Friends in this video, we're going to talk about asylum. I'm continuing my series on options for
people who have overstayed their visa in America. We've spent quite a bit of time talking about the
family-based process. Now we're going to shift a little bit to humanitarian options. Thank you
so much for watching this video. I'm Latoya McBean Pompey and immigration lawyer in New York. Working
with clients all over the world on complex immigration matters. Is it us@mcmeenlaw.com to
learn who we are and what we do. You may also call or text our office at 5 1 6 8 6 6 3900. Also guys,
if you have not subscribed to my channel, subscribe now and hit the notification
bell so that you won't miss any of my upcoming videos. Now let's talk about asylum. Asylum is
a terrific opportunity for people who have been persecuted or fear persecution back in their
home country because of their race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or the fact that
they belong to a certain social group. This video is not going to get into a lot
of nuances with asylum, but I will tell you it is very, very complex. So you want to work with
the lawyer on your filing and get it done. Right? Folks will apply for asylum are able to add their
spouse and children to the filing so that they could also get a green card through this process.
One must file within a year of coming to the United States,
but late application filings are accepted. If the individual can argue very well. Again, guys, this
really requires some expert help because there are exceptions to the one year filing deadline.
Applicants are able to also apply for the work permit or the employment authorization document,
and also a travel document. Now, once an application has been approved, you can then apply
for a green card after one year. Now let's talk about how asylum can get very, very tricky.
I'm going to start off with the late filings. The late violence is, um, an
issue that can mess some people up. I'll just put it that way. Can really mess you up because if you
don't understand the type of circumstances that the government will accept for the late filing,
you're just filing that application solely for the purpose of being shifted into immigration court
removal proceeded, asylum applications filed the wrong way is like a feeder system into
immigration court proceedings. So approach you're late filing with a lot of caution and with expert
help. Now the second issue with asylum is this. If USC I S denies your application, they're just
going to send you right into removal proceedings so that you may make your argument before the
judge. And depending on your jurisdiction, guys, there are jurisdictions where the
asylum approval rate can be 70% or even 80%. And then there are other jurisdictions where the
approval is far, far less than that. So you've got to know your jurisdiction and you've got to know,
uh, and this information you can even get on, on the website with a Google search, really, you
could see how asylum applications are considered by immigration judges in your area before you go
ahead and file that application. The third issue with asylum is, and this builds on what I said
earlier about how complex it can be is that you need to have a lot of good evidence. You have to
show that you're not the only one who knows about this problem or this persecution or the fear of
persecution. There are other credible witnesses, um, and hard facts that you can show us CIS,
as well as an immigration court judge, that, um, you were persecuted or you fear persecution.
It does require guys a lot of good evidence. And if us CIS, doesn't get the evidence that
they're seeking, then again, they'll move you into removal proceedings. The next thing with asylum
is that it could be a pretty lengthy wait time. And many of you know this because you contact us
all the time, uh, asking whether you can expedite your asylum case. And we consider
whether your case is one where it makes sense to submit a request to the government to expedite the
case, because I will tell you guys that sometimes it's a real, it's not a good thing to expedite
this type of case, because especially, especially if your evidence is very weak and your expedited
request is approved, and then they call you in for an interview and you're denied and you
go right into removal proceedings going into removal. Prematurely can really cut off some
options that you have in immigration court. Uh, so you want to work with a lawyer to analyze
whether your case is a case where you should just allow it to append or try to get it moved
along faster. You know, I must say this, that not everyone go through this lengthy wait time. And as
a matter of fact, I had a wonderful consultation about a week ago or two weeks ago with a woman
who filed her asylum application in 2019 and had her interview the same year and she was approved
and she has her green card right now. And so for some people with a very, very solid case,
it can work out that way. And also if they're in a jurisdiction where the docket or the caseload is,
um, is, is very light, so to speak, yeah, the application can be processed faster than
a jurisdiction like New York. Now, the last tip that I want to leave with you
is that frivolous asylum applications, um, can come back and hurt you in the future.
When you have a credible case. For example, if you have a credible marriage case now, or your child
has turned 21, your us citizen child, and he, or she can file for you now, and you have this
frivolous asylum application on your record, it can be an issue. Now I will say that we've met,
we've handled this issue very successfully for our clients who had filed an asylum application in the
past. And now they have a real good case to bring before the government. And so there are ways to
handle that application that was filed, um, in, in years past that have some credibility issues. Now,
certain things you could recover from other things you may not be able to recover from,
right? It depends on the information that you had shared with the government
in that previous filing. These are the things that we sort out with people when we meet with them,
um, during a consultation. And then certainly when we take the case and we work with the client,
we go a lot deeper to help them get the outcome that they're seeking. Guys. I hope you found this
video helpful, proceed with asylum cautiously and with expert help and get it done, right? Otherwise
the application can lead you in removal, share this video with other people, give it a thumbs
up as well. And also don't forget to subscribe to my channel and hit the notification bell.
Thanks so much. And I will see you in the next one. Bye-bye.