March 7, 2019

Fear Of Returning To Your Home Country & Asylum

ASYLUM

To gain asylum in the United States can be a very long and difficult process. Simply being afraid to be in your home country, or that there are no jobs in your home country is not enough. Even if you were the victim of crime in your home country, it still may not be enough.

To be eligible for asylum in the United States you must show that either you were persecuted in the past or that you have a well-founded fear of persecution in the future based on a protected ground of nationality, religion, political opinion, race, or membership in a particular social group. The protected ground does not need to be the only reason you persecuted or that you will be persecuted, but it does need to be the central reason for the persecution in order to be granted asylum. If you have a fear of future harm, you must also show that it would be unreasonable for you to relocate within your home country to escape that harm.

Another important aspect of asylum is that you must file your application for asylum within one year of entering the United States. There are limited exceptions to this requirement such as illness, changed country conditions, or being a minor when you came to the United States are some examples, but, even if you meet an exception you still must file within a reasonable time.

If you are in immigration court you will file your application with the Immigration Judge. The Judge will set a hearing for you to come and tell them why you are afraid or how you suffered. You do not need to be in immigration court to apply for asylum though, if you are not in immigration court you can file your application with the asylum office. The asylum office will them send you an interview notice for when to appear for you interview where an asylumofficer will ask you questions about your fears or what happened to you. It is very important to tell the truth to the government official that is listening to your claim. If you lie on your asylum application or do not tell the truth, it is a permanent ban to relief.

Asylum is a very complicated application and if you are afraid to return to your country, or something has happened to you in your country, you should consult an experienced immigration attorney. Here at Bailey Immigration we have helped numerous clients obtain asylum both in front of the Immigration Judge and in front of asylum officials, even with the stricter asylum laws.

We have had success for many women who were abused based on a familial or pseudo familial relationship, children who abused by their parents or care givers, those who can prove they were targeted based on being a member of their family, or for belonging to an ethnic minority that was discriminated against.

Please call with questions about asylum 503-224-0950