To go with a lawyer or not.....

J

Jameel

Registered Users (C)
Hi Jack, Alanpero, Gilbert,

I was wondering if you guys could help me with some advice...as you always do. I hope my questions do not sound redundant on this forum.

I am planning to apply for my wife\'s asylum. She is on J-1 (exchange visitor) status and has been in the US for 4 months now.

My wife has been persecuted in her country (we come from the same country) and she has proof for that. We got married about a year ago.

Now my question to you is....do we (my wife and I) need a lawyer to represent her? I have the file from my asylum case and I am pretty much aware of all the documents that need to be included with the application. When I filed for my asylum back in 97, I compiled my own story and then my lawyer broke it up into answers for different questions on the application.

The lawyer who represented me is not available right now and I have spent a lot of time surfing the net for a good asylum lawyer but have not found any so far...the problem being that you can\'t verify the competence of a lawyer without really meeting and dealing with him/her.

I am seriously thinking about going forward without a lawyer. Would that be a big risk?

Would I be allowed to accompany my wife as a witness for the asylum interview (having been persecuted by the same goup/groups in the past that persecuted her too)?

Does anyone know how badly the events of Sep 11 have affected new asylum applications.

I would really really appreciate your help,

Thanks,
Jameel
 
No Title

Dear Jameel,

 Pardon my confusion, but aren\'t you an asylee? If that is the case why wont your wife apply for the Derivative Asylee status?

http://www.ins.gov/graphics/formsfee/forms/i-730.htm

Being an asylee yourself I think you are already familiar with the Asylum Law. Asylum applicant has to prove to the INS that he or she will face life threatening sitution from the persecutors in the home country when he/she returns there. The burden of proof is on the person applying for asylum. He or she has to submit all the evidences like NGO reports, media clips, medical records. etc. Read the elaboration of the Asylum law at:

http://www.ins.gov/lpBin/lpext.dll/...emplates&fn=document-frame.htm#slb-act208

  INS does not say the asylum seeker must to hire a lawyer. It is up to the asylum seeker whether he or she wants to hire a lawyer. But when I went to my asylum interview I went together with a lawyer. The lawyer\'s presense during the interview boosted my confidence because in my opinion the lawyer will carefully monitor the interview so that the Immigration asylum officer does not ask the questions that may be outside the boundaries of the law.

Why don\'t you check out this lawyer database I found at ILW web site:

http://www.ilw.com:83/immigrants/findlawyer/a/findlawyer.asp

If you are too financially disadvantaged to hire an immigration attorney you may also want to look into Pro Bono lawyers. Ask one of the offices in your region to see if they know any pro bono lawyers.

http://www.refugeesusa.org/who/partner_agencies.cfm

I would suggest that you hire a local lawyer because if you hire an out of town lawyer you will be charged for his/her travel + food and lodging expenses there is the need to argue in the courts (or even to go to the interview) in your city.
 
No Title

Thanks for the advice Jack. I am an asylee (granted in 97) but the reason I am not sure about applying for derivative asylum for my wife is that as far as my understanding goes, you need to have been married at the time you were granted asylum. I got married in 2000. I might be wrong in my assumption and I know that the people on this forum are very informative and more than willing to help. Can you please clarify this for me.

I will check out the lawyer website (and thank God, there is no financial disadvantage)

Again, thanks for your help,
Jameel
 
you\'re right Jameel

Dear Jameel,

I agree with you in what you said. My information about this issue became available after a friend of mine had the same problem like you. I know and you know for sure that spouse and minor children who are in the U.S. can be included in the asylum application. If we do not include such relatives who are in the U.S., they will not qualify for asylum together with us. Instead, we will need to file a separate petition for them after our own asylum is approved. If they are out of the U.S., we may apply for their entry into the U.S. after we are granted asylum. Unfortunately, this did not apply in my friends situation and does not in your situation as well.

Furthermore, If you look at the form I-730 (Refugee/Asylee Relative Petition), the instructions section that is defining the eligibility for accompanying or following-to-join benefits, is clearly sating that if you are an Asylee, the relationship between you and your relative (Spouse) must have existed on the date you were granted asylum in the U.S. and must continue to exist.
I hope this is helpful to confirm your information, and by the way, that friend I mentioned earlier his wife applied for asylum and they are still waiting for a decision.
Good luck to you Jameel.
 
No Title

Jay is right. I originally thought that Jameel was married at the time he filed for asylum. Yes, the I-730 form does state that the relationship must have existed on the date you were granted asylum in the US.
  Jameel, why don\'t you post a question in Attorney Mr. Eli Rich\'s message board at http://www.elirich.com
 Ask Mr. Rich if any other options may be open for your wife to get her Green Card besides filing her own asylum application.
  I\'m not endorsing any lawyer. Be smart when you are shopping for a lawyer: out of town lawyers may charge you travel expenses etc. Just be cautious of that.
 
No Title

I have a question. I am considering applying for asylum for my wife. She has been persecuted in her home country by the same people/groups that has persecuted me in the past. Her reason for persecution was that she is my wife (we married 2 years after I was granted asylum but were engaged when I left my home country). Her persecution is well documented. Now, the question is: Can this be a basis for asylum since she was persecuted for being my spouse and did not belong to any social/political group herself. How strong a case does this sound?
I went through the link Jack sent me and it does not include such a case in the list of "ineligible" candiates. The lawyer we are thinking of hiring to represent my wife also mentioned derivative asylum but I explained to him that most probably that is not an option for us since we were not married at the time I was granted asylum. He said that she has to have her birth certificate when she applies for asylum. Why is that? I did not have/submit my birth certificate when I applied. I did submit it when I filed my i-485.

We would really appreciate your valuable advice reagarding this.
 
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