Asylum Law Services
Asylum, Briefly
Asylum is a legal status that the U.S. government can grant to people who are at risk of harm in their home countries because of who they are—because of their religion, political opinion, sexual orientation, or ethnicity, for example—if the governments in their home countries will not protect them.
Our Asylum Law Services
We provide full representation during the entire asylum process, including advice, meetings, document preparation, and in-court representation. The process for seeking asylum in the U.S. is complicated and an asylum-seeker is more likely to be granted this form of protection if he or she is represented by a good lawyer who understands the system. Through our services, we aim to change the lives of refugees by helping them win asylum in the United States.
Asylum is a legal status that the U.S. government can grant to people who are at risk of harm in their home countries because of who they are—because of their religion, political opinion, sexual orientation, or ethnicity, for example—if the governments in their home countries will not protect them.
Our Asylum Law Services
We provide full representation during the entire asylum process, including advice, meetings, document preparation, and in-court representation. The process for seeking asylum in the U.S. is complicated and an asylum-seeker is more likely to be granted this form of protection if he or she is represented by a good lawyer who understands the system. Through our services, we aim to change the lives of refugees by helping them win asylum in the United States.
More About Asylum
Here is a basic overview of asylum law and the legal standards for some other forms of protection-based immigration status that our clients may seek.
To be granted asylum, a person must demonstrate that he or she is a “refugee,” that he or she is not barred from asylum for any of the reasons listed in our immigration laws, and that the decision-maker should grant asylum as a matter of discretion. A “refugee” is any person who is outside his or her country of nationality (or, if stateless, outside the country of last habitual residence) and is unable or unwilling to return to that country because of persecution or well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group.
Some people who need asylum will have their cases decided at the Asylum Office and others will have their cases decided at the Immigration Court. People apply for asylum with Form I-589. That application for asylum can also include a request for two related alternative forms of relief, which offer fewer benefits: withholding of removal under section 241(b)(3) of the INA and protection under the UN Convention Against Torture.
The asylum system has two parts: the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (which includes the Asylum Office) and the U.S. Department of Justice (which includes the Immigration Courts). Cases that are not granted at either of those levels might go to the Board of Immigration Appeals, the U.S. Courts of Appeal, or even to the U.S. Supreme Court. Human Rights First works with asylum-seekers at all levels of the system. A person who meets the definition of a refugee can apply for asylum in various ways, depending on that person’s immigration status at the time they decide to apply.
Asylum Office – When a person has entered the United States, whether or not they were inspected at the border, and our government is not taking any active steps to remove them from the U.S., they can make what is known as an “affirmative” application for asylum. This means that the person will file an I-589 application by mail with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Later they will be interviewed by an officer at the local Asylum Office. If the officer grants the application, then the person has asylum. He or she can then petition for their spouse and children to join them in the United States. They are also then on the path toward a green card and eventual U.S. citizenship. If the officer denies the asylum application, and the person has no other immigration status, then they are “referred” to the Immigration Court, where a judge will consider the asylum case.
Immigration Court – When a person has been placed in Immigration Court proceedings before they apply for asylum, the I-589 application should be filed directly with the immigration judge. This is known as a “defensive” application for asylum because the person is requesting asylum as a defense to the government’s charge that they should be removed from the United States. Whether the case starts in the Asylum Office or in the Immigration Court, the judge considers the case from the beginning. If the immigration judge grants the application, then the person has asylum. He or she is then eligible for the same family-reunification and other benefits that a person would be eligible for if granted at the Asylum Office level. If the immigration judge grants only withholding of removal or protection under the U.N. Convention Against Torture, then the person may not petition for relatives but will be permitted to remain in the U.S. and to work to support himself or herself.
Here is a basic overview of asylum law and the legal standards for some other forms of protection-based immigration status that our clients may seek.
To be granted asylum, a person must demonstrate that he or she is a “refugee,” that he or she is not barred from asylum for any of the reasons listed in our immigration laws, and that the decision-maker should grant asylum as a matter of discretion. A “refugee” is any person who is outside his or her country of nationality (or, if stateless, outside the country of last habitual residence) and is unable or unwilling to return to that country because of persecution or well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group.
Some people who need asylum will have their cases decided at the Asylum Office and others will have their cases decided at the Immigration Court. People apply for asylum with Form I-589. That application for asylum can also include a request for two related alternative forms of relief, which offer fewer benefits: withholding of removal under section 241(b)(3) of the INA and protection under the UN Convention Against Torture.
The asylum system has two parts: the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (which includes the Asylum Office) and the U.S. Department of Justice (which includes the Immigration Courts). Cases that are not granted at either of those levels might go to the Board of Immigration Appeals, the U.S. Courts of Appeal, or even to the U.S. Supreme Court. Human Rights First works with asylum-seekers at all levels of the system. A person who meets the definition of a refugee can apply for asylum in various ways, depending on that person’s immigration status at the time they decide to apply.
Asylum Office – When a person has entered the United States, whether or not they were inspected at the border, and our government is not taking any active steps to remove them from the U.S., they can make what is known as an “affirmative” application for asylum. This means that the person will file an I-589 application by mail with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Later they will be interviewed by an officer at the local Asylum Office. If the officer grants the application, then the person has asylum. He or she can then petition for their spouse and children to join them in the United States. They are also then on the path toward a green card and eventual U.S. citizenship. If the officer denies the asylum application, and the person has no other immigration status, then they are “referred” to the Immigration Court, where a judge will consider the asylum case.
Immigration Court – When a person has been placed in Immigration Court proceedings before they apply for asylum, the I-589 application should be filed directly with the immigration judge. This is known as a “defensive” application for asylum because the person is requesting asylum as a defense to the government’s charge that they should be removed from the United States. Whether the case starts in the Asylum Office or in the Immigration Court, the judge considers the case from the beginning. If the immigration judge grants the application, then the person has asylum. He or she is then eligible for the same family-reunification and other benefits that a person would be eligible for if granted at the Asylum Office level. If the immigration judge grants only withholding of removal or protection under the U.N. Convention Against Torture, then the person may not petition for relatives but will be permitted to remain in the U.S. and to work to support himself or herself.