What happens if...

[ukulele]

A friend of mine who's also an asylee and waiting for his green card received a call from his family today that his grandmother passed away yesterday.

He asked me: "What happens if if it was my mom or dad? If they're sick or something and I have to go see them?"

I didn't know what to tell him.

From my understanding, as long as you're not a citizen, and you go home, there's a big chance that you won't be able to return to the US, even if you have a green card, your trip will raise questions. But what if my friend returned to his country to attend his grandmother's funeral? Or to see his dad if he gets really ill sometime in the future? If he were to re-enter the States with evidence (death certificate, doctor's report or photographs), does it guarantee his return?

This is a moral dilemma that I'm sure many asylees face, especially since it takes up to a decade for us to get anywhere close to becoming a citizen (or in some cases, obtain a green card). On one hand, we fear for our lives if we were to live in our home country; on the other, there's the family ties.

 

[Gilbert]

An asylee who returns to his or her homeland raises serious doubt on the bona fides of the original asylum application. Most CIS examiners take a very dim view of that.

If adverse proceedings are instituted for this reason, the asylee will of course have a range of due process rights and have an opportunity to explain himself. In other words, asylees cannot be summarily excluded from the United States.

 

[kamboi]

Originally posted by Gilbert
An asylee who returns to his or her homeland raises serious doubt on the bona fides of the original asylum application. Most CIS examiners take a very dim view of that.

If adverse proceedings are instituted for this reason, the asylee will of course have a range of due process rights and have an opportunity to explain himself. In other words, asylees cannot be summarily excluded from the United States.

what if one is no longer an asylee and is a permanent resident now? Is that still viewed dimly? I can understand if one is still an asylee. The reason I ask is I feel that once one becomes a PR , it no longer matters. Of course that's my personal view. I could be wrong as it applies to actual law.

 

[Gilbert]

Having a green card does not change the fact that you are still an alien and this is not formally your country. Green cards never give you a categorical right to remain here. People have their green cards revoked every year for a variety of reasons.

For asylum cases, the Government gave you a green card because they took pity on you. They bought your story of persecution as an article of faith. No body directly verified your story and the Asylum Officer just took your words at face value. Green cards are of course something many people around the world would do almost anything to get , including telling lies. If as soon as you get your green card, you cannot wait to go back to the place that supposedly oppressed you, does that raise questions and merit another look at your file? Absolutely.

According to the Arlington Asylum Office, an asylum grant can be revoked even if the asylee is already a LPR. Upon such revocations, the CIS must begin deportation proceedings regardless of LPR status. Ask your attorney to look at the January 21, 2004 AILA liason minutes with the Arlington Asylum Office.

The AILA knows seven asylum revocations in Arlington due to homeland visits.

Originally posted by kamboi
what if one is no longer an asylee and is a permanent resident now? Is that still viewed dimly? I can understand if one is still an asylee. The reason I ask is I feel that once one becomes a PR , it no longer matters. Of course that's my personal view. I could be wrong as it applies to actual law.