At the individual level, dealing with traumatized asylum applicants is often “emotionally demanding” and “can have a negative emotional impact on practitioners, manifesting in self-reported burnout and emotional stress.” It can also lead practitioners to develop a cynical or disbelieving attitude towards some clients.

This type of skepticism does not necessarily have a negative effect on case outcomes, however. On the contrary, some study participants observed that “having a cynical or disbelieving attitude could make them better practitioners” because it helped them get “into the minds of the ‘suspicious decision-maker’” and “to spot issues of concern in their claimant’s narratives.” From my own perspective, a healthy skepticism towards our clients’ claims is crucial. We need to imagine how our clients’ stories will be received by government decision-makers and anticipate weaknesses in their cases.

Study participants also spoke about the issue of secondary trauma, which comes from “dealing with individuals on a daily basis who have experienced gross and traumatic violations of their human rights.” One common defensive mechanism for practitioners was to distance ourselves from our clients. Too much distance leads to depersonalization, but too little can lead to burnout. The key is balance: We should aim to be “sympathetic but detached.”

Tax Lawyers

In my own practice, I often deal with people who have been traumatized. Some have been physically harmed or threated. Others have lost loved ones. Still others are suffering due to separation from family members. While I am sympathetic to my clients, I don’t believe that the main emotional impact I face relates to these micro-level issues. For me, at least, the bigger stress-inducer is the system itself: Too many cases, not enough time, too much bureaucracy, too little control. Professor Graffin also discusses these and other macro-level issues.

One big issue for me, and for the participants in Professor Graffin’s study, is volume. “Heavy caseloads… were cited as a particular concern amongst participants.” This was an issue for non-profits, which are under increasing pressure to do more with less, and for private practitioners like me, who aim to serve the asylum-seeker community and make a living in the process. “On the one hand, while having a smaller amount of cases was described as economically unviable, having too large a caseload created unmanageable pressure on the firm.”

Another issue involves unfavorable changes to the law. Both Britain and the U.S. (and many other countries) are experiencing an anti-refugee moment. Changes in the law have made it more difficult for us to help our clients. Referencing the “constant downgrading of rights,” one long-term practitioner in Professor Graffin’s study notes that for her, it is “easier to cope with [extremely traumatized clients] than the overall feeling that [she] was being disabled as a lawyer.” I agree. Lawyers are trained to learn the law and help our clients navigate the system. But lately, in the U.S., the government has been throwing up nonsensical bureaucratic barriers that make our jobs more difficult. These barriers are not legal barriers, but rather procedural hurdles. So an application that previously took, say, two hours to complete, now takes three hours. To me, this is a deliberate and arbitrary attempt to reduce immigration by making “the system” harder. I have been reluctant to pass on the costs of the additional work to my clients, as I feel that this would almost make me complicit in the government’s scheme. The problem, however, is that this leads to increased stress for my office mates and me.

Asylum Lawyer

Another job of a lawyer is to explain how the system works. If you file a claim for asylum, for example, there should be a predictable series of events that follows. Now-a-days, there is much less predictability in the system. This is in large part due to these same bureaucratic barriers. It is also due to the general dysfunctionality of the system. The end result, though, is that we lawyers have less power to influence outcomes than we should, and this also increases stress levels.

A final issue discussed in Professor Graffin’s paper is the effect of the over-all hostile environment towards asylum seekers. A number of the participants discussed how “negativity towards asylum claimants within some sections of society had an impact on them.” In an ideal world, human rights would be non-partisan. But of course, our world is far from ideal. The rhetoric in the United States and Great Britain is frequently cruel, and quite often untrue. While I can understand why such an environment can be demoralizing for asylum practitioners, I do not think it affects me that way. If anything, it has energized me to work harder for my clients. It is also one of the reasons we held the Refugee Ball back in 2017.

Finally, I of course agree with Professor Graffin’s recommendation that we provide more support for asylum practitioners, “including training and education in secondary trauma and burnout, as well as the potential for structural re-design to support individuals who hear traumatic narratives on a regular basis.” But the unfortunate fact is that most practitioners—including me—do not have time for additional training, and our current government is not about to take action to make our lives any easier. For now, we just have to keep on keepin’ on.

A few last points that were not directly mentioned in the paper: For me, an important coping mechanism is to have a sense of humor (maybe gallows humor) about the whole system. It is not always easy, but it gets me through the day. It is also nice to know that we asylum lawyers are not alone, and that all of us in the system are struggling with similar issues. So send your good vibes, and we will keep moving forward together.

Continue reading

208 Comments

Some Great Immigration and Refugee Books for Kids

by Jason Dzubow

In my house, we have young children who love books. We have to read to them all the time (at breakfast, at dinner, before bed – oy, it makes me crazy). Below are some books we’ve read that relate to my profession: Asylum and immigration. I’ve also included a few books that have crossed my desk for older kids or teens.

Of course, these subjects can be pretty heavy. How do you talk to young children about fleeing home, moving to a new place, separation from family? Thankfully, all this is outside my own children’s experience. But I do think it is important for them to learn about it. In part, because I work with refugees, but mostly, because it is a reality for many people, and children need to understand their world.

I must admit that the below list is pretty random. People gave us these books, or we found them at the library. If you’re looking for a more comprehensive list, check out BRYCS (Bridging Refugee Youth & Children’s Services), the “What Do We Do All Day?“ blog, and the Institute for Humane Education. But, for what it’s worth, here is my reading list for small, medium, and large children interested in a very grown-up issue:

Reading about the refugee experience can be scary.

Hannah Is My Name by Belle Yang (2004) – This is the story of a young girl who moves with her parents from Taiwan to San Francisco in the 1960s. She gives up her Chinese name, Na-Li, and takes an American name: Hannah. The girl and her family struggle in America while waiting and waiting for their green cards. A lawyer (or notario?) named Mr. Choo has helped the family with their paperwork, but there seems to be no progress and the family is stuck waiting for a decision (sound familiar?). At one point, the father has to escape from INS agents. This is a brightly colored book that really gave my children some idea about what I do in the office (waiting and more waiting). This book is probably appropriate for pre-school and elementary school-age children.

The Arrival by Shaun Tan (2007) – This is a graphic novel without words. It is probably more appropriate for middle and high school-age kids, but since I love it, I read it (assuming you can “read” a book with no words) to my elementary school-age children. The illustrations in the book are magnificent, and convey a sense of moving to a new, unfamiliar land. The book tells the story of a family living in a repressive and dangerous city. The father moves to a strange new country, where he must adapt, find work, and send for his family. This is probably my favorite illustrated book about the refugee experience. It is a moving and positive story about how people can help each other.

How I learned Geography by Uri Shulevitz (2008) – When he was four years old, author Uri Shulevitz and his family fled Poland and found refuge in Central Asia. It was World War II, and conditions in their new home were bleak. They barely had enough to eat, and so when Uri’s father spends the family’s dinner money on a large world map, Uri is understandably angry (and hungry). This book tells the story of how the young author uses the map and his imagination to escape his difficult existence and “explore” the world. In the end, Uri comes to appreciate his father’s wisdom. This is a beautifully illustrated and poetic book, which covers a challenging topic in a way that elementary-age children can understand and appreciate.

Two While Rabbits by Jairo Buitrago and Rafael Yockteng (2015) – This beautifully illustrated book tells the story of a little girl and her father who are traveling from Central America to the United States. Sometimes, they stop so that the father can work to earn more money for their trip. Why they are traveling and whether they reach their destination, we do not know. But the sights and experiences of the migration are shown from the perspective of the young girl, who spends her time counting the people, animals, and objects she encounters on the journey. As adults, we see a dangerous ride atop a freight train, menacing soldiers or a treacherous boat ride across a wide river. The girl in the story is barely aware of the danger. She focuses more on the beauty she encounters on her trip. There is a lot going on in this book visually, and my children enjoyed talking about the pictures and wondering about the girl’s journey. This story is appropriate for pre-school and elementary-age children.

Illegal by Eoin Colfer, Andrew Donkin, and Giovanni Rigano (2018) – This graphic novel is for teens or adults. I read it, but my children are still too young for a story like this. Illegal tells the story of two brothers who leave Niger, cross the Sahara, and try to reach Europe. The story is fiction, but the incidents portrayed are taken from real-life events. The book gives readers an idea about the difficult and very dangerous journey that many people take from Sub-Saharan Africa to Europe. The themes are necessarily mature, and though the worst issues (such as rape and murder) are not directly shown, there are plenty of scary incidents, including the deaths of many migrants. This is a sad, yet hopeful tale, which humanizes people who are too often treated as less than human.

An Olympic Dream: The Story of Samia Yusuf Omar by Reinhardt Kleist (2015) – This graphic novel is similar to Illegal, with a greater emphasis on the sad than the hopeful. It tells the true story of Samia Yusuf Omar, who represented Somalia in the 2008 Olympics. After the Games, she returned to her country where opportunities to train–especially for women–were limited (to put it mildly). To escape the threats and fulfill her dream of returning to the Olympics, she fled Somalia for Europe. Sadly, Samia died en route (and by the way, I am not really spoiling the story here–Samia’s death is described in the book’s introduction). While the story is depressing, the author conveys the sense of the journey and does a good job humanizing his subject. This book is appropriate for teens and adults.

Of course, this is just a sampling of the many books that discuss migration and asylum. What these books have in common is that they tell a very human story–the struggle for safety and freedom in a difficult and dangerous world. In this respect, these books form a powerful counterbalance to the dehumanizing narrative of asylum seekers as nefarious “others.” While these stories can be challenging, they are also uplifting, and they help children (and adults) better understand our world.

Continue reading

153 Comments

The Instructions for the I-589 Asylum Form: An Invaluable Tool, but Not the Last Word

by Jason Dzubow

This posting is by Elizabeth Rosenman, a Seattle asylum attorney and a member of Northwest Immigrant Rights Project’s pro bono panel. A former editor of UCLA’s law review, she has a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University. Among other publications, she has written for The Seattle Times, the Los Angeles Times, and most recently, The Hill. 

When I’m helping a client prepare his I-589, the first thing I do is download the 10-page application, officially called the “U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Form I-589 Application for Asylum,” from the USCIS website. The first half of the I-589 asks simple biographical questions and the second half probes for responses intended to tease out whether the applicant likely qualifies for asylum or is possibly barred from staying here permanently.

The form is written in plain English and even the questions that call for long answers are straightforward. Everything is self-explanatory. That’s why it’s tempting to skip over another document on the same website called “Instructions for I-589” — a 14-page document that is far denser than the form it’s supposed to clarify.

Read the instructions.

Elizabeth Rosenman

The first time I did, I was stunned by how helpful they were. The instructions contain both a concise tutorial on asylum law and a superb how-to manual for preparing an entire asylum case, not just filling out the I-589.

There’s also a lot of practical stuff that isn’t immediately obvious to asylum seekers and inexperienced lawyers: The one-year time limit for submitting the I-589 in most circumstances, the rule that the form has to be either typed or filled out in black–not blue–ink, and the requirement that an asylum seeker can’t leave the U.S., even for an emergency, without prior approval unless he wants to forfeit his claim.

Only about two pages of the instructions actually offer help filling out the I-589, but who cares? The document is an invaluable legal tool. And it’s free. But there’s a flip side. The instructions are also confusing, misleading, annoying, and bizarre. My take: Reading the instructions is a must, but following them all is a big mistake.

Consider this–even before you finish the first sentence, you realize there’s an obvious problem. The instructions, like the I-589, are only printed in English. Nobody in our government appears to care that the vast majority of asylum seekers aren’t native English speakers.

Just as bad, the instructions leave out some basic information, like where asylum seekers temporarily living in certain states–California, Nevada, and Pennsylvania–should send the I-589 to get the process rolling. Immigration officials have divided each of these states into two parts, but the instructions don’t explain where the dividing line is.

Take California. The instructions say that affirmative asylum seekers living in Northern Californian should send their completed I-589 to a post office box in Lincoln, Nebraska. Those in Southern California are told to send their asylum applications to Laguna Niguel, California (asylum seekers in court follow a different set of rules). Is Fresno considered north or south? How about Bakersfield? The instructions are silent. Instead, a few phone numbers are listed in the instructions for the asylum seeker or her lawyer to call with questions. My clients have all lived in Washington State, so this hasn’t been an issue for me. But I couldn’t resist calling the first phone number listed, the one for USCIS’s National Customer Service Center, to see how hard it would be to get an answer.

Very hard, if you aren’t an attorney, it turns out. That general phone number has recorded messages for almost any immigration problem I’ve ever heard of, except the I-589 address question. I spent several minutes trying to get a customer care representative on the line to talk me through the problem. I couldn’t figure out how to do that. Every time I pushed a keypad number I thought would get me to a person, I instead got a recorded voice that referred me to the USCIS general website. So I called back again, this time taking advantage of the one keypad prompt that’s only for attorneys. In less than two minutes, a USCIS employee came on the line and cheerfully offered to help. Instantly, she pulled up a directory of which California counties were included in one address or the other.

“Why not list this on the I-589 instructions pages?” I asked. “We don’t really know why they wouldn’t,” she said. Me either. Given a chance, I’m not sure I could dream up a way to make the task of addressing an I-589 more complicated than the one our government has already put in place.

Another complaint: The instructions leave out some key facts. For instance, they note that people who are granted asylum “may eventually adjust to lawful permanent resident status.” That means an asylum seeker who is granted asylum may, a year later, apply for a green card. So what’s the big deal? The instructions omit the most important part–an asylee is also eligible to apply to become a U.S. citizen, with all of the rights and protections that come with citizenship, four years after getting a green card. He’d probably figure the citizenship part out somewhere along the way. Why not let him know from the start?

Then there’s an omission that I find mean spirited and annoying: The instructions never mention that documents submitted as part of an asylum case don’t need to be notarized. All of my clients have needlessly paid money to a Notary Public to translate a few documents before I began representing them. They could have instead had a friend do the translating and used the extra money to buy food or bus fare.

Even more troubling, the instructions contain some misleading advice. At one point, they say “you are strongly urged to attach additional written statements and documents to support your claim.” “Strongly urged” sounds scary. Don’t worry. I’ve ignored that instruction for every client. Let me explain.

Remember that rule about asylum seekers not being allowed to request work authorization until 150 days after USCIS receives the I-589? That clock starts ticking whether or not an asylum applicant submits all of his supporting documents with the I-589 or just the bare I-589. Since all of my clients are anxious to get legal work authorization, I quickly fill out and submit the I-589 to get the 150-day clock going.

Then, after it’s in the mail, I begin the long process of gathering the supporting documents. I don’t send in those documents, which make up the bulk of the asylum case, until closer to the date of a client’s court hearing or asylum interview.

Two paragraphs later, the instructions give horrible advice: “You can amend or supplement your application at the time of your asylum interview with an asylum officer and at your hearing in immigration court….” That’s not true. Asylum officers and immigration judges have various rules about when evidence is due. If an asylum seeker misses that cutoff, he may be barred from submitting crucial documents later. This isn’t a problem for a lawyer who has been through the rigmarole a few times and is aware of the rules. But what about an asylum seeker who has been unable to obtain a lawyer?

Then there’s this bizarre fact: The instructions explain that an asylum seeker attending an interview who doesn’t speak English fluently must bring an interpreter and cover the cost. But if the asylum seeker is hearing impaired, that’s a different story. In that instance, the government will supply a sign language interpreter in any language–on the house.

Enough complaining. Even though I’m aware of most potential pitfalls, I always re-read the instructions the night before meeting with a client to fill out an I-589. They are updated frequently without prior warning–oops, another complaint–so I always check to see if anything important has changed.

Continue reading

145 Comments

You Can Now Check Your Asylum Case Status Online!

by Jason Dzubow

Last week, I wrote about my suggestions for a new Asylum Office website. In that post, I gave short shrift to a new development: For affirmative asylum applicants, it is now possible to check your asylum case online at the USCIS website. This development is actually pretty significant, and will be particularly helpful for those who set up an account with USCIS in order to receive automatic case updates.

Here’s how it works: If you filed affirmatively for asylum–meaning, you filed a case with the Asylum Office–you should have received a receipt with an Alien number (a nine-digit number usually starting with 0 or 2) and a receipt number (three letters followed by a 10-digit number; the first letter is “Z”). You can now enter the receipt number into the USCIS Check Case Status web page and obtain information about your case.

I’ve plugged in several of my clients’ receipt numbers to get an idea of how the system works. After you enter the receipt number, you will receive a message about your case. The messages I saw have between one and four paragraphs, depending on the stage of the case.

The USCIS computer team celebrates as their agency enters the 20th Century.

The first paragraph gives information about the status of the case. This is discussed more below.

The second and third paragraphs of the message discuss the “Asylum Clock” and eligibility for an employment authorization document or EAD. In short, once an asylum case is received, the “Clock” starts. After the Clock reaches 150 days, a person may apply for an EAD, but the Clock must reach 180 days in order for USCIS to actually issue the EAD. If a person delays her case (by skipping an appointment, for example), it could cause the Clock to stop. Buried in the middle of the second paragraph is the number of days that have elapsed on your Asylum Clock and a statement about whether your Clock is still running. This is quite helpful, as it is easy to know when to apply for your EAD (on or after day 150, assuming the Clock is still running). One quibble, if I may: It would be nice to see this information more prominently displayed, as it is kind-of hidden in an otherwise boilerplate paragraph.

The final paragraph contains information about what to do if you move (file form AR-11).

There are different messages generated, depending on the status of the case. After the case is filed and received, the message reads, “The next step in your application is an in-person interview. Once your interview is scheduled, you will receive an interview notice in the mail and this case status will change. If you have an attorney or accredited representative on file, this individual will also receive a copy of the interview notice in the mail.” Another quibble: This message appears even if the biometrics (fingerprint and photo) appointment letter has been mailed out. In other words, at least for the case I checked, the system does not indicate that a biometrics letter was sent. Hopefully, USCIS will include this information as it continues to update the online system.

Once the interview is scheduled, the message states, “Your interview has been scheduled. You will receive an interview notice at the mailing address we have on file. If you have listed family members as dependents on your application, you must bring them to your interview. If you cannot communicate effectively in English, you must bring an interpreter. If you have an attorney or accredited representative and come without that representative, we will ask you to sign a form stating you agree to be interviewed without that representative present.” Further down the page, the message indicates that you can reschedule the interview. However, there is no information about how to contact the Asylum Office to reschedule. Such information would be helpful, even if it is only a link to the (woefully inadequate) Asylum Office website (which also does not tell you how to reschedule an appointment). By the way, it seems that the interview message is the same whether it is a first interview or a rescheduled interview.

If the interview has taken place, but there is not yet a decision, the message states, “You completed your interview with USCIS. The time it takes for USCIS to give you a decision after completion of an interview may vary. An officer told you at the end of your interview if you needed to return to the office to pick-up your decision on a specific/scheduled date, or if your decision would be mailed to you.” This same message seems to appear regardless of how long the decision has been pending. For example, I checked one of my long-delayed cases (filed over five years ago!). I suspect that the case is being held up due to a TRIG (Terrorism Related Inadmissibility Grounds) bar–the client was kidnapped and paid money to the bad guys to get released (this is an example of how the TRIG bar treats the victims of terrorism as if they were terrorists). The client was interviewed (about four years ago), but there is still no decision. For this client, I received the same Case Status message as for a client who was interviewed three months ago (and who does not have any TRIG issues).

Once a decision has been made, the message reads, “We reached a decision in your case. You should expect to receive the decision in the mail shortly. You must follow the instructions in your decision letter as to what you should do next.” If the decision was picked up, the message reads, “We reached a decision in your application. You recently picked up this decision at our office. You must follow the instructions in your decision letter as to what you should do next.” Whether the case was granted, denied or referred to Immigration Court, the message was basically the same. In other words, you cannot determine the outcome of the case based on the online message.

I did not have any cases with a pending Notice of Intent to Deny, so I do not know if the online system indicates whether such a letter has been mailed out. I hope it does, as applicant’s only have 16 days to respond to a NOID, so the earlier they know about it, the better.

I also checked an application that was closed. The message states, “We closed your application and notified you of the reason in the decision letter we mailed to the address we have on file for you. You must contact the office that has been handling your application if you believe your application should not have been closed.” Such a message means that the case is no longer with the Asylum Office. In our client’s case, the person had previously been before an Immigration Judge, and the Asylum Office determined that it did not have jurisdiction.

Probably the best part about the new system is that you can set up an account with USCIS so that you receive automatic updates by email or text message. In this way, you will know when to expect your interview notice or decision. And here’s a bonus: If you sign up for Informed Delivery with the U.S. Post Office, you will get a scan of all mail coming to your house, so you will know exactly when your notifications (and all your other mail) are arriving. Informed Delivery is not available everywhere, but you can check the USPS website to see whether you are eligible.

Finally, one last issue: The USCIS website is only in English. There are a limited number of messages that appear when you check your receipt, and so it really shouldn’t be that burdensome to create messages in other languages (Spanish being the most obvious). I am not sure that this is under consideration, but it would be very helpful.

So that’s about it. The new system is a good start, especially if you get automatic updates, but it’s not a substitute for a more informative Asylum Office website, as I discussed last week. Hopefully, USCIS will continue to improve it’s online presence, and continue to improve the process for asylum seekers and everyone else in the system.

Continue reading

237 Comments

Dear Asylum Division: I’ve Re-Designed Your Webpage. You’re Welcome.

by Jason Dzubow

Dear Asylum Division:

These days, I don’t like to criticize you. I know that you’re under a lot of pressure from the political higher-ups who hate the whole “asylum thing.” But let’s face it–your website stinks. Fortunately, help is at hand. I’ve taken the liberty of creating a new website, which will benefit not only beleaguered asylum seekers, but also the hardworking folks at the various Asylum Offices.

And yes, I know that the Asylum Division is in the process of redesigning its online presence. It is now possible to get some basic information about an asylum case–including how many days have elapsed on the Asylum Clock–by entering the receipt number into the USCIS website (the receipt number is listed on the asylum receipt and starts with the letter Z).

Also, it should soon be possible to obtain an Info Pass appointment at the local asylum offices. If this system works, it will be better than what we have now (show up and hope for the best). But I’m worried that the asylum Info Pass will be as problematic as the current USCIS Info Pass system–these days, it’s easier to score Hamilton tickets than to get a USCIS Info Pass appointment.

Rumor has it that the Asylum Division is powered by a C-64.

That’s the (more or less) good news. The bad news is that the Asylum Office Locator has been changed as well, and it’s less useful now than it was before. The page still contains the addresses and office hours of the local asylum offices, and where to mail an initial I-589 (which varies depending where in the U.S. you live). But other contact information–email addresses and phone numbers–that appeared in the previous iteration of the website is now absent.

I get it–the Asylum Offices want to save time by preventing people from calling or emailing (I want to do this too), but now the only way to communicate with them is to go in person (difficult, especially for people who live far from the office) or send a letter (yes, a letter, like snail mail). The old email addresses still work, and I imagine the phone numbers do to (I haven’t tried to call the Asylum Office main number in years, as they rarely answer), but if you don’t have that information already, you’re basically out of luck.

All these changes are a mixed bag, but more can be done. The main problem with the current situation is the lack of available information. This is bad for asylum seekers, who are left in the dark, but it’s also bad for the Asylum Office staff, who have to respond to repeated requests for general information (which perhaps explains why certain contact information was removed from the website). My theory is this: If the website answered more questions, asylum seekers would be more informed, less stressed out, and less likely to contact the Asylum Office for help. This is what we in the business call a win-win.

So I’ve designed a new website for you. It’s attached below as a PDF. There are two parts–the Main Asylum Office Webpage and the Local Asylum Office Webpage. I’ve written it in outline format because I thought that would be easier to understand. Also, for the life of me, I can’t figure out how to make a flow chart (sad, as I was once fluent in Fortran).

The main page is designed to tell asylum seekers how to file, and to explain the process. It also provides links to help people find information they need, and answers some common questions. The local page provides specific information about a person’s local asylum office, including instructions for filing evidence, and information about expediting and short listing a case. If this information is available in multiple languages, that would also be a plus.

To be sure, my design, while quite lovely, is pretty basic and needs some work, but the main point is this–The Asylum Division should have a website that better serves asylum seekers. So, my friends at the Asylum Division, I proudly present you with your new Asylum Division Website Outline! I assume it will be up and running shortly.

You’re welcome, Jason

Continue reading

154 Comments

The Irony and the Agony of a Government Shutdown

by Jason Dzubow

As you may have heard, parts of the federal government are closed for business. After two years of Republican inaction on “the wall,” somehow President Trump has decided that now is the time to shut the government down in an effort to “permanently fix the problem on the Southern Border.” Let’s look at the effect of the shutdown on immigration generally, and on asylum more particularly.

In immigration world, the biggest–and most ironic–effect of the shutdown has been to close most of the nation’s Immigration Courts. Courts that handle detained cases are still operating normally, but non-detained courts are closed. The irony is that shuttering the courts will have the effect of delaying the deportation of many aliens. On average (and based on current projections for FY2019), Immigration Judges will deport about 676 people per day. If we remove detained cases from the mix (very roughly speaking, detained cases make up about 13% of all Immigration Court cases), we can estimate that for each day the government is shut down, 588 people are spared from deportation. Given the long backlog in Immigration Court, most people with postponed cases will probably not return to court for another year or two, and so such people will be able to remain the U.S. far longer thanks to the shutdown.

$5,700,000,000 wall vs. $79 ladder.

Also from the Irony Department: The lapse in government funding means that Border Patrol agents–the very people who are supposed to guard our Southern border–will not be paid until the shutdown ends. As you can imagine, this is not great for morale. In addition, the E-Verify System, which allows employers to check whether a particular person is authorized to work, is down. If this “electronic wall” is not working, some “illegals” may be able to work. These results seems contrary to Mr. Trump’s stated goals of deporting more people and fixing the broken immigration system, but what else is new?

Of course, many asylum seekers will not be very happy about having their court cases delayed. Some have been waiting years for a decision, all the while separated from family members and living with great uncertainty. For such people and their families, the delay is heartbreaking.

To check on the status of the Immigration Courts, you can visit the EOIR website, which will indicate whether operations have resumed. If your court case is postponed due to the shutdown, the case will be rescheduled once the lapse in funding has been resolved. From EOIR:

Non-detained docket cases will be reset for a later date after funding resumes. Immigration courts will issue an updated notice of hearing to respondents or, if applicable, respondents’ representatives of record for each reset hearing.

In other words, the Immigration Court will send you or your lawyer a written notice for the new hearing date. You can also check the Immigration Court hotline, which indicates when your next hearing is scheduled. The phone number is 800-898-7180. This is a computer system; not a person. When it answers, follow the instructions and, when prompted, enter your Alien number. The system will tell you your next hearing date. Unfortunately, the hotline will not be updated during the shutdown, but once the situation is resolved, you can check for your next appointment (whether cancelled Individual Hearing dates will be set for another Individual Hearing or a Master Calendar Hearing, we do not yet know).

What if you want to file documents, evidence or a change of address with the Immigration Court? Immigration Courts and the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) are accepting filings for detained cases. As I understand, most courts are also accepting filings for non-detained cases, but such filings will not be acted upon. The problem is that such filings may get lost in the avalanche of documents that the courts receive. This problem will be especially acute if the shutdown drags on for weeks or months. My advice: If you have a deadline, file your documents, but make sure to keep a copy for yourself and have evidence that you filed (if you can file in-person, the clerk will stamp your copy of the documents; if you file by mail, you should keep a copy of the certified mailing receipt). If you do not have a deadline or an emergency, it is probably better to wait until the shutdown ends before filing any documents with an Immigration Court or the BIA.

For asylum seekers and immigrants who do not have court cases, the shutdown is far less consequential. USCIS obtains its budget from “customer fees” (i.e., money you pay for your green card, work permit, etc.), and so the lapse in government funding is not an issue (there is currently no fee for asylum, but USCIS customer fees fund the Asylum Offices). As a result, the Asylum Offices, USCIS offices, and Application Support Centers (the place that takes your fingerprints) are all operating normally. While this is unlikely to change, there is no harm in double checking before you make the trek to your appointment. You can do that here.

One final question is, How long will the shutdown last? Of course, we do not know. The longest shutdown to date occurred during President Clinton’s term, and lasted 21 days. The current shutdown began on December 22, 2018, and so as of this writing, we are approaching Mr. Clinton’s (or more accurately, Newt Gingrich’s) record. The shutdown is inflicting much damage on our country, including to some immigrants and asylum seekers. Let’s hope that our leaders can bring an end to the impasse as soon as possible.

Continue reading

230 Comments