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Question 1 - There are two exceptions to the one year rule, "changed circumstances" and "extraordinary circumstances". The first exception involves things that have happened since you have been in the US that materially affect your eligibility for asylum, like changes in the situation in your...

On January 31st the Executive Office of Immigration Review opened up their website for doing research on country conditions to the public. You can access this excellent information at: http://www.justice.gov/eoir/vll/country/country_index.html This is a great source for finding reports...

Student attorneys at law school clinics work under the direct supervision of very qualified law professor/attorneys. Generally they put much more work into a case than a paid attorney will. And asylum is a very labor intensive type of law, so the more hours your representative puts into...

Actually the 500% increase in Credible Fear cases is about right, but the numbers are only about one fifth of what you posit. In 2009 there were 5523 credible fear interviews and in 2013, even before the years was complete there were 22,775 credible fear interviews according to Department of...

No, credible fear is different. When someone arrives and does not have proper documents they can be sent back immediately without seeing an immigration judge - unless they say they are afraid to return. If they say they are afraid, the inspectors, or the border patrol agents if they are caught...

There was a Congressional hearing on abuse of credible fear just a little over a week ago. You can get info here: http://judiciary.house.gov/hearings/113th/hear_12122013.html. What you will find out is that credible fear claims have increased over 500% since 2007 and USCIS is in process of...

If they discover at the interview that you do not live in their jurisdiction they will cancel the interview and transfer you case to proper office. Depending on circumstances such a lie may hurt your credibility.

You will have to go to an application support center (ASC) to get the biometrics done. I suppose, if there is a an ASC near where you are you can call and ask them if you can have the biometrics there (it can't do any harm), otherwise you will have to call the ASC where you are scheduled and...

I think the problem is that the asylum offices have more to do than just interview affirmative asylum applicants. They are also responsible for conducting credible fear interviews, to determine if those who are in expedited removal have a serious enough claim to go before an immigration judge...

Pretty much all Congressional offices have people on staff whose job it is to help people in their districts with immigration issues. You can call your Representative's local office, or either of your two Senators' offices and ask to speak someone who can help with an immigration problem and...

Old INS did not require in-person service of decision until 1995, when asylum system was reformed. David Martin, an asylum scholar, wrote this about the change in how decisions were to be served: Beyond calling for more staff, the team that worked on what became the 1995 reforms went carefully...

http://www.uscis.gov/about-us/directorates-and-program-offices/refugee-asylum-and-international-operations-directorate/raio-training-materials

If you look on the USCIS website you will find the training materials that are used by asylum officers. There is a lesson on Evidence and they have a section on statements by experts. That will tell you what the asylum officer should be looking for in weighing the expert testimony.

If you decide it is safe to return to your country of persecution and voluntarily give up your asylum status, it should work in your favor if you apply for a nonimmigrant visa in the future. There is no greater proof that you are not an intending immigrant than the fact that you gave up...

Once 150 days have elapsed, if you have not been called in for an interview and you have not requested the delay, you can file your application for employment authorization. They will have to issue your EAD within 30 days of your application. You can find the instructions for the I-765 at...

You can apply You can apply for asylum once you are here - most foreigners in the US can apply for asylum regardless of their legal status. There is a one year deadline, but you can qualify for an extraordinary circumstances exception to the one year rule if you are in valid nonimmigrant...

Yes I forgot that the Embassy in Damascus closed over a year ago. But it still stands, that consular officers are loath to give visas to individuals from conflict countries. You may have been one of the lucky few and know a few others, but getting the visa will still be difficult. Since they...

While it is possible that a Syrian could apply for a visitors visa to come to the US at the USE in Damascus, it is not probable that such a visa would be granted. The assumption of the consular officer would be that the applicant was seeking to apply for asylum once in the US. The quickest way...

Two types of protection There are two types of refugee protection that are offered by the US, asylum under section 208 of the INA, which handles those who are in the US or arriving at a port of entry, and refugee resettlement under section 207 of the INA, which handles those who are refugees...

Yes, either email or phone. If you have an attorney, you should probably have the attorney make the request.