Can this issue be a basis for Asylum?

D

dexter2005

Registered Users (C)
Hi all,

I have a friend who's fallen out of status for couple of years now. She came here as a F1 student, and graduated with a four-year degree in 2004. The reason for her falling out of status was that when she applied for OPT, the USCIS had sent to the college International office request for more evidence. This was never relayed to her by the college International student office, and therefore later the application was rejected (The college made her use the International Student Office mailing address in the OPT application). It was a mistake in her part that she never queried about the OPT card for the entire period of the OPT.

Once the OPT end date approached, she went to join a junior college in town to pursue a vocational degree, but found that she had been out of status in SEVIS. The International Student office at her old college said they never received the request for evidence sent by the USCIS, and therefore even wrote a letter stating the office never received the request for evidence. We thought of re-instating at the junior college - she even attended classes for few days, but decided against it as we were afraid that if denied, she would get the 3/10 bar. The college told her that her only option was to go back to her native country with a new I-20.

She was about to go back, but her family back home suggested not to since the Maoist insurgency in her home country was at its peak. Her family was getting extortion threats. While that was back in early 2006, the maoists insurgents have come to the mainstream with a very fragile peace process, but the threat from them still persists. They have been consistently threatening to go underground and pursue their military resistance if monarchy is not abolished in Nepal and country is turned into a republic.

Is this a sound basis for her to apply for asylum? Thanks!
 
My understanding is that asylum cases are based on threads done against you, not based on a genaral situation going on in a certain country.

You have to proof that your life is in danger, not your familie's, and since your friend has been here since 2000, there is no way she can base her asylum on thredens done against her.

I also belive asylum seekers should do so during the first year in USA.

She can always consult a lawer.

Good luck
:)
 
I think that is just a rule of thumb to apply within one year but few people dont follow that rule, i guess that is why they end up with IJ sometimes.

I was in this country in 1992 and apply in 1996, did not show up for an interview then again in 1999, i was called again and did not show up until i was called in 2005 and finally went to the interview..

your best alternative is to see an experience lawyer who can review your case and advise further.
 
Asylum is very tricky. I was granted asylum in Immigration court. I was out of status in this country for over ten years, I grew up in a third country. I was never persecuted in my COP. The basis of my case was my uncle who was being harrassed by the govt and the treatment my parents got when they went to COP for vacation. One thing I had to overcome was the one year rule.

On the otherhand a co-worker of mine from Nepal who was personally harrassed in Nepal by the Maoists got his asylum denied by the immigration officer and was sent to Immigration court.

In my opinion, I feel that case presentation is very important. The type of evidence that you provide is also important. Most of my evidence was from newspaper clippings and the human rights record report. I only had personal statements from myself, my father and a human rights organization from COP. My co-worker's evidence was mostly personal statements. What would you believe more, newspaper clippings or personal statements? In my opinion, newspaper clippings. I would also recommend not to get too dramatic. It just throws your case away. According to my co-worker, he got so dramatic in his interview, he started crying and what not. Also, answer your questions as short as possible but convey your point. ONE VERY IMPORTANT THING: MOST OF THE QUESTIONS WILL COME FROM THE APPLICATION THAT YOU FILED AND FROM THE EVIDENCE AND PERSONAL STATEMENTS YOU SUBMITTED. I WAS NOT ALLOWED TO HAVE MY APPLICATION INFRONT OF ME. IF YOUR ANSWERS DO NOT MATCH, YOU CAN SAY YOUR ASYLUM BYE BYE.

Hope everything turns out for the best for you. Keep us posted.
 
All,

Thank you so very much for your replies...

Colombian PR makes a valid point, however I do believe that threat to family members is serious enough threat to yourself since when you return back to the country you will be living with the family.

I will suggest my friend to write up her side of the story and then will consult a lawyer. Wishing her the best ...

In the meanwhile, if you have any type of suggestions - pls pass it along this way.
 
My case was based on what happened to my family. My family (father, mother and sister) got harrassed by the government 1998. I was here then (I have been here since 1993), but I told the IO that I can't go back because the same thing will happen to me. My evidence was my families experience as well as news printout from the internet and other media. I just had to prove to the IO that it had actually happened to them and that it will happen to me too.

I was in status when I applied. I was on H1 therefore, the 1 year rule didn't affect me at all. All I said was that I never had the intention to stay in the US more than the length of my H1, but now that it happened, I don't have the choice of going back.

The fact that she was out of status for 2 years might be a factor, but besides that as long as she can prove that the country is not safe for her because it's not safe for her family. She should be OK. But yes, get a lawyer, preferably one that is familiar with cases from Nepal. He/she mighe help you prepare good evidence . Good luck to your friend!
 
Hi MGTgrl,

You mentioned that you shared your family's experience - did you write it on your own or did any of your family members write it for you? I mean does it count more if the family writes their own experience. The reason I'm asking is that her family is not the most fluent in English language - then can speak broken English, but not sure how well they can express themselves in English. If she was to ask her parents about their experience - how should they do it? Will a letter in their native Nepalese language suffice?

Thanks again for sharing your experience.
 
Hi Dexter,

I wrote the whole thing myself. I wrote what my family told me happened to them. I mean it happened to a lot of people, so the information was not only my family's case (I mean it was well know by americans as well). I even included emails that I was getting from them and other relatives telling me about the issues they were having.

Your friend's asylum application/story should be written by her, but she can always include letters and evidences she can get from her family. It can be in Nepalese language, but she should get it translated and submit both (original and translation). This is just my opinion. A lawyer will give her more/better information about this. By the way, I never had a lawyer. I just used somebody who was from my country to help me gather and submit the information. He specializes in immigration cases for people in our community. She might find somebody like that to help her gather the information. Make sure he/she knows what he/she doing. The guy who helped me charged me $700, but he helped me write my case and gather different evidence from newspapers, internet, etc... He had dealt with cases similar to mine, so he knew what he was doing. I was sure I can handle the asylum case without a lawyer, but i just needed a little bit help from somebody who has done it before. But if your friend is not sure of her case or herself, it's better if she gets a lawyer.

Again good luck to your friend!


dexter2005 said:
Hi MGTgrl,

You mentioned that you shared your family's experience - did you write it on your own or did any of your family members write it for you? I mean does it count more if the family writes their own experience. The reason I'm asking is that her family is not the most fluent in English language - then can speak broken English, but not sure how well they can express themselves in English. If she was to ask her parents about their experience - how should they do it? Will a letter in their native Nepalese language suffice?

Thanks again for sharing your experience.
Click to expand...
 
One more question - will the IO be asking her about the current status or on why she is out-of-status? Will being out-of-status automatically mean it'll be decided at an immigration court?
 
Dexter:
Asylum seekers can be out of status no matter what. Being out of status is not an issue for us.
Good luck,
Elsa
 
MGTgrl said:
My case was based on what happened to my family. My family (father, mother and sister) got harrassed by the government 1998. I was here then (I have been here since 1993), but I told the IO that I can't go back because the same thing will happen to me. My evidence was my families experience as well as news printout from the internet and other media. I just had to prove to the IO that it had actually happened to them and that it will happen to me too.

I was in status when I applied. I was on H1 therefore, the 1 year rule didn't affect me at all. All I said was that I never had the intention to stay in the US more than the length of my H1, but now that it happened, I don't have the choice of going back.

The fact that she was out of status for 2 years might be a factor, but besides that as long as she can prove that the country is not safe for her because it's not safe for her family. She should be OK. But yes, get a lawyer, preferably one that is familiar with cases from Nepal. He/she mighe help you prepare good evidence . Good luck to your friend!
Click to expand...

Hi MGTgrl,

Thanks for your post. Even though it was back in 07, it is so helpful. I just wanted to ask you one question. In your post above you mentioned that the only thing you had to prove to the IO was that those events actually did happen to your family and that the same would happen to you if you go back. How did you prove that if you didn't have much evidence?

I'd be very grateful for your advice.

Thank you.
 
Hi Sazhib01,

I am sorry for not responding to your post. I just saw it now! To answer your question, I did have lots of evidence of what happened to my family. I had newspaper articles, articles from the internet, email correspondence between me and family members etc... My case was based on persecution based on ethnicity and the stories were not just mine or my family's. Many people were affected by it, thus the IO was aware of the situation in my COP. The only thing is that I was here when it all started so it didn't happen directly to me. But it was obvious that it could happen to me too if I went back. So what I had to prove was that it happened to my family.
 
Thank you very much, MGTgrl. I also have never been out of status and am in legal status now in the US. I'm currently putting together my application to submit at the end of April (hopefully). My primary concern is that I might not have much direct evidence of my past persecution. Everything else is fine: expert affidavits, expert reports on the conditions in my country, internet articles, photos (where applicable), other circumstantial evidence. If I may ask another question: could you please share your tips on the actual writing (in response to the questions) in the application AND the interview itself? I'd be very grateful. I've browsed other threads, but I guess the fact that you applied while being legal in the US appealed to my situation because I always thought that somehow it would be a disadvantage to the success of my application.

Thank you!
 
Sazhib01,

I am assuming your are applying for asylum right (and not I-485 (green card))? Give me a few days to try to get the info out (look for my file and remember how I wrote my case etc...) Honestly, this was along time ago. I applied for asylum towards the end of 1999 and got my approval in early 2000 (I think Jan 2000). I don't remember the details of how I filled the form or how the interview was (or the questions I was asked in details etc...) to help you that well. But since I need to prepare for my citizenship interview now maybe it's a good for me to look back at my case also. I will get back with you hopefully after this weekend. But if you don't hear from me back, please shoot me a message or post again to remind me. I am extremely busy at work and taking 2 master's classes so I am super busy and I might forget (not intentionally but because I am just swamped). I promise to make a note for myself as well.

Take care and good luck! I'm glad to be of any help! I remember how it felt when I was going through the process myself so I really want to help you if/when I can by sharing my experience.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
dexter2005 said:
Hi all,

I have a friend who's fallen out of status for couple of years now. She came here as a F1 student, and graduated with a four-year degree in 2004. The reason for her falling out of status was that when she applied for OPT, the USCIS had sent to the college International office request for more evidence. This was never relayed to her by the college International student office, and therefore later the application was rejected (The college made her use the International Student Office mailing address in the OPT application). It was a mistake in her part that she never queried about the OPT card for the entire period of the OPT.

Once the OPT end date approached, she went to join a junior college in town to pursue a vocational degree, but found that she had been out of status in SEVIS. The International Student office at her old college said they never received the request for evidence sent by the USCIS, and therefore even wrote a letter stating the office never received the request for evidence. We thought of re-instating at the junior college - she even attended classes for few days, but decided against it as we were afraid that if denied, she would get the 3/10 bar. The college told her that her only option was to go back to her native country with a new I-20.

She was about to go back, but her family back home suggested not to since the Maoist insurgency in her home country was at its peak. Her family was getting extortion threats. While that was back in early 2006, the maoists insurgents have come to the mainstream with a very fragile peace process, but the threat from them still persists. They have been consistently threatening to go underground and pursue their military resistance if monarchy is not abolished in Nepal and country is turned into a republic.

Is this a sound basis for her to apply for asylum? Thanks!
Click to expand...

Dear Dexter,

While each case is very very different, the best advice is from a lawyer that has had experience with Asylum applicants. The broader the lawyer's experience the better for you.

According to USCIS:

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

NOW, you don't have to have had to suffer any persecution yourself personally or even your family. You have to have a fear that you will if you haven't.

My case:

I came here in 1994 illegally, was out of status for 4 years before I was given a Work Permit because I was a child listed on my mother's asylum application therefore I qualified for immigration benefits. My mother had an asylum case pending, our country had gone through a brutal war and her and my father did suffer threats not persecution. Her asylum case sat with immigration for 14 years and never got resolved, she never got an interview or request for anything. In 1997 a new program was put in place for people from various countries ours included, so my mother was able to qualify and adjusted her status in 2005. When she adjusted she was required to withdraw her asylum application, at which point my protection was terminated.

Because I was above the 21 years old age limit, I could not be added to my mother's adjustment. Not being able to receive protection under my mother's adjustment I had to file my own asylum application. By 2005 two things have happened our country was into its 13th year of "peace" and I had come out of the closet. So, my asylum petition was based on the fact that I belong to a particular social group, which continues to be persecuted in our country. No I haven't been threatened in our country and neither have my family members.

I had to prove that yes I am gay and that my social group is persecuted. Proving the former was easy, proving the persecution of gay people in my country took research, most of which I did online and my lawyer had his own resources. I found an expert witness and together with my lawyer we put together a strong file of evidence.

I did receive a NOID (Notice of Intent to Deny) after my interview, but together with my lawyer we put together a good rebuttal and ONE year later my application was granted. I did NOT go to IJ.

I got my GC in 2009 without any issues. Have never been to my country of origin and a LONG complicated journey ended on good terms, thanks to the hard work of my lawyer and my own ACTIVE involvement with my case.

I hope my story if anything proves to you how unique asylum cases are and gives you hope. Asylum application isn't as black and white as it sometimes is portrayed, the burden is on you to prove your case and if truthful it isn't hard.
 
MGTgrl, thank you so much for getting back to me and being so responsive. Yes, I'm applying for asylum, and I'll look forward to hear from you soon whenever you have a chance to write back. Good luck preparing for the interview!
 
Hi scully51,

Thanks for a great post. If I may ask you a question, could you please elaborate on the rebuttal in particular after you received NOID? I was wondering what else can be submitted if there is an intent to deny.

Thank you very much!
 
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