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Asylum Law

The United States and its stance on acknowledging women who suffer gender-based violations of their fundemental human rights are entitled to protection as refugees.

Obtaining Asylum in the U.S.

There are two ways to obtain Asylum in the United States: The Affirmative vs. The Defensive 

 

Affirmative process with the United States Center for Immigration Services

  • Requirement: to be physically in the U.S. 
  • Application must be within ONE YEAR of the date of the last arrival in the U.S. UNLESS you can show
    • Changed circumstances that materially affect eligibility for asylum or extraordinary circumstances  that relate to your delay in application 
    • you filed within a reasonable amount of time given the circumstances. 
    • Application can be done through the I-589 Form(Application for Asylum and for withholding of removal)
  • If not approved the legal immigration status has not been attained and case will be referred to  an immigration judge at the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR)

 

Defensive process with the United States through the Executive Office for Immigration Review

 

Individuals are generally placed into defensive asylum processing in one of two ways:·

  • They are referred to an Immigration Judge by USCIS after they have been determined to be ineligible for asylum at the end of the affirmative asylum process, or

  • They are placed in removal proceedings because they:

    • Were apprehended (or caught) in the United States or at a U.S. port of entry without proper legal documents or in violation of their immigration status,
      OR

    • Were caught by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) trying to enter the United States without proper documentation, were placed in the expedited removal process, and were found to have a credible fear of persecution or torture by an Asylum Office. 

Immigration Judges hear defensive asylum cases in adversarial (courtroom-like) proceedings. The judge will hear arguments from both of the following parties:

  • The individual (and his or her attorney, if represented)·

  • The U.S. Government, which is represented by an attorney from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)

The Immigration Judge then decides whether the individual is eligible for asylum. If found eligible, the Immigration Judge will order asylum to be granted. If found ineligible for asylum, the Immigration Judge will determine whether the individual is eligible for any other forms of relief from removal. If found ineligible for other forms of relief, the Immigration Judge will order the individual to be removed from the United States. The Immigration Judge’s decision can be appealed by either party.