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This is the second posting about the “affirmative asylum” process.

Please click here to read Part 1.

As with all applications for asylum, the task for the applicant is to show that he or she has a well-founded fear of being persecuted in his or her country of origin by the government or by individuals or groups that the government cannot or will not control.  In addition, the applicant must show that the persecution (or fear of persecution) is because of at least one of the following five reasons:  the applicant’s (1) race, (2) religion, (3) nationality, (4) political opinion, or (5) membership in a particular social group.

Another important requirement is that the applicant submit the asylum application within one year of the applicant’s most recent entry to the United States.  If the applicant submits the application more than one year after the most recent entry, then the applicant will need to show that there were either exceptional circumstances or changed circumstances that led to the delay in filing.

Back to the five reasons for persecution, let’s discuss “membership in a particular social group” (referred to as “PSG”).  This doesn’t mean that an applicant needed to be a member of an official club, or society, or organization.  It means that the applicant may state that he or she is persecuted because of some particular characteristics that he or she has.  For example, a woman who is fleeing domestic violence in her home, and who is from a country in which women have no real protections from the government against domestic violence, might be in a PSG of “women from Country X who are viewed as property due to their role in a domestic relationship.”

After the very long wait for an interview at at USCIS Asylum Office, and then at some point after the interview, USCIS will issue a decision on the application.  If USCIS approves the application, then the applicant is an “asylee,” and one year after the USCIS decision, the asylee may apply for permanent resident (green card) status.

If, at the time of the USCIS decision, the applicant is in lawful immigration status, then if USCIS does not approve the application, they will simply issue a denial.  The applicant will continue in their lawful immigration status.  On the other hand, if the applicant is not in lawful immigration status, then the applicant will need to appear later in Immigration Court, where an Immigration Judge will take a fresh look at the asylum application.

Asylum law is extremely complex.  If you are considering applying for asylum, you should work with an experienced immigration attorney.

I would like to share a few thoughts about the affirmative asylum process.  When I say “affirmative asylum,” I am referring to a person who decides to file for asylum while he or she is not in removal proceedings in Immigration Court.  So, the person “affirmatively” applies for asylum, rather than filing “defensively” in Immigration Court.

When a person files an affirmative asylum application, the application goes to USCIS, which stands for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.  USCIS will receive the application, and, if the application meets certain requirements, such as being filled out correctly, containing the applicant’s signature, etc., then USCIS will send a receipt notice to the applicant, and to the attorney, if the applicant is filing with the help of an attorney.  The receipt will arrive in a small thin envelope, and it will be difficult to read the text on the receipt.

Next, the applicant will receive a biometrics notice.  This notice will be on regular letter-sized paper, and it will be easier to read.  The applicant will be directed to go to a USCIS office to get his or her fingerprints and photograph taken by USCIS.

After that, there is the very long wait for an asylum interview.  USCIS has 8 offices in the United States that are dedicated only for asylum interviews and decisions.  The 8 offices are, roughly from east to west:  New York, New York; Newark, New Jersey; Arlington, Virginia; Miami, Florida; Chicago, Illinois; Houston, Texas; San Francisco, California; and Los Angeles, California.

The applicant will be interviewed at the Asylum Office that has jurisdiction over the location where the applicant is living.  The waiting time for an interview varies by the office, but at this time, the waiting time for an interview varies from about 1 1/2 years (New York office) to more than 5 years (Los Angeles office).  At the Chicago office, the current wait for an interview is nearly 3 years.

Five months after the applicant submits the original asylum application to USCIS, the applicant may submit an application for an Employment Authorization Document (EAD).  By federal regulation, USCIS is supposed to issue the EAD within about 30 days of the application, but in reality, USCIS often takes about 90 days to issue the EAD.

Once the applicant receives an EAD, the applicant may file for a Social Security Number at the nearest Social Security Office.  The applicant may also apply for a driver license or state-issued ID, depending on the regulations in the applicant’s state.  The EAD will be valid for 1 year.  The applicant may renew the EAD each year, while the asylum application remains pending.

After the applicant has the asylum interview, then begins the wait to receive the decision from the Asylum Office.  The wait time for the decision after the interview varies quite a lot, but some wait times of 2 years or more are common.  Again, while the case is pending, the applicant may continue to renew the EAD.

In a later post, I will discuss more about the details of the asylum application process.