Can refugees write their experience of persecution?

[msv5450]

I have a friend who was persecuted for the same reasons that my asylum claim is based on. He and his family were admitted to the US as refugees 3 years ago.

I asked him for an affidavit to support my asylum application. He says they had to sign a document at the United Nations upon being accepted as refugees that they should not put the story of their life and the reasons they became refugees into any written form. So, he cannot write his story in an affidavit for me.

Is that true? Can you point me to any law that stipulates that?

 

[7of9]

It's always a good I idea getting all the supporting evidence you can to buttress your claims. In all my years following asylum cases, no one has ever linked their story to refugee experiences/affidavits. But that doesn't mean it hasn't been done. Each asylum case is different, and is judged on its own merit. Asylum cases are not criminal cases, so as the 'defendant' you can get anybody to write you an affidavit. It's up to the officer to use/value all your submissions. Affidavits are written by willing people...and that includes refugees: there is no law excluding refugees providing affidavits or even testifying in a court of law about their refugee experiences.

The only danger comes when you try to wholly link your case to the affidavit supplied by the refugees: Even if it is true, the officer or Immigration Judge won't feel comfortable making a decision in your favor - it's like you are saying the UN determined X to be a refugee, so since I have the same experiences as X, you must grant my asylum request. Your best bet is to forget about this affidavit - instead, provide the officer with refugee data and experiences from your country. Show the officer evidence of how what happened left most stateless or there was torture, etc. General information with hard facts about your situation is better for your case - many people win their cases that way, without tying their cases to refugee affidavits.

So, please forget about this affidavit. Good luck!

 

[msv5450]

Hey @7of9

Thanks for your comment. I've been following you and you always bring up sensible arguments. I'm still waiting to hear from my own attorney about what she thinks of this whole story. I've been reading many terrifying interview experiences on this forum about people with good asylum claims getting rejected because the officers catch a minor flaw or have misunderstanding of their case. One mistake leads to denial and I don't want to risk that.

Here is the full picture of my problem. Could you please read through these couple of bullet points and let me know your opinion?! I'd appreciate it.

1. I have a very very strong case with lots of evidence. I am 101% sure I can win if I don't screw up on the day of the interview because my lawyer and I have put together literally 1000 pages of governmental and NGO reports along with legit news articles. So, I don't need this refugee affidavit to prove my case
2. I have mentioned this refugee family in my asylum declaration because getting to know them played a role in my story in general. I think it is likely that the officer asks me why I do not have an affidavit from this family who I mentioned in my statement. basically, I'm claiming that I thought of applying for asylum after I found out what happened to this refugee family.
3. On I-589 application form, there is a question that asks if I know someone who has been persecuted for the same reasons as I do and if I answer "YES" based on knowing this refugee family, I'll need to get an affidavit from them. If I say "NO" it will contradict my statement because I have claimed that I know them and they played an important part in my story.

Considering the above, do you think I should get an affidavit from them to show that these people exist and I'm not lying, even though they won't say anything about their experience?

 

[jiayangguizi]

Hey @7of9

Thanks for your comment. I've been following you and you always bring up sensible arguments. I'm still waiting to hear from my own attorney about what she thinks of this whole story. I've been reading many terrifying interview experiences on this forum about people with good asylum claims getting rejected because the officers catch a minor flaw or have misunderstanding of their case. One mistake leads to denial and I don't want to risk that.

Here is the full picture of my problem. Could you please read through these couple of bullet points and let me know your opinion?! I'd appreciate it.

1. I have a very very strong case with lots of evidence. I am 101% sure I can win if I don't screw up on the day of the interview because my lawyer and I have put together literally 1000 pages of governmental and NGO reports along with legit news articles. So, I don't need this refugee affidavit to prove my case
2. I have mentioned this refugee family in my asylum declaration because getting to know them played a role in my story in general. I think it is likely that the officer asks me why I do not have an affidavit from this family who I mentioned in my statement. basically, I'm claiming that I thought of applying for asylum after I found out what happened to this refugee family.
3. On I-589 application form, there is a question that asks if I know someone who has been persecuted for the same reasons as I do and if I answer "YES" based on knowing this refugee family, I'll need to get an affidavit from them. If I say "NO" it will contradict my statement because I have claimed that I know them and they played an important part in my story.

Considering the above, do you think I should get an affidavit from them to show that these people exist and I'm not lying, even though they won't say anything about their experience?

where are you from?