That is very inhumane of them to make you wait for nine years! That is almost a decade! Two presidents came and went and your case was still pending?? This is insane!
Anyhow, You must be prepared for a longer wait time depending on the court you are in. Also you MUST appear at all the hearings promptly and comply with all requests made by the court (fingerprints, response to motion, etc.) Now the referral assessment is not admitted as evidence. The judge will hear your case anew. The DHS trial attorney may however adopt the position of the asylum officer on your relocation to another part of the country. He may also be one of those lazy attorneys who will let the judge do all the work and would care less about the outcome of the case (which is 90% of the time).
Your chances depend on a number of factors including the strength of your claim, your attorney experience, the judge (lenient or tough) and the DHS trial attorney. Just make sure you have a good attorney to represent you. Maybe expensive but worth it. You rather spend money at this stage than go to BIA or Circuit court with more complex legal procedure and slim chance of winning and pay even more.
Your first hearing would be the Master Calendar hearing (procedural one) where you will concede removability an then you will declare your intention to re-apply for asylum, withholding of removal and CAT. The second individual merit hearing will be the full blown trial and your case will be heard. The timeframes between the two hearings could be really long I warn you.
Your merit hearing could be nasty or easy depending on the judge. He may grant or deny you asylum at a heartbeat. He may do take decision after scrutinizing the hell out of your and he may be very hostile too or even on the verge of rudeness but don’t let that discourage you. Your best weapon is confidence and composure. These judges are desensitized after hundreds of cases and some assume all people are liars until proven innocent.
