How to Prepare an Affirmative Asylum Application (Part: 2)

How to Prepare an Affirmative Asylum Application (Part: 2)

Read part one here

Including Independent Information About Conditions in the Country Where You Fear Persecution

Asylum Officers find background information about the human rights situation in your country, and about any specific events that you were involved in, very useful. It helps establish that your story is consistent with what independent sources have said is occurring in your country.

You may submit articles from newspapers, books, or human rights reports that help to explain the situation in your country and what had happened to you.

Information about country conditions can be found on the following websites:

• • Department of State: http://www.state.gov
  • Human Rights Watch: http://www.hrw.org
  • Amnesty International: http://amnesty.org

What to Include in Your Complete Asylum Application

Before you submit your application to USCIS, make sure that you have included everything required. In addition to filing two sets of Form I-589 (the original you filled out, plus one copy if filing by mail), you must include the following:

• • one recent passport-style photograph of you
  • two copies of any passport that you have and of any U.S. immigration documents (such as your I-94 Arrival/Departure Record) and
  • two copies of other identification documents that you have, such as your birth certificate, national identity card, or driver’s license.

There is currently (as of 2023) no fee to file Form I-589.

Do not submit originals of your immigration or identity documents. USCIS will probably never return them. Instead, bring all original documents to your asylum interview, where the asylum officer can examine them in person.

If you can, you should also include the following materials with your asylum application:

1. 1. one original and one copy of your declaration
   2. one original and one copy of declarations from friends or family who witnessed how you were harmed or threatened in your home country
   3. one original and one copy of an expert declaration from a medical expert who has examined you for evidence of physical abuse you suffered in your country
   4. one original and one copy of an expert declaration from a psychologist or psychiatrist who has examined you for evidence of emotional problems you are suffering as a result of harm you suffered in your country
   5. one original and one copy of an expert declaration from a human rights activist or an academic who is familiar with human rights abuses in your country
   6. one original and one copy of country-conditions reports and any news clippings explaining human rights abuses in your country and what had happened to you
   7. any other materials that confirm what had happened to you in your home country, including photographs that show how you were harmed, threatening letters, newspaper articles describing how you were harmed, official government documents, and so forth.
   8. a cover letter, listing what’s in the application and mentioning any special requests.

How to Submit Documents in a Language Other than English

Make sure that each document that is not in English includes

(1) a complete translation into English and

(2) a certificate of translation, which states that the translator is fluent in both English and the original language of the translated document, and that he or she translated the document into English to the best of his or her ability.

Applying for Asylum for Family Members

If you are also filing for asylum for your spouse and children (unmarried and under the age of 21) who are present in the U.S., include an extra copy of Form I-589 for each family member. Also, you will need to provide marriage and birth certificates showing your family relationship, and a passport-style photograph of each family member.

Where to File Your Asylum Application

The USCIS Service Center to which you will need to mail your asylum application depends on the state of your residence. Consult the “Instructions for I-589” at the link above for the correct location.

What Will Happen After You File Your Asylum Application

• • After USCIS receives your application, the agency will send you a receipt. USCIS will later send you a letter notifying you of the place, date, and time for your biometrics appointment (fingerprinting).
  • Finally, you will receive a letter notifying you of the time and place of your asylum interview.
  • While your asylum application is pending, you will be permitted to remain in the United States. If you need to travel outside the U.S. while your application is pending, you must first obtain advance parole (which you can apply for using Form I-131). It is not recommended that you visit your home country, because USCIS will assume that you do not fear returning there and therefore do not need asylum in the United States.
  • If you change your address, make sure to inform USCIS within ten days of moving. You should send (1) a filled out “Alien’s Change of Address Card” (Form AR-11) or (2) a signed and dated letter, listing your old and new addresses. This information should be mailed to USCIS’s location listed on the AR-11 Form.  Instead of mailing your new information, you can also call 800-375-5283 or submit your address information on the USCIS website.
  • There is a risk that the central USCIS office will not advise the asylum office of your change of address.

Therefore, while your asylum case is pending, you should also send Form AR-11 to the USCIS office to which you had submitted your asylum application.