My friends, I got a lot of help from the posts here during my application for asylum, now that my application has been approved, I'd like to share my experiences here, hopefully it can help other fellow applicants to clear some confusions.
07/2009 - entered the US from China on B2 visa legally, my visa is for 6 months. I am a woman, and pregnant with my second baby, everyone knows the one child policy in China, and I am against it, so I started to research ways of US protection, and found the best way is asylum based on political opinion (I am against China's one Child Policy).
08/2009 - started to check for good lawyers, and research the actual application procedure from USCIS instructions, decided to do it myself without a lawyer, sent application package out, a week later, the package was returned, due to my mistake in filling out the forms, corrected mistakes, resent package.
09/2009 - USCIS sent me receipt, and interview date at the same time, interviewing in asylum office 20 days from receipt date, finger print notice came only 3 days before interview. please note, interview can not be done without finger print. so I did the finger print right next day, went for the interview, my brother was my interpreter at the interview. It lasted about 1.5 hour, the officer had the attitude of matter of facts, hard questions, but I only needed to answer in truth straight, then the officer told me to pick up decision in 9 days. I left the asylum office feeling good. on the day before I pick up the decision, the asylum office called me, to inform me that there would be another interview the next day. I was worried, but did not panic. it was a different officer for the second interview, friendlier and matter of fact attitude, but questions were even tougher, I felt they were valid and fair questions, as I answered more questions, I could see the officer was more sympathetic. It lasted about 1.5 hour. and the officer told me the decision will be mailed to me and I left with a good feeling again
10/2009 - sure enough, I received the final approval in the mail 10 days after my second interview. I was so relieved and happy.
Good luck to all of you!
07/2009 - entered the US from China on B2 visa legally, my visa is for 6 months. I am a woman, and pregnant with my second baby, everyone knows the one child policy in China, and I am against it, so I started to research ways of US protection, and found the best way is asylum based on political opinion (I am against China's one Child Policy).
08/2009 - started to check for good lawyers, and research the actual application procedure from USCIS instructions, decided to do it myself without a lawyer, sent application package out, a week later, the package was returned, due to my mistake in filling out the forms, corrected mistakes, resent package.
09/2009 - USCIS sent me receipt, and interview date at the same time, interviewing in asylum office 20 days from receipt date, finger print notice came only 3 days before interview. please note, interview can not be done without finger print. so I did the finger print right next day, went for the interview, my brother was my interpreter at the interview. It lasted about 1.5 hour, the officer had the attitude of matter of facts, hard questions, but I only needed to answer in truth straight, then the officer told me to pick up decision in 9 days. I left the asylum office feeling good. on the day before I pick up the decision, the asylum office called me, to inform me that there would be another interview the next day. I was worried, but did not panic. it was a different officer for the second interview, friendlier and matter of fact attitude, but questions were even tougher, I felt they were valid and fair questions, as I answered more questions, I could see the officer was more sympathetic. It lasted about 1.5 hour. and the officer told me the decision will be mailed to me and I left with a good feeling again
10/2009 - sure enough, I received the final approval in the mail 10 days after my second interview. I was so relieved and happy.
Good luck to all of you!