Tips from a Former Asylum Officer

Heidi Boas has dedicated her legal career to assisting asylum-seekers, refugees, and other immigrants through her work with the U.S. Government, United Nations, and non-profit organizations. Heidi served as a Senior Asylum Officer at the Arlington Asylum Office (2014-2017) and currently practices immigration law at Wilkes Legal, LLC in Takoma Park, MD. Heidi’s full biography can be found here.

Heidi Boas

Contact Heidi Boas at heidi@wilkeslegal.com. To schedule a consultation with an immigration attorney at Wilkes Legal, LLC, visit our website or call (301) 576-0491.

Given the large backlog and heavy caseload at the asylum office, asylum officers are under significant pressure to complete cases as efficiently as possible. An asylum officer is allocated an average of four hours to complete each asylum case, which involves some steps that you and your attorney don’t see—including about an hour spent drafting the written decision, and about forty minutes working on security checks and other administrative tasks. When you add those steps to the two hours that an asylum officer spends conducting the average asylum interview, the officer may have only about twenty minutes to review your file before calling you in for the interview. When preparing your asylum case, therefore, it is helpful to keep the asylum officer’s time constraints in mind and avoid submitting extraneous information.

Below are some tips from my perspective as a former asylum officer on how to prepare an effective and efficient asylum claim:

The Personal Statement

The personal statement is arguably the most important document in your asylum application, but it does not need to be very long. If the asylum officer only has twenty minutes to review your file, she probably will not have time to read your attorney’s lengthy legal brief, but she should always take time to read your personal statement. Given the time pressure that the officer is under, it is best to keep your personal statement concise and to the point. I recommend limiting it to a length of five pages or less. State up front why you are applying for asylum—What harm did you suffer in the past or do you fear in the future? Why were you harmed in the past, and/or why do you fear harm in the future? Avoid including extraneous information such as details about your family background, education, and employment history. Basic information about your background is included in the Form I-589 Application for Asylum, and additional detail is often irrelevant to your asylum claim. The main purpose of the personal statement is to focus on any harm that you suffered in the past and any harm you fear in the future. Leave general references to country conditions out of the personal statement and focus on telling your story. Finally, make sure that you fully understand the contents of your personal statement before signing it, and that the statement has been translated back to you word-for-word in your language.

Supporting Documents

Keeping in mind the asylum officer’s time constraints, you should avoid submitting extraneous or duplicative documents in support of your asylum claim. For example, it is usually not helpful to submit copies of your diplomas or school records, as these documents are usually irrelevant to your asylum claim. It is also unnecessary to submit hundreds of pages of country conditions documents. Asylum officers are already familiar with human rights conditions in many countries and keep their own country conditions excerpts on hand to use when writing decisions. If an asylum officer is not already familiar with the situation in your country, the officer will conduct research and find relevant information to include in his or her written decision. Asylum officers generally consult the Department of State’s Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, as these reports are considered an objective and reliable source of information. Since asylum officers have their own resources for finding country conditions information, you should be mindful of the number of pages you submit and highlight any excerpts of a report that you want the officer to focus on.

Form I-589

Take the time to carefully prepare the Form I-589 Application for Asylum, including details about where you have lived, your education, and your employment history. This can help save time when the asylum officer reviews the form with you during your interview. If you have several changes or corrections to make to Form I-589 at the interview, it is helpful to provide the officer with a list of your changes. The asylum officer is still required to note any corrections or changes by hand on the original Form I-589, but your list can help save the officer some time.

Under “other names used,” list as aliases any alternate spellings (including misspellings) or alternate versions of your name that you have used. By listing these other names on Form I-589, you can help avoid delays during the security check process. After receiving the asylum application, the asylum office will automatically run security checks on any names listed on Form I-589. If the asylum officer learns during or after the interview that you have used another version or spelling of your name that was not initially listed on Form I-589, the officer must then initiate the security check process for that name, which could cause a delay in receiving your decision.

The Legal Argument

Asylum officers are required to undergo an extensive six-week training program in asylum law, and pass exams before adjudicating asylum cases. In addition, they continue receiving weekly training throughout their tenure at the asylum office. If confronted with a challenging or unfamiliar legal issue, asylum officers are encouraged to refer to the Asylum Officer Training Manual or consult a supervisor.

In light of the training that asylum officers receive and the significant time constraints they face, it is not necessary to submit a lengthy legal brief in support of your asylum case. The asylum officer probably won’t have time to read the brief word-for-word and may not have time to read it at all. If you or your attorney are making a novel legal argument or referencing new case law and want to submit your argument in writing, try to keep your analysis as concise as possible. A succinct cover letter can suffice, for example, instead of a lengthy brief.

Preparing for the Interview

When preparing for the asylum interview, don’t avoid addressing the tough issues. A critical part of an asylum officer’s job is to assess your credibility, so you should discuss with your attorney any potential credibility issues that could arise and be prepared for questions about those issues at your interview. An asylum officer is required to confront you about any inconsistencies in your testimony or application, give you an opportunity to explain the inconsistency, and then assess the reasonableness of your response. Be prepared to respond calmly and provide an explanation for any inconsistencies, rather than reacting defensively to the officer’s question.

After the Interview

After the interview, if you strongly disagree with the asylum officer’s decision, consider filing a Motion to Reopen or Reconsider. No form or filing fee is required. The motion should be filed within 30 days, or later if you can show the delay was reasonable and beyond your control. It is best to submit the motion by letter to the asylum office as soon as possible after receiving your decision. If the asylum office receives your motion soon enough, it can decide to call you back in for a re-interview before serving a Notice to Appear (“NTA”) on the court. Alternatively, if the NTA has already been served on the court, the asylum office can ask Immigration and Customers Enforcement to terminate the NTA and recall the case to the asylum office for another interview.

If you have been waiting months or years since your interview to receive a decision from the asylum office, you might consider filing a writ of mandamus. A mandamus can help incentivize the asylum office to call you in for another interview and finally issue a decision. Even if the asylum office’s decision is not a positive one, you can move forward with presenting your case before the immigration judge and then pursuing any necessary appeals.

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231 comments

  1. Hello officer,

    Kindly I have a question. If I want to update my asylum application, where should I send the update? to the asylum office where I initially submitted my I-589 application, or to the Office center mentioned in the I-589 receipt?
    thank you.

    Reply
    • You should normally only do that at the interview, or shortly before the interview is scheduled (unless you are filing a change of address form). But when the times comes, you would submit documents to the local asylum office – I submit by mail and by email, and I bring a hard copy to the interview as well, since they often lose whatever I submit prior to the interview. Take care, Jason

      Reply
  2. Hello jason…God bless u for the resources on this blog.. i just had my interview.. and the asylum officer told me to submit original copy of evidences ( i had submitted the scanned copy)..she told she needed to see it before she makes a decision… she also gave me a letter that the decision of the interview would be made…am wondering why the decision wld be mailed as against the traditional method of coming to thw asylun office to pick it up…

    Reply
    • Many decisions are mailed; this seems to have no correlation with whether you will get a good or bad result. It may be that she just needs time to review the original documents, or maybe she is going on vacation and can’t finish the case in 2 weeks. I would just give her what she needs and hope for the best. Take care, Jason

      Reply
      • Jason,

        How much time do you think it’s appropriate to wait till it’s ok to send a reminder or inquiry to USCIS about the case? We had oyr interview March 27th, were told to come back in two weeks; got a phone call in three days saying no need to come to office and the decision will be mailed. It’s been over four months, the decision has still not arrived…should I submit an inquiry?

        Reply
        • I would not submit an inquiry more than once every 3 or 4 months (or even less frequently), but if you have waited four months, I think it is certainly appropriate to inquire now. You can find their contact info if you follow the link at right called Asylum Office Locator (under Asylum Seeker Resources). Take care, Jason

          Reply
          • Jason,

            To give you an update – we filed an inquiry with the USCIS as to the status of our case August 14th, got a response on September 7th that has a very unclear statement – basically, they say the case is under review, cases “take UP TO 45 days” to review, and we should “refrain from sending repeat requests UNTIL THIS 45 day window has elapsed”. To backtrack, we filed in Feb 2015, had our interview March 27, 2018 and it’s been over 120 days since then. They’re saying not to submit any inquiries until the 45 day window elapses – should this mean we need to notify that it’s been 120 days? Or would that only get them ‘frustrated’ and we should just wait and wait? I will probably not want to file another inquiry but the 45 day statement really confuses me.

          • I don’t know either, but it sounds like they want you to wait 45 more days before you inquire again. Hopefully, there is some meaning to that, and you will get a decision soon, but most of their statements like this are not meaningful. If you don’t have any news in 45 days, inquire again. Take care, Jason

  3. Hi Jason,

    There is a lot of extremely useful information on this blog. Regarding this particular entry, I wonder what the differences are for a defensive asylum claim versus an affirmative asylum claim. That is, most of what is presented here deals with people who are not detained. What about for those who are placed in immigration detention immediately following their request for asylum at a port of entry? Do they meet with asylum officers? It appears that they only meet with immigration judges after an initial credible fear interview, which is done before the asylum package is ever filled out and submitted. I ask because, due to insufficient pro bono legal resources near many detention facilities, and the inability of may asylum seekers in detention to pay for a lawyer, some community groups do the best they can to provide information and guidance for asylum seekers navigating the process pro se. So, do these same tidbits of advice also apply in a defensive asylum claim?

    Thanks for any clarification.

    Reply
    • A court case is different from an asylum office case, and that it different from a credible fear interview. In all of them, you have to prove eligibility for asylum, and so that is the same. I’ve written posts that are relevant to Immigration Court and Credible Fear Interviews – there is a link at left to both categories. Also, on September 22, 2016, I did a post with links to non-profits across the US, and they often have helpful website to advise on these topics, or in some cases, they can help directly. Take care, Jason

      Reply
      • Thank you for helping us navigate these issues, Jason. I’ll check out the other posts you mention.

        Reply
  4. Thank you sir for your insightful response, But do I need to wait for the final hearing and the IJ verdict before I submitted my application.

    Reply
  5. Thank you Heidi Boas for your open and insightful expression of the perspective of the asylum process from the viewpoint of someone who has represented the US government in this process. Unfortunately, your views would do poor service to any asylum-seeker as they reflect a significant abdication of due process rights. Could you imagine a criminal defense attorney deciding to limit the length of his or her brief for a client on death row–eliminating relevant arguments–because a long brief might inconvenience a judge that might have only 20 minutes to read the brief? Such action would likely constitute malpractice. Your comments fail to recognize that often asylum cases involve life and death matters for the asylum-seeker. Moreover, not only the Asylum Officer but also the reviewing Immigration Judge have a duty to review all the information provided by an asylum-seeker or his or her lawyer. A lawyer should provide as much information as is relevant to their client’s case. This may be dozens of pages or even hundreds or thousands of pages. Yes, this might mean that an Asylum Officer might need to take more time to review all the materials. If the Asylum Officer does not consider all the relevant information then he violates the right to a fair hearing of the asylum application to which every asylum-seeker has a right. I hope as a private immigration lawyer you will represent your client to the best of your ability, not only as far as is convenient to the U.S. government. Remember the U.S. government has represented to asylum-seekers, and the rest of the world, that it will conscientiously review all asylum applications in accordance with established standards of due process that have been long agreed under the Constitution and the international law.

    Reply
  6. Firstly,I want to appreciate Jason for creating this forum.Personally, I have benefited a whole alot from various contributions and your professional responses.

    I am still trying to write my personal statement and also filling the I-589,because I can’t afford a lawyer now.
    But this is my challenge, My younger applied for asylum 2014 here in USA, and was referred to an IJ ,her case is still currently pending as she had her master hearing. While in detention camp in her application she included me as one of her siblings and I was not in United States then, now am in United States applying for asylum for me and family.
    My question is that will her application /hearing affect my application as I need to state in my application if I have siblings or parent who has ever filed for asylum before.

    Thank you.

    Reply
    • When you prepare your case, you should assume that the government knows about her case. If one of you wins, it will help the other’s case, and so you might want to pool resources to get a lawyer for the first case. Or at least coordinate the two cases so that everything is consistent. Take care, Jason

      Reply
  7. HEY

    Could you please help my wife lost the I-94 form, she is trying to fill up for i-480 for grean card so in a space to fill up I-94 INFO what do we put there? as we lost the I-94 FORM.

    Reply
    • I cannot answer specific questions about forms, as I do not know the case. If you are not sure, you can provide an explanation in the cover letter, or you can talk to a lawyer about the specific situation. Take care, Jason

      Reply
    • I-94 form is online

      Reply
  8. Hi Jason,

    I am a green card holder. My wife obtained a B1/B2 visa before we were married. After we got married, she entered the US with her B1/B2 visa. She had faced punishment from authorities due to her religious affiliation back in her home country. I have done a family based petition for her. But we just realized that there is a waiting period of about 12 months before turning in 485 after 130. She will be out of her B1/B2 status in 2 months. We never really thought about applying for asylum, because we thought she could get a green card through marriage, without knowing the waiting time. My questions are the following:

    1. If we submit an asylum application, would that interfere with family based immigration petition?

    2. If her asylum is granted, can we withdrew in the future? We would still want to get a green card through marriage.

    3. If her asylum is denied, what happens between after she gets denied to whenever we can submit 485 of the family based petition?

    Thanks a lot,
    Jab

    Reply
    • 1 – It should not. 2 – A person with asylum can still get a GC based on marriage. That does not negate the fact that she applied for asylum and it could still be an issue if she goes to the home country. 3 – If her asylum is denied, she will be sent to court. If you have a GC (as opposed to US citizenship) and she is out of status, she is not eligible to adjust status. So she would need to leave the US to get her own GC. This can be very tricky if her case is referred to court. I think you should talk to a lawyer to go over the options. Maybe she could leave the US and once your petition is current, she can return. Or maybe she can find some way to lawfully extend her stay here (filing for asylum does not count as lawful status for purposes of adjusting status). Take care, Jason

      Reply
  9. Hello, Jason! Thank you for updating the information on this beautiful website. My interview was in May 2016 and still no answer. Could you please advise me what to do in this situation. I was in Asylum office in August 2017 to change an address, because me and my husband were approved for 30 years fixed mortgage on the house. They told the case was still pending

    Reply
    • There is not a lot you can do. You already inquired with the asylum office, so you might try the USCIS Ombudsman – a link is at right. If that does not help, you can talk to a lawyer about a mandamus lawsuit. Take care, Jason

      Reply
  10. Dear Jason,

    I am preparing my documents to apply for asylum by October 2018 (the one-year deadline since my last entry to the U.S.). My B1B2 status expires at the end of this month. And my lawyer is rushing me to apply for extension of my B1B2 status before applying for asylum. She says, in order to apply for asylum, i need to have an unexpired visa, therefore we need to extend my B1B2 stay first. Is this true. I thought I could just apply for asylum even if I fall out of status as long as it is within one year deadline… Do I have to extend my B1B2 visa to be eligible for asylum?

    Reply
    • As far as I know, your lawyer is not correct – you have to file within one year of arrival (or meet an exception to that rule). Whether the period of stay (the I-94) has expired is not relevant. Worse, if you apply for an extension of the B visa, you are essentially telling USCIS that you plan to leave at the end of your extended stay. This might cause them to accuse you of lying (since you obviously do not intend to leave when the B visa ends). While I think it is doubtful that USCIS would accuse you of lying, it is possible, especially these days. You might want to talk to the lawyer before applying in order to clarify these points. Take care, Jason

      Reply
  11. hello Jason,
    which state has best approval rates for asylum?
    can you share the link for approval by states?

    Thank you,

    Reply
    • I did a posting open February 7, 2018 that might help. But such statistics are, in my opinion, not all that useful – as I wrote about on February 25, 2016. Take care, Jason

      Reply
  12. Hi Jason,
    Thanks for all your help and advice. Here is an update on my ead application. My wife and I applied for ead in Jan 2018:
    Received Ead receipt – March 16th 2018
    Received Ead Approval for us both – April 4th 2018
    Received my wife’s Ead card – April 6th 2018 (her card has an error, it has my photo on it instead of her own photo so we will be sending this back with all the required info)

    My own Ead card is yet to arrive.

    Texas Service Center.

    Reply
    • Thank you for sharing, and good luck fixing the card. Hopefully, that will not be too difficult. Take care, Jason

      Reply
      • Hi Jason,
        Thanks for your support as always. This is to update you that my wife and i received in the mail today our social security card without doing the application ourselves. Is that the new procedure? We are surprised because our understanding was that after getting our Ead card we will go to the SSA with our ead card and passport to apply for our social security card.

        Also it’s a paper card and not a plastic card like the Ead card, I assume that’s correct.

        Thanks for all your assistance.
        Regards,
        Nola

        Reply
        • The new form I-765 allows you to request an SS card, so maybe you did that. The card is paper, so that is normal. Take care, Jason

          Reply
  13. Hi
    I’m about to apply for asylum. Will choosing one lawyer other than the others affect the case or does it have something to do with timing?
    thanks

    Reply
    • Some lawyers are great, others are terrible. Do your best to research the lawyer and ask people you know. Also, talk to different lawyers and find one that helps you feel comfortable. I wrote something about this on March 2, 2016 (the second half of the article is about what the lawyer should do for you). Take care, Jason

      Reply

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