People fleeing persecution in their home countries may be eligible to apply for asylum in the United States, as well as two related forms of relief - withholding of removal, and protection under the United Nations Convention Against Torture.  In addition, some immigrants who have been in the United States over 10 years that face removal proceedings may qualify for another remedy called Cancellation of Removal.  Many immigrants apply for these forms of relief but are unrepresented by counsel, seriously impeding their ability to win their cases.  

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Applicants for asylum must establish that they have suffered persecution in the past in their county of nationality, and/or have a “well-founded” fear of persecution in the future.  The persecutor must either be from the government, or someone that government is unwilling or unable to control. One central reason for the persecution must be the applicant’s race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group. Asylum applicants must generally file for asylum within one year of arrival in the United States.

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If more than one year has passed since your entry into the United States, the immigration court can grant an exception to the one-year deadline for an asylum application for extraordinary or changed circumstances.  Extraordinary circumstances generally involve events beyond the applicant’s control that prevented the applicant from filing within one year’s time. Changed circumstances generally involve changes in the person’s home country that occurred after the person was already in the United States that make it difficult for the person to return to their country of origin. The one-year asylum application deadline does not apply to people brought to the United States as minors.  There are other exceptions to  the one year deadline, which our firm can provide advice on.

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The one-year deadline also does not apply to receiving withholding of removal or relief under the United Nations Convention Against Torture.  These remedies provide protection from removal, but do not provide a path to lawful permanent resident status (Green Card) or citizenship and involve somewhat higher standards of proof of potential harm.  A grant of asylum also provides the same benefits to their spouse and children, whereas receipt of withholding of removal and relief under the United Nations Convention Against Torture do not.  

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The asylum process involves filing an I-589 application and detailed documentation and evidence to support the claim with the immigration court. The application can include a spouse and children in the asylum request.  An immigration judge will conduct a hearing to determine if the applicant merits asylum.  Typically, if the judge finds the applicant does not merit asylum, the judge will consider the remedies of withholding of removal or protection under the United Nations Convention Against Torture.  Asylum hearings generally last several hours and include detailed testimony from the applicant and sometimes other witnesses.