asylum and change of status

H

honeyy

New Member
I'm on a B1/B2 visa. I had my baby few months ago in the US and I recently requested for a change of status to F1 but now, my circumstance has changed a lot coupled with the fact that I'm Currently homeless.

I'm thinking of seeking for asylum but I don't know how to go about it or if there is a possibility as I'm still awaiting response from USCIS on my COS.

Can anyone please give me an insight?
 
Every year people come to the United States seeking protection because they have suffered persecution or fear that they will suffer persecution due to:

  • Race
  • Religion
  • Nationality
  • Membership in a particular social group
  • Political opinion

You can't apply for asylum because you are homeless, but you can apply for asylum if you have a good reason fit under one of these categories.
If you decide to apply for asylum, you need to apply in one year from the date you entered U.S.
 
Asylum seeker said:
If you decide to apply for asylum, you need to apply in one year from the date you entered U.S.
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if one entered USA several times , do they count the 1 year since the last admission or the first admission ?

I mean if I entered USA in 2014 then returned to USA in 2016 , can I apply for asylum or not because more than one year passed since my first admission in 2014 ? (despite only few months since the last admission)
 
hope4peace said:
if one entered USA several times , do they count the 1 year since the last admission or the first admission ?

I mean if I entered USA in 2014 then returned to USA in 2016 , can I apply for asylum or not because more than one year passed since my first admission in 2014 ? (despite only few months since the last admission)
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Hi
The one year starts counting from your last entry which will be 2016,
 
Thanks for your response Asylum seeker. I'm not applying because I'm homeless. Being homeless is just one of the circumstances surrounding my case.

My question is: is it possible for me to apply for asylum while I'm awaiting response from USCIS on my COS to F1?

If possible, how do I go about it?
A. Do I withdraw the COS application first before the asylum application?
B. Do I wait for a response on COS first?
C. Do I apply for asylum simultaneously?
 
how long ago did you file I-539? nowaday, it tales about 6 months on average for a decision. do you plan to maintain your F-1 status once approved? if not, you can withdraw. if you want to be in status at all time, you can file for asylum concurrently.

so, all 3 options that you listed are all possible. which one to pick depends on your plan. in my opinion, none is bettr than the others.
 
Thanks CWH

I filed one month ago. And yes I plan on maintaining the F1.

Can anyone recommend a lawyer please? Someone I can speak extensively with.
 
honeyy said:
Thanks CWH

I filed one month ago. And yes I plan on maintaining the F1.

Can anyone recommend a lawyer please? Someone I can speak extensively with.
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which state you live in ? so we could see if there is someone know a good lawyer there
Yes, you could apply for asylum even if you have pending I-539.
 
honeyy said:
I'm in Houston. Thank you all for your responses and help
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As I know Houston is the faster asylum office to do interview and give decision, because a lot of people avoid to apply in it due to the high denial rate. a lot of people get denial in Houston.
It's up to you, but, if you want to apply in another asylum office you need to move to another state under different asylum office.

Anyway if someone have different idea please share it with us. Also please let us know if someone recommend a good asylum lawyer in Houston.
 
Wow! Really? Moving out of Houston isn't an option for me at the moment though but I will look into it.

Thank you so much for your response
 
In my experience , keeping in view political situation as Presidential Elections are coming up in November, Asylum back log , present government's policy towards immigrants and speedy action from asylum offices in mind, the best option is LA, because they reopened their sub office for asylum under Houston ( southern office) in New Orleans. Since Louisiana is a poor and less fun state and most of the people coming to US concentrate towards rich and more fun places and favorable to apply for asylum not realizing that everyone is going there. No one should be afraid of Houston office because if you have sufficient proofs of your case and if your case convinces you then for sure it will convince AO. There are less applicants in LA so everything is moving quick. I got the best lawyer in New Orleans, Miss Charlotte E Viener, applied June 2015 few days before my first year was about to be completed because i had a very complicated case and many many papers to be translated, and after preliminaries she applied for EADs which i got in Feb 2016. I was not expecting my interview before first quarter of 2017 keeping in mind the back log of Houston Office, but to my surprise i got the letter for interview in April and my interview was in June 2016. Interview went well and it took long time and all the personals at asylum office were young, smiling, courteous and kind. At the end of July 2016 i got recommended approval. I talked to my lawyer office four days ago and i was told that people who were interviewed in May 2015 and got recommendations have received their final approvals so far. So i am expecting the final approval somewhere in the coming week. We immigrants do not know much about laws here and United States is all about forms and perfect papers , therefore i thing that everyone need a lawyer for a sensitive thing like asylum we cannot take any chances as we already burnt all our boats and the way back to COP is impossible. I keep reading different blogs here and let me assure you that whatever government comes, they will be favorable to immigrants to make their future vote bank strong, so don't be afraid of Trump or for that matter anyone, their speeches are all political stunts.
best of luck to you all.
 
hello everybody
i came to USA with j1 visa in june 2016 after three months I applied for f1 visa than I had to cancel f1 because I wanted to apply for aslyum but after I canceled F1 I wait more than 3 months to apply asylum. I m an asylum seeker right now however I get a mail from USCIS .It is a decision(RE:I-539, Application to extend/chance Nonimmigrant Status) It says that after I canceled f1 they didnt get any other application from me since then I m an out of status . However if I m disagree with this I have to submit a motion to reopen or a motion to reconsider by completing a Form I-290B. My question is me as an asylum seeker, do I have to fill this form ?
 
sparta32 said:
hello everybody
i came to USA with j1 visa in june 2016 after three months I applied for f1 visa than I had to cancel f1 because I wanted to apply for aslyum but after I canceled F1 I wait more than 3 months to apply asylum. I m an asylum seeker right now however I get a mail from USCIS .It is a decision(RE:I-539, Application to extend/chance Nonimmigrant Status) It says that after I canceled f1 they didnt get any other application from me since then I m an out of status . However if I m disagree with this I have to submit a motion to reopen or a motion to reconsider by completing a Form I-290B. My question is me as an asylum seeker, do I have to fill this form ?
Click to expand...
You withdrew I-539 application (from J1 to F1), which means that when your J1 status expired, you were out of atatus the next day. You have been out of status since then even though you filed for asylum, but it’s ok as you are now in the US on a pending-Asylum-application status.

To answer your question, you do not need to filethe form I-290B to motion the I-539 application because you actually withdrew it. The motion would not help in anyway because there would be nothing to reconsider (J1 to F1).

I hope that helps.
 
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