Asylum pending for too long

Y

yapian

Registered Users (C)
Hi,
I filed I-589 exactly a year ago. I gave the fingerprints, but I have been waiting for the interview ever since, and it has been a year now.

Does anybody know what should I expect and why they are not sending me a notification for an interview? I also have a pro bono lawyer that is helping me just as much as I am paying her. Should I go to the interview with or without her? Could it help more if I find a decent lawyer to help me? Do I need one at all? BTW, I am applying for asylum due to the war in my country and persecution on the ethnic, and religious basis.

Thank you.

:)
 
Originally posted by yapian
Hi,
I filed I-589 exactly a year ago. I gave the fingerprints, but I have been waiting for the interview ever since, and it has been a year now.

Does anybody know what should I expect and why they are not sending me a notification for an interview? I also have a pro bono lawyer that is helping me just as much as I am paying her. Should I go to the interview with or without her? Could it help more if I find a decent lawyer to help me? Do I need one at all? BTW, I am applying for asylum due to the war in my country and persecution on the ethnic, and religious basis.

Thank you.

:)
Click to expand...
I thought that they do not have a long waiting period for asylum interviews anymore ( I waited 5 years for my interview but I applied in 1992 and this does not happen anymore). I do not think you will wait much longer. Are you sure they receive your form and do you have a receipt number? The interview can be as short as 20 minutes or as long as 3 hours. I know mine was 15 minutes :). You really need to talk with the immigration officer about your fears of return and the dire consequences of this return. You also need to talk about your experience as an oppressed minority in your country. As for the lawyer, she or he can prepare your case and write your personal statement. In my case, my lawyer charged me 500 dollars to come with me and only spoke for less than a minute after he was allowed to do so at the end of the interview. THowever, he has helped me prepare my case. The lawyer may also rehearse with you the interview so as to minimize the anxiety about it. My honest to God advice to you is as follows. Be true and be real and truth will set you free. The lawyer is important especially if he or she is experienced in asylum. After all the system is not perfect and pros can have their own ways of influencing each other. Good luck my friend
 
Thank you Shamshon, that was very nice of you to take time to give me detailed answer.

However, now I have another question: is there any possibility the whole thing could be pushed a bit, by a lawyer, or somebody else? Is there a chance we could pay to speed it up, or do whatever to speed it up? Is there any 'back door' I could use for special circumstances?

Also, does anybody know if I can travel while my application is pending? Or I am destined to be caged up?

Thank you for all your time.
 
yapian,

I agree with Shamshon. Just tell the truth and don't be nervious.

My lawyer did come to the interview with me. He answered question for one minute at the very end. The Ayslum officer and I did most of the talking. The intervew lasted about 15-20 minutes.

In my opinion, it is not very important (but nice to have one) to have your lawyer with you during the interview. The main purpose for his/her present is to make sure you did not say anything that might put your case in questions.

My officer did her home work. She told me she found some info on the internet that indicates my country situation is improving. She wanted my opinion about what she found. I asked her about the source, and commented on the issue. Obviously, I provided a good answer because she granted me asylum. I felt very confident when she walked me out to the elevator.

Since you have submited your case about a year ago, it does seem long time. You should check with the INS. I have been told the waiting period is also depend on where you live. (To see if there is any asylum officer in your surronding area.) Of course, I am not an ins officer or a lawyer, you should check with the INS. I can only tell you about my own experience.

I live in New York City, the whole process (from start to finished) took me about 2 1/2 months. I had my fingerprinting in Manhanttan and interview in New Jersey.

By the way, if you don't understand the question during the interview, you should ask the officer to clarify. This 15-30 minutes time frame is your chance to tell your story. You do not want to answer the wrong thing and wasted the valuable time.

I do not know if there is any back doors, but my lawyer called the INS to check my statuses many times. (I was lucky. I hired a great lawyer and a great lawyer assistant). The assistant called the INS after my asylum application was submited and he asked for fingerpinting schedule. He then also called and asked for scheduling of my interview. My lawyer assistant always called me and informed me of my status a day before I actually received my notice. He even called me and reminded me of my interview date. (How was it posible that I would forget my interview date.)

Last advice. Just be yourself and calm down.

Good luck!!!
 
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Originally posted by yapian
Thank you Shamshon, that was very nice of you to take time to give me detailed answer.

However, now I have another question: is there any possibility the whole thing could be pushed a bit, by a lawyer, or somebody else? Is there a chance we could pay to speed it up, or do whatever to speed it up? Is there any 'back door' I could use for special circumstances?

Also, does anybody know if I can travel while my application is pending? Or I am destined to be caged up?

Thank you for all your time.
Click to expand...
You are welcome Yapian. Well, just to let you know since you asked. The current waiting time for a green card based on asylum is 11 years ( that does not include the processing time that one spends until he or she is granted asylum). As for your question concerning "pushing " the process or finding a "back door," I think this is impossible. For example, I applied in 1992 for asylum and I received my green card 4 months ago. That is, the whole process took me 10 years. If you are in a hurry to get your green card, I would suggest that you find a nice American girl (guy if you are a girl) and marry him/her. This will get you the green card in less than 4 years. Or, find a sponsor that can get you the green card but you really have to have special professions such as computer programming or software development. Good luck and sorry if my information are not good news to you.
 
I have to agree Shamshon again.

The Green Card process thru asylum is long and unpleasant. I just filed my green card application two weeks ago, I will have to wait for another 12 years to get a green card (at least based on the current time estimate).

Marrying to a US citizen is the fastest option. Employer sponsor is another option. This might take 4-5 years. If you have a good education background and good work experience, you might want to check out British, Canada, and Australia's immigration rules. These countries use points system. Of course, if the US is your only preference, then you have to decide which immigration options(marry, company sponsor, asylum) in the US is best for you.

I wanted to stay in the US so all the options that I mentioned to you was not an option for me.I did not want to tied up to an employer for 4-5 years. And marrying was not an option for me. Finally, I decided to apply asylum.
 
Asylum offices these days have a mandate to conclude new cases within a few months. But this does not apply if you live far from an asylum office. In that case, you will have to wait until an asylum officer travels to your area for interviews (they won't do that unless they have a number cases accumulated). But if you are really eager to be interviewd now, you can write them and state that you do not mind going to the asylum office.

Have you obtained your work authorization yet?
 
Thank you shanshon, cchong and gilbert, it was very nice of you to take time and write me your experiences, and advices.

Yes, I have received my BBA degree, and my EAD, and I work. However, my problem is of emotional nature as my mom is getting ill because of many things. One big thing is that she did not see me for two years (I am the only kid in the family). When I was applying, they did not have this law that makes you wait for 10 years to receive your green card. I have been in limbo since I was 14 years old: no citizenship, no legal rights, everywhere treated as a foreigner, spent most of my adolescence in lines to renew my visa for the country I lived in (we were not allowed citizenship, and had to live there on visa as foreigners from the country that does not want us), was always marked as an outsider, was not treated as a citizen, but as a refugee and a second class 'citizen'. Now I am 25 years old. I have been looking for my place under the sun since I was 20. Now I applied for asylum thinking that is it, finally can settle down and be free - live my life. Well, now it appears that I have to wait another 10 years to get that freedom. I am sick and tired watching my peers and my friends go freely traveling, having fun, live with no boundaries, ... I want to live like that too. I cannot wait another ten years, and I want to see my parents. I do not know what to do any more. H1B is not possible at this point as my company does not want to sponsor me, and than that is a short term solution and very tacky especially because I have to be in constant fear not to lose my job, etc, etc. Marriage is hardly possible as I have no relationship at the moment (other options are open, but that is highly arguable - and, yes, I am a girl :D ). So, what else is there to hope for?

Thank you all for your responses, you were so kind for helping and using your time.

All the best.
 
yapian,

You're welcome. I am glad that our info allows you to be better informed.

I share you feeling. When I first applied for ayslum, I was not informed about the 10 years wait. Just hope that thing will change soon.

I missed my parents as well. I have not seen them for 7 years now. My parents and I are planning on visiting my brother in Netherlands next May, I just hope that the trip will work out this time (we postponed our trip this year).

The long wait for the green card is unpleasant, but I am sure there are many pleasant things happen is our life that we should be very pround of.

Good luck to you!!!
 
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Thanks, cchong, your message is so optimistic and encouraging. My mom is sick, and I cannot wait that long, actually I cannot wait at all. At this point I am risking losing my asylum application, because I will be forced to go see her.

There is another thing I wanted to ask you. You are in New York, right? I will be moving to New York from Florida soon. You said you had a great lawyer over there who helped you a lot. Do you think you could give me the info on that lawyer, so I could contact him too? I need some more help in resolving all this, and my pro bono lawyer does not help me a lot. Also, how are the procedures in New York, is it going to slow me even more down, what do you think?

Thanks a lot.
 
TRAVEL?

Originally posted by yapian
Thanks, cchong, your message is so optimistic and encouraging. My mom is sick, and I cannot wait that long, actually I cannot wait at all. At this point I am risking losing my asylum application, because I will be forced to go see her.

There is another thing I wanted to ask you. You are in New York, right? I will be moving to New York from Florida soon. You said you had a great lawyer over there who helped you a lot. Do you think you could give me the info on that lawyer, so I could contact him too? I need some more help in resolving all this, and my pro bono lawyer does not help me a lot. Also, how are the procedures in New York, is it going to slow me even more down, what do you think?

Thanks a lot.
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Yapian, when you say "I am risking losing my asylum application, because I will be forced to go see her", are you plannig to go to your homecountry and come back?
 
yapian,

Yes, I live in New York City. In New York, the asylum process is very fast. I submited my ayslum application in late March 2002 and received my asylee status in mid-May 2002. (I am not talking about getting your Green Card, but the asylum application process).

I think I accidentally deleted my lawyer,Tao Lin,email so I do not have his email address or direct phone number. But, I do have the main line. You can call (212) 226-2100 and ask for Tao Lin. The law firm is called "Caesar & Napoli".

I do not have any association with this law firm or the lawyer so you should meet with Tao Lin to see if you feel comfortable to hire him to represent you.

I believe that your comform level with him and his experience in asylum cases are two of the most important criteria you should consider. Talk to him and ask about how confident he is on your case.

Because your mom is sick you just wanted to see her. My farther health problem is getting bad as well. I understand your feeling.
If it is possible check if you and your mom can travel to a nearby country of your mom lives. I know this is not an optimal solution, but you should not travel back to your home country if you want to keep your current status in the US.

It is your life and your mom. I have no right to tell you what you should or should not do. But you should consider the consequences of your action.

I wish you all the best.
 
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It so sad

Its so sad to see all these stories. I am an asylee myself. My story is a little weird but here it goes. I got approved for asylee in 1999 and applied late 2000. I think its taking 6 years to get from 2000..I hope the numbers stay the same. Anyways I came to this country as a student and I had a girlfriend back home who I really loved... Anyways after getting approved, I applied for her as a derivate asylum but they denied me because I applied 2 years 2 month later(this was just after 9/11). They denied us!!! I think 9/11 was still fresh in INS's mind maybe!!..they have denied my appeals!

Anyways Now i am in a huge limbo, I want her here in u.s with me..living with me!..BUt its soi hard to get her here!!!!!..She is back home and I can't go back or else I will be denied entry into u.s per my lawyer. Its so frustrating! Now i am trying to get her a student visa or any other sort of visa!..

She cries and cries and cries on the phone and I can't do anything!!..I just appliked for my Refugee Travel Document so at least I can visit her in a different country and we can at least console each other...but the receipt said 400 Days. How fair is that? Its not fair at all.

The easier option would be to forget each other(I am 25, she is 23) and thats waht her parents are telling her..However she wont give up and neither will I....I know lots of us have same problems!..This Quota thing is horrible.

If We are Asylees and dont need an EAD to work(I use unrescrticed ssn), , they should allow for us to apply for our spouses at least as a permanent resident..or give us temporary green cards like in the 1980s.


I dont know maybe we all asylees can get together and visit some congressman(a democrat!!) and tell them to remove the quota on this!

When she gets here, I dont know how she is going to get legal..wait till i become citizen? Oh got that would be in 10 years. or so..

I am in high tech field.i am an engineer for a pretty big company!..
I have a choice of getting my gc through employment BUT i dont want to mess my application..and going th rough that will be the same time frame? 5 years as getting my asylum based gc? ?

Thanks for listeening..:)
 
Hi,
Thank you all for your kind responses and your patience.
I have spoken to my pro bono lawyer again, and asked her if she could see with her connections what is going on in the INS (or whatever it is called now), and why my case is taking so long. Well, she checked with her friend, also lawyer (because she has no connection in the INS) and she said that for some reason they are ignoring me. She says she does not know why, and what is happening, and at this point there is nothing she can do about it (my translation of this sentence is that she does not really care, as long as she gets her tax relief). Anyways, I have to do something about it, and currently I am looking for a good and cheap lawyer (does something like that exist?) Thank you cchong for the one in New York. However, I am moving to New York only in September, so right now I will have to find somebody here in Florida.

If anybody has any good advice, please let me know. Another thing, I was thinking of applying for advanced parole just for the reason of them pulling my file out of the backlog, and remembering that I still exist. Is it a good idea???

Thanks all!
 
Again, you can write to the asylum office and request an immediate interview. In general such requests are honored.

What advance parole are you referring to?
 
I was referring to the advanced parole to leave the country, you know the one you need in order to come back to the USA. I was thinking of going overseas to finish my studies (to a third country-Germany) for one semester, but I am not sure how safe it is, so I did not go, but my lawyer told me it could be a good idea, just to ask for it, for them to pull out my file. I would not really leave the country, I would not travel.

Gilbert, how do you mean I can call them and ask for the interview? Is that possible? Is it common? Why don't others than do the same if it is easy as that, because I heard some people were waiting for years for that interview (somebody said that on this thread I think)? Do you perhaps know how to contact them, because all that I have is the phone number to bunch of automated machines, and I would really like to talk to a live person, we all do :) .

Thanks for your post. This is something I did not know.

Regards.
 
I just research your post. You mean to tell me you have been waiting since 2003 to get green card? Am I understanding this correctly?
 
wow, thanks for the reply. yeah, i was waiting for the interview for 2 years and another year for the decision (referral to the higher court). However, then I moved to NY and everything has been on hold for another two years.

Crazy crazy ...
 
Asylum

Hello People,

I will try to tell you guys what the Officer told me at the end of my hearing (USCIS-Anaheim-California)

My interview was very long (4:30 minutes) However it was very calm and positive. The Officer said "I'm the Officer who will approve or deny your case, so if you don't lie to me, everything will be fine".

At the end of my hearing he asked me if I had any crimes back in my country and If I was involved in any kind of terrorism group.

I said "no".

Then he said "Ok, our interview is finished and I will send your case to Washington D.C. so they can do the background check back in Brazil".

The Officer asked me to sign a paper so they could mail the final decision. He also said "Don't worry! The agents in D.C. are very busy and it'll take over 2 months"

---> It's been 2 months and 15 days and I haven't gotten anything from them!
---> Does "background check" mean that my case was approved? Because from what I've been reading, usually a "denied letter" comes after 2 weeks and It doesnt take 2.5 months to say "NO", right?


The ones who were approved, could you please give me some hope?

Thank you so much

M,
 
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