How to get political asylum in the US - ForumDaily
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How to get political asylum in the United States

Фото: Depositphotos

The unstable political situation and the widespread violation of human rights in the countries of the former CIS force people to seek political asylum in the United States. What does this status mean, who can apply for it and how to correctly organize the process, understood ForumDaily.

Journalist is a dangerous profession

Sergey (name changed) flew to New York from Ukraine in November 2014. At home he worked as a journalist. He decided to apply for political asylum in the United States at the time of arrival, but the first six months he collected the necessary information, consulted with lawyers and people who had already gone through the whole process of obtaining this status.

“The situation in Ukraine is now very difficult. It is complex not in some individual regions, but in general, throughout the state. Considering that I have been working in the field of journalism for 12 years, including political projects, my personal life has become more complicated with each election and change of government. In this regard, frequent unofficial calls to the prosecutor’s office forced me to continue my professional activities with caution,” says Sergei.

During the Orange Revolution 2004 in Ukraine, the journalist worked closely with the team of Viktor Yushchenko, who later became president. His opponent, Viktor Yanukovych, came to power in the next election. Accordingly, power changed at all levels.

“I worked on an opposition television channel, and the stories we prepared did not particularly please individuals. Both representatives of the city authorities and completely unknown people began to threaten me. They hinted that I was taking the opposition side, which ran counter to the interests of the party of the current president, Viktor Yanukovych, and his Party of Regions. The revolution, which is called “Euromaidan”, completely complicated the situation - a mess began in the country. At the same time, the director of our TV channel was attacked. At the time of the attack, he received a warning that I would be next,” shares the Ukrainian journalist.

After this, Sergei was forced to make a decision that he had been putting off all this time - to leave Ukraine. Arriving in the USA, he realized that this is a country where the law works, first of all, for the population.

All the documents necessary for obtaining political asylum, Sergey collected independently, based on the information he received from lawyers, bloggers and official websites of the US government. He also wrote his own story about persecutions in his homeland.

“I wrote the story right away in English. Plus he translated documents and certified them himself in New York. Not much money was spent on translations and copies of documents - a few hundred dollars. I applied for political asylum without being in tourist status. This status expired on May 25, 2015, and I applied in November 2015,” the journalist clarifies.

“I have a fairly strong story, which is supported by facts, articles and testimony. At the moment, my case is with the US Citizenship and Immigration Services, and I am awaiting a call for an interview,” he says. suggesting that interviews can be expected for several months or more than a year.

“My contacts and part-time work in Ukraine allow me to stay afloat in the USA for now. I had several offers in New York related to work in the media, but as soon as employers found out that I was not eligible for work, they refused me. Although everyone asked to contact them as soon as I received a work permit,” Sergei shares with ForumDaily.

Soon Sergey should receive a social security number and a work permit. After that, she hopes to find a job in the field of journalism.

What is political asylum?

Political Asylum in the USA (political asylum) is a special legal status of a person whose rights and freedoms are violated, and which is persecuted on the territory of his state on certain grounds. This situation allows a person, if there is evidence, to be able to legally reside in the United States and apply first for a green card, and then for citizenship.

Political asylum called in the US political asylumshould not be confused with the refugee refuge. Although they are essentially similar in many respects, the asylum status is requested when an immigrant is in the United States or is trying to enter the country, and the immigration request for refugee status is made from his home country.

People who are persecuted in their country for one of five reasons can apply for political asylum: race, religion, nationality, political beliefs, membership in certain social groups.

The common element of all these statuses is that they cannot be changed by any forceful influence. Relatively speaking, you may be persecuted for confessing Christianity in a Muslim country or holding opposition political views. Anyway, the very fact of persecution (or beating) is unlikely to make you think otherwise. Thus, a situation that is “normal” in each particular state may be unacceptable in the United States in terms of respect for human rights.

Reasons for obtaining political asylum

Religious views

Attacks on adherents of one faith or another are a fairly common situation in the countries of the former CIS. Persecution due to religious beliefs was especially widespread during the Soviet era, when temples, synagogues, mosques and monasteries were destroyed, and representatives of religions were persecuted by law. Even now, supporters of certain religions feel pressure in certain states. For example, Baptists and Pentecostals - in Ukraine and Russia.

Believers who live in those states or cities where they are a minority can also receive political asylum for religious reasons. For example, Muslims in an Orthodox country or Christians in the Muslim world, women who live in Muslim countries.

Informational articles on the state of affairs in the country, prepared by international human rights organizations, such as Human Rights Watch (there is a version in Russian) and Amnesty Internationalcan help increase the chances of obtaining political asylum.

Nationality and race

This means persecution of people because of their nationality, country of origin, nationality, color, eye shape, or race. For example, members of national minorities — Uzbeks, Tajiks, Yakuts, Tatars, and others — are often persecuted in Russia. There are also cases when Russian people who live on the territory of the former Soviet republics (Tajikistan, Armenia, Ukraine, etc.) are discriminated by the inhabitants of their city.

Political Views

Harassment of a person due to his political views is also a reason for obtaining political asylum. Moreover, they take into account not only direct threats to the applicant from representatives of the ruling party, but also cases where a person did not express his convictions, but his political views may lead to conflict with the authorities in the future. Even the political views of the applicant's relatives or his friends can cause persecution. Usually, members of opposition political parties, journalists and public figures suffer from this type of persecution.

Social group

Obtaining political asylum by the social criterion is the most ambiguous option, since every immigration judge has his own opinion about the existence of certain groups and the credibility of their prosecution. A social group can be people with a non-traditional sexual orientation (LGBT community), victims of domestic violence, dissidents, military personnel, and so on.

Since the US seriously protects the rights of members of the LGBT community, and in countries of the former CIS, gay people are persecuted, a similar reason for seeking asylum is considered to be quite significant.

In the United States, an organization is actively functioning that helps free-form political asylum for homosexuals, lesbians and hiv-positive people - Immigration Equality.

A person may be denied political asylum in the following cases:

  • staying in the United States without a good reason for more than one year prior to the date of filing for political asylum;
  • there has already been a denial of political asylum obtained in an immigration court;
  • strong ties in another state (an immigration officer may consider that the applicant has the opportunity to relocate to this country);
  • criminal record outside the United States (implies particularly serious crimes);
  • participation of the applicant in the persecution of someone because of his race, religion, nationality and others;
  • The applicant poses a terrorist danger to the United States.

Political asylum process

  1. Arriving in the USA

In accordance with §208 (a) of the Immigration and Citizenship Act, an applicant has the right to apply for political asylum within one year of his arrival in the United States, or he must provide evidence for why an exception to this rule applies to him.

The type of visa (work, study, tourist, etc.), on the basis of which the applicant is in the United States, and his status (legal / illegal) are irrelevant for applying for political asylum. His case will be considered in any case, and the deportation cannot be carried out until the decision is made by the immigration judge.

  1. Filling the form I-589

Applicant fills out Form I-589 in English, applies documents to it and sends the entire package to the nearest Refugees Reception Center.

The package of documents should include: a copy of the documents of the applicant, a copy of documents confirming the relationship of the applicant with the person with whom he is applying for political asylum, the history of the applicant, proof of history.

History or statement (Declaration) is the most important document in the case. The history indicates who, when, for what reason and how exactly persecuted the applicant, as well as what real or moral injuries were inflicted on the applicant.

Evidence may include: certificates of beatings and injuries, testimonies of family, relatives, friends and acquaintances; police / police documents; membership cards, court decisions; leaflets and newspaper articles, documents on property damage; requests sent from America to various institutions in their home state.

Documents, history and evidence must be translated into English. Innings Forms I-589 are free.

The nearest refugee reception center can be found at official website of the Citizenship and Immigration Service.

You can prepare documents and fill out the form yourself or use a lawyer. Due to the fact that the applicant is usually not familiar with US law and the process of filing documents, the second option is a more correct solution.

  1. Receive notification of case and fingerprinting

Some time after the submission of the application, the candidate receives a notification that his case is under consideration, and his case number. After receiving this number, a person is in the US legally, even if his visa has already expired.

  1. Waiting for an interview. Form submission I-765

From the moment the applicant receives his/her case number, he/she will receive a letter with the date and time of the interview with the immigration officer. In the past few years, due to the large number of applications for political asylum, people can wait from one to three years for their turn. After 150 days from the date of sending documents for political asylum, the applicant can apply for a work permit - I-765 form.

  1. Receive Interview Notification

The applicant is notified of the interview and is preparing for the upcoming interview. During this time, a candidate for political asylum must find a translator who will go with him for an interview.

  1. The Interview

The Interview conducts immigration officer. The purpose of the interview is to verify the information that the applicant provided in his history, as well as clarification of some data. The officers are excellent psychologists and use various methods to expose the applicant for political asylum. Here are some questions that immigration officers ask:

— Why do you want to receive political asylum in the United States and not in another country?

— Why didn’t you move to another city in your home country?

— If you return to your native state, what awaits you there?

— Will you be ready to return home if the political or social situation in your country changes and the grounds for your persecution disappear?

— Why didn’t you apply for political asylum in your home country, but came to the United States on a tourist visa?

— What do you plan to do in the USA?

Interviews can last from 30 minutes to two hours. An interview can be attended by a lawyer and a translator. Lawyer is obliged to protect his client in case of incorrect behavior of the immigration officer.

  1. Getting a solution

Some time after passing the interview (two weeks or more - it all depends on each particular case), the applicant receives a letter in the mail with the decision of the officer.

There are five types of solutions:

1. Asylum Decision (Grant of Asylum)

2. Recommended Approval

She means that The Citizenship and Immigration Services did not receive the necessary confirmation of the person in the security check. However, there is a chance that after providing additional information, the application will be approved and the applicant will receive refugee status.

3. Referral to an Immigration Court

The immigration judge will consider the case on his own, without relying on the decision of the immigration officer. If the court decides against the applicant, he may appeal. If, however, the appellate court is denied to the applicant, you can appeal to the Immigration Board and the Federal District Court.

4 INnotice of intent to give a refusal (Notice of Intent to Deny)

It is received by applicants who do not fall under the definition of a refugee. The notification explains the reasons for such an officer’s decision. Upon receipt of this letter, the applicant will have 16 days to provide new evidence of their history. The officer will review them and make a positive decision or give a final refusal.

5. Final Denial of Political Asylum (Final Denial)

Christianity in a Muslim country

Russian woman Irina (name changed) left Egypt with her family for the United States at the end of November 2011, when the color revolution began in the country of the pyramids. The USA was chosen due to the ease of obtaining a tourist visa. Irina and her daughter have dual citizenship (Russia and Egypt), and Irina’s husband is an Egyptian citizen. Since the woman’s family professed Christianity in a Muslim country, it was decided to receive political asylum on religious grounds.

“We are Christians, but we cannot call ourselves active believers. We don’t pray, we don’t go to church. We were not personally persecuted, but the fact recognized by the UN was enough to form a strong case - the Christian minority often suffers from fanatically believing Muslims. This category of people is almost always given political asylum,” Irina shares her experience.

The family filed the case with an American lawyer, whom they found via the Internet several months before departure. His services cost 5 thousand dollars. They provided a lawyer with a passport, marriage certificate and other official documents. There was no evidence of family persecution in the case. The lawyer himself found information about the facts of harassment of religious minorities and attached to the case.

“We submitted our documents to the immigration center a few weeks after arriving in the United States - at the end of December 2011. At the beginning of February 2012, we took fingerprints and 2 weeks after this procedure we already received an invitation to an interview,” the woman clarifies.

Only the husband went to the interview, and Irina and her daughter were waiting for him in the hall. Political asylum was given immediately after the interview. In May 2012, Irina's family received a package of documents, all family members received social security numbers. Soon Irina's husband began working in the field of engineering, and life began to flow. In 2013, Irina's family received a green card, and as early as next year, their family applies for citizenship.

“We came to the United States with a total of $ 10 000 dollars, and we immediately gave half to a lawyer. Had to spin. Until we received the status, we did not work in the best positions, but it was only six months. At the same time, we speak spoken English,” shares Irina.

The woman is a midwife by profession, but in the United States she had to relearn as a nurse. For the year and a half she paid $ 9 500. "The amount is so small because I was retraining. Learning from scratch is much longer and more expensive,” shares Irina. Now she needed only to pass the exam and get a license. In the meantime, Irina works in private offices as a medical assistant.

By nationality

Alexander (name changed) arrived in New York from Moscow two years ago. He had a real and sad history of persecution behind him - in the Russian capital, he experienced first-hand the persecution of people of Caucasian nationality.

“I lived in Moscow and endured mockery until Once I was not beaten half to death, but the police refused to open a case. That’s when I realized that Russia is an analogue of Germany at the beginning of 1935, and Russians turned into Nazis en masse,” says Alexander.

For hiring documents, Alexander hired an American lawyer, while still in his native state. She told the man and his family how they should proceed. The entire process - from filing documents to obtaining political asylum - took 2 of the year. When the case was submitted to the Citizenship and Immigration Services, Alexander was already in the United States, where he flew in on a tourist visa.

“I wrote my story, which is the basis for obtaining political asylum, on my own back in Moscow. I attached facts to the story: video, audio, certificates, extracts, leaflets of a discriminatory nature. The lawyer took my materials, my story and simply excluded some, in her opinion, unnecessary points. The case was so strong that the consul almost cried during the interview,” the man shares.

While Alexander was waiting for documents, he worked remotely as a programmer in Moscow, and now he is building a new life in America.

See also:

10 about honest ways to stay in the USA

Personal experience. How I moved to the USA

How can I get a green card for work

New rules for changing migration status published in the USA

Everything you need to know about US work visas

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