after 1 year time limit
I AM NOT A LAWYER. THIS JUST MY PERSONAL EXPERIENNCE AND OPINION!
I AM NOT A LAWYER. THIS JUST MY PERSONAL EXPERIENNCE AND OPINION!
I have entered US on tourist visa in Nov 2005. I submitted my asylum application in Oct 2007. As you can see i stayed well over my 1 year time limit.
But my case was approved by immigration officer (not by judge which is the second proceeding) in March 2008.
It is important that you have a convincing case explaining why you waited so long to apply for asylum. simple "i didn't know about it" or "i was afraid i might get deported" will not help. It has to be "due to extraordinary circumstances". If you look at the exceptions for 1 year time limit rule, you will see that they ask you to prove that you had an "extraordinary circumstances, beyond your control situation". it can be illness, mental disability (it helps to have a statement prepared by social worker or psychologist mentioning that you were in depression and/or that you were in some kind of mental collapse due to tragic/unfortunate/traumatizing event etc) and or family tragedy et cetera. and remember these are all on top of what you say about persecution in your country. It is important to see a good lawyer (they cost around 6000, 7000usd) and tell your story. good lawyers will tell you whether they think you should go a head and do it or not.
It is important that you have confidence in yourself. Your performance for the interview with immigration officer is crucial. If you speak very good english (or have a good translator) and explain your situation (it has to be serious situation that you avoided/escaped from your country of origin where you feared for your life and safety) it will compensate your other weaknesses such as apply after 1 year time limit.
Remember that immigration officer is just regular person with alot of experience in hearing people with different stories and (sometimes lies, they can tell very easily) different backgrounds. But they are still human!
Strength of your case will largely depend on how you tell your story to the Officer/judge. If you are from a country where persecution is well known you have a great advantage. If not you can still gather some evidence, statement by some people who are familiar with the situation (lawyer should help you with this) which will help. but again most important thing is how u tell your story.
so as you can see all hope is not lost! But you should evaluate the whole process real careful.
I AM NOT A LAWYER. THIS JUST MY PERSONAL EXPERIENNCE AND OPINION.