Asylum and Its Discontents in the United States
If the asylum seeker’s affidavit is the heart of her application, evidence might be considered the lungs: It provides the oxygen that allows the heart to function. Or maybe anatomical analogies are just weird. The point is, evidence in support of an asylum application is crucial to the application’s success. But what is evidence? And … Read more
If you ask three lawyers how to write an asylum affidavit, you’re likely to get three (or more) opinions. An applicant’s affidavit is the heart of her asylum case. It explains who she is, what happened to her, and why she needs protection. It’s also an opportunity to address weak points in the case and to mitigate inconsistencies … Read more
This is the final (and much delayed) installment in a series about preparing a client’s asylum affidavit. I previously wrote about the importance of including enough detail to support a claim. Today I want to discuss how to provide details about sensitive topics, like rape or the murder of a loved one. For obvious reasons, … Read more
This is the second part in a short series about helping asylum seekers prepare good affidavits. The first posting dealt with the overuse of the passive voice. Today, I want to discuss the appropriate level of detail that should be included in the affidavit. One problem that I’ve encountered in many affidavits is that they … Read more
The heart of an asylum case is the applicant’s affidavit. There, she tells her story and explains why she needs the protection of asylum. Because affidavits are so important, I thought it might be helpful to do a short series about preparing a decent affidavit. One of the most common problems in affidavits is the … Read more