Last fall, the Asylum Division cancelled its quarterly stakeholder engagement meeting and postponed the release of data about the various Asylum Offices. Now, finally, that information has been released. The news is generally bad (who would have guessed?), but the data contains some bright spots and surprises–as well as a few mysteries. Here, we’ll take a look at the most recent news from our nation’s Asylum Offices.
First, the data. The Asylum Division has released statistics for FY2019, which ended on September 30, 2019. The data shows that despite the Trump Administration’s hostility towards asylum seekers, many people continue to seek protection in the United States–through the fiscal year, a total of 82,807 new affirmative asylum applications were filed (and remember that some of these cases include dependents, so I imagine the total number of people filing for asylum in FY2019 is well over 100,000). Case completions are still not keeping up with new filings, and the overall asylum backlog continues to grow: From 323,389 at the beginning of the fiscal year, to 339,836 at the end. Throughout the year, the number one source country for new asylum cases was Venezuela. China was number two for most of the year, followed by Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, and Mexico.
In terms of grant rates, the news is fairly negative, but not uniformly so. As an arbitrary base-line, I will use a post I did in February 2016 about Asylum Office data from the second half of FY2015 (April to September 2015). I calculated the percentage of cases granted at each Asylum Office. In crunching the numbers, I discounted cases that were denied because the applicant failed to appear for an interview, but I included cases that were denied solely because the applicant failed to meet the one-year asylum filing deadline. I’ve made the same calculations for the period April to September 2019, and compared the grant rates for both time periods in the chart below.
As I mentioned, I did not include “no shows” in my data. For this reason, government statistics about the asylum grant rate will be lower than my numbers, since they include people who failed to appear for their interviews. If I had included “no-shows,” the FY2019 grant rate in Arlington would be only 19.5% (instead of 26.5%, as shown in the chart). The New York grant rate would drop to a paltry 7.1%, and the grant rate in San Francisco–the “best” asylum office–would fall to a still-respectable 54.0%. Arguably, it makes sense to include “no shows,” since some people may not appear due to no fault of their own. However, I chose to leave them out, since I suspect most have either found other relief or have left the country, and I don’t think it is useful to evaluate Asylum Offices based on denials where the applicant never appeared for an interview.
One problem with my comparison is that there are more asylum offices today than there were in 2015. The two new offices are Boston and New Orleans. The Boston office was previously a sub-office of Newark, and the New Orleans office was part of the Houston office (though in truth, I am not sure whether all of New Orleans’s jurisdiction was covered by Houston, or whether some was covered by Arlington). To account for this, the first numbers listed for Houston and Newark for FY2019 is the percentage of cases granted in that office. The numbers in parenthesis for Houston and Newark include cases that would have been within the jurisdictions of those offices in FY2015 (i.e., the New Orleans cases are included with Houston and the Boston cases with Newark). Thus, the parentheticals are useful only for comparison with the FY2015 numbers; if you are just interested in the percentage of cases granted in Houston and New Orleans in FY2019, look only at the first number.
As you can see, there is an overall decline in the grant rate at most offices. In some cases, this decline is quite significant. One office–Houston–bucked the trend and actually granted a higher percentage of cases than in FY2015.
But perhaps things are not quite as bad as they appear. The numbers in the first chart include cases denied solely because the applicant failed to file asylum on time (remember that you are barred from asylum unless you file within one year of arriving in the U.S. or you meet an exception to that rule). In the second chart, I factored out cases that were denied solely because they were untimely (the Asylum Offices have been identifying late-filed cases and interviewing them; unless the applicant overcomes the one-year bar, the case is referred to Immigration Court without considering the merits of the asylum claim; since they are interviewing many such cases, this is pushing overall denial rates up). Comparing the two fiscal years in chart two, the decline in grant rates is much less severe. Indeed, three offices granted a higher percentage of timely-filed cases in FY2019 than in FY2015.
So what’s happening here? Why did grant rates generally decline? Why did some offices improve? What does all this mean for asylum seekers?
First of all, these numbers must be taken with a big grain of salt (and not just because I am an incompetent mathematician). A lot is going on at each Asylum Office. Different offices have different types of cases, including different source countries, greater or fewer numbers of unaccompanied alien children (“UAC”) cases, and different policies in terms of interviewing untimely applicants. As a result, some offices may be interviewing more “difficult” cases, while other offices are interviewing more “easy” cases. Offices that interview many Central American cases, or many UAC cases, for instance, will likely have lower grant rates than other offices. This is because Central American cases and UAC cases are more likely to be denied than many other types of asylum cases. Also, some offices are more aggressive than others in terms of identifying and interviewing untimely asylum cases. Offices that interview more late-filed cases will likely have a higher denial rate than offices that interview fewer late-filed cases.
Despite all this, it is fairly clear that the overall trend is negative. One obvious reason for this is a series of precedential cases and policy changes during the Trump Administration that have made it more difficult for certain asylum seekers, particularly victims of domestic violence and people who fear harm from Central American gangs. In addition–and I think this is probably less of a factor–the leadership at DHS and DOJ has repeatedly expressed hostility towards asylum seekers and encouraged the rank-and-file to identify and deny fraudulent applications.
Finally, as my colleague Victoria Slatton points out, it’s possible that the negative trend is worse than what the numbers above reflect. In FY2015, the Asylum Division gave priority to UAC cases. Since such cases are more likely to be denied, interviewing more of them may have pushed the overall grant rates down. In FY2019, UAC cases were not given priority, meaning that (probably) fewer UACs were interviewed. All things being equal, fewer UAC cases should mean a higher overall approval rate, but that is not what happened at most Asylum Offices. This may mean that more non-UAC cases are being denied today than in FY2015.
As you can see, there are a lot of moving parts, and a lot is going on behind these numbers. In one important sense, though, things have not changed much in the last four years. Strong cases still usually win; weak cases often fail. For asylum seekers (and their lawyers), we can only control so much of the process. Submitting a case that is well prepared, consistent, and supported by evidence will maximize your chances of success. And as the numbers above show, success is still possible even in these difficult times.
Hi Jason. Jason, if during my interview for getting my tourist visa to the US I will say not the true where I work so to get a better chance to get my tourist visa and on the asylum interview I said it to them or they will know it, how much will it drop my chances to get the asylum after I lied about my work.
2. If it drops chances a lot or make it almost 0% chances after that to get an asylum, do they really have big chances to find out I really don’t work on this job I said them during my visa interview? Because even if then need proofs for example I work there, my friend from this company can say that I really work there and have been working for several years.
I know people can’t give 100% best option to other how to act, but would be very glad to hear your opinion about that and
3. I shouldn’t try any of those 1,2 paragraph and go through Mexico so don’t lie them about my job on a visa interview or lie about it on my asylum intervew because there are chances it will be reaveled (my lie).
1 – If you lied to get a visa, the time to fix that is when you submit the asylum case and at the interview. If a person lies to get a visa because they are fearful for their life, that will not block you from getting asylum (there is a BIA case about this called “Matter of Pula”). However, if you do not disclose the prior falsehood when you submit your asylum case and at the interview, that could cause a denial. 2 – I would not risk lying again. It is not so easy to lie and keep your story consistent, and it seems to me that you have little to lose by telling the truth now, but you risk a lot if you continue to try to lie. 3 – I am not sure what this means, sorry. Take care, Jason
I heard it’s impossible to win your asylum case without a lawer/attorney(don’t know how to call it right here).How much does it cost to hire an attorney in the US so to have higher chances to get asylum? From lowest to highest price please, I need to understand if I can afford it or can’t
Statistically, people with lawyers are more likely to win, but it is certainly possible to win asylum without a lawyer. I wrote about this on July 7, 2016. I wrote about the costs of a lawyer on March 2, 2016, but costs have gone up since then. I think we are kind-of average for fees, and we now charge $8500 for a court case. Take care, Jason
Hi Jason. I have a question. For example I decided to go to Chicago because the approval rate for asylum there is not bad, but they declined my asylum so the next step is court. So in Chicago courts are not the best for approving your case, can I for example after I failed my interview with the asylum officer in chicago go to live in NYC and have my case in NYC courts? Or it’s impossible and you can have court only in the city where you had an interview with an asylum officer? Thank you.
If you move, you can normally transfer your case to the new location (but not always, as the judge does not have to move your case). I think moving around the country is not really worthwhile just to find a new judge. In NY for example, the overall approval rate is good, but if you get unlucky, you can get a judge with a low approval rating. In some cases, it is best to move, but generally speaking, unless you have a desire to live in a new part of the country, it is not worth the trouble. Take care, Jason
Hello Jason,
I have a pending asylum case. However, I have a STEM ead that expires in December. My question is can apply for a c8 ead since my asylum case has been pending since August, what do you suggest to me? Because I don’t want gap for my job.
The soonest you can apply for an asylum-pending EAD is 150 days after the case was received by USCIS. So I think you cannot apply for the EAD until January and then it will take a few more months to actually get the EAD. If this is correct, you will have a gap in your ability to work, and you will need to plan for that. Take care, Jason
Hello! I have fears of government persecution due to my political views. I’m from Russia. Which office is better to contact in this case? Now I belong to the Boston office
You have to file in the office where you lived. The post above give an idea about the different office grant rates. Take care, Jason
have You heard of anyone that asked office to skip the interview and send the case to court ?
Sometimes, for people who have been in the US for over 10 years before they filed for asylum, the Asylum Office itself will give you that option (usually, so you can go to court and ask for Cancellation of Removal). However, for people who filed on time, I do not know that they can do that. Some people skip the interview and get referred to court, but this seems to me a bad reason. It is better to go to the interview, even if you have a weak case, and try to win, rather than skip the interview. But I guess it depends on the case and your goals. Take care, Jason
The reason I want to skip the interview is because I have been waiting for years and I’m tired, I don’t mind giving my chance to present my case at office and go straight to court
I do not know that would be any faster, but at least in court, you have a date to look forward to, whereas in the asylum office, you are just waiting. In any case, I do not know how you can skip the interview and go directly to court. I suppose you can reach out to the asylum office to ask about that, but I do not know that it would work. Take care, Jason
If I drop my case which is in backlog , and they automatically send me to court . Is there a possibility they send the ICE to my home ? And also is there possibility that my case might get lost in court ? This is my last desperate move hoping to have my case represented . I’m a middle easterner with a case related to conversion
You typically do not have an option to just drop the case. You can contact them and ask them to refer the case to court, but I do not know whether that will work either. Anyway, if you want to contact them to try, you can find their email if you follow the link at right called Asylum Office Locator. Otherwise, maybe you want to try to expedite the asylum interview. I wrote about that on March 30, 2017. Take care, Jason
Yes of course you can withdraw your case , you will be sent to court and be put in removal proceedings . My question is will they send ICE to your location and treat you like a Criminal ilegal alien ?i live in Cali
You can try. As for ICE, we have not seen that for cases that are referred to court. If you withdraw the case, I do not know that they would treat you any differently. My guess is that they would not send ICE after you. However, like all people here without lawful status, ICE can detain you, if they so choose. Take care, Jason
Hi Jason,
I just have a general question. Do you know with cities come under the jurisdiction of San Francisco immigration court? Living in San Francisco is very expensive and I want to know if I have any options to move to nearby cities where the cost of living is little less expensive while make sure my case remains at San Francisco immigration court. Also, is there any website where I can find this information? Thank you
You can follow the link at right called Asylum Office Locator, and enter the zip code where you want to live. It will tell you which office you are in. The SF office covers a wide range of territory, so I imagine there are some less expensive places too. Take care, Jason
Hi Jason,
I wanted to write this post to thank you for all you do. My asylum case was approved today after almost a year and a half of wait.
I applied in October of 2018 and was interviewed in November. Until then, I had to wait until yesterday that I received my approval notice in the mail. I knew it was coming because I saw an update on my case a couple days earlier saying that my EAD card was in progress. I am an F1 student going to school in Virginia.
For almost 1 year, before going to bed, I used to read your blog to seek for advice or stay updated. Your answers and posts made my wait significantly easier. At some point I even lost hope but now this is over. I even asked multiple questions and your advice was always valuable. I am glad I never tried the mandamus lawsuit.
One advice I would give to people is to go to the office and make inquiries. Especially after being interviewed. In my case it helped a lot. I used to go every 2 months until they said it was almost done and that I should receive it in the mail in a few days.
The wait is the worst part, but in the end there are some good outcomes.
Can u tell us what is the question they asked u ?
And what was your case based on?
Please help us as some of us are waiting for so long.
Thank you again!
What questions do you mean?
My case was based on persecution.. I am a Venezuelan citizen. Or was…
I filled the format the asylum office and asked about my decision. I used to ask them if my case was still with the officer or it was with the supervisor. In some cases they said it was pending for background checks. They were nice to me and most of the time they gave me good information
Congratulations and Welcome to the USA! I did a post that may be of interest for people who are granted asylum on May 16, 2018. Take care, Jason
Hey Jason, I couldn’t find the post. The only one I saw was “the trump administration and the rethoric genocide” and “ Attorney as Counselor; Attorney as Cheerleader”.
What’s the title of the post?
It should be May 2018: “What happens when asylum is granted.” Take care, Jason
Congratulation!
My application was received November 2017, and I had first interview on November 21st and the second was January 9 th, I am waiting my decision since January 23rd. Do you think when can I go to the Arlington office inquire my decision? Can you tell me and how?
Decisions often take a few months, so I think it is not very useful to make an inquiry yet. If you want to go, you can do that any Wednesday in Arlington, or you can make an Info Pass appointment by following the link at right. Take care, Jason
Thank you Jason again and again , you are the best teacher in our life .
I will wait for 3 months and check with info pass appointment. Just try to not think and go on my life. It is really really hard to forget about this . Waiting for the decision is harder to waiting for the interview. I think.
Hi Jason,
I have a question for you. I am unmarried son 18 years of age, can i accompany my mother to the United States at the same same time after her i-130 petition approval or my mother will file for me a separate i-130 petition after she immigrates?
Thank you for your help
I have not done that type of case in a while, so I am not sure, but I think you need your own I-130. You should talk to a lawyer to be sure. Take care, Jason
Hi Jason,
I had my interview at the end of January 2019. And I still waiting for the decision. At the time of the interview my daughter was 12 years and 6 months old. Now she is 13 years and 7 months old. Should she have a fingerprint? To be included with checks. If yes, should I talk to the asylum office? I am asking , so we don’t face more delay in having the decision when it will be the time.
Thanks,
I think people over 14 get fingerprinted, but I do not see why that would be necessary. If you are concerned, you can contact the asylum office to inform them about this – you can find their contact info if you follow the link at right called Asylum Office Locator. Take care, Jason
Dear Jason, Been waiting for my interview decision in the Boston Office for two years now. Recently my mother fell ill and needed to travel to a third country where she will be receiving treatment. I wrote an email to expedite decision, they did not respond so I went in person. They responded and said “we have received your request but we cannot promise when we will determine the decision, we cannot give a time frame. . We shall let you know when a decision has been made”. My mother is ill and time is of essence. Should I write to them again or how long should I take to bother them. I would have applied for AP but I don’t want a decision being made while I am out of the country. What if it is negative? Also, as an asylum applicant an AP is too risky.
You can bug them again, but I do not know if it will help. In some cases (like the security background check), the ability to issue a decision is not in their hands. Hopefully, they can tale action where there is an emergency. I think you may want to try to get AP (I wrote about that on September 11, 2017). You can try to do that on an emergency basis. It is difficult to do, and involves calling USCIS and asking for emergency AP (their number is 800-375-5283). I think the risk of getting a decision while you are outside the US is not so great and even if you do, you should be able to return with the AP, though you could have trouble at the airport. My guess is that even with a negative decision, they would let you in, but there is a risk of being detained. It really depends on how much you are willing to take the risk. Take care, Jason
Hello…. I’ve been a user here since 2016 and I want to tell my story….
In November I got my interview notice in NYC, which my lawyer rescheduled cause we needed more time to prepare…..interview was schedules for 8.30 went inside at 11….i was 2nd case to that officer so they gave me a ”vibrator/pager” like in a restaurant 😂😂and told me that I can’t go sit in the car or do whatever I need to do, just don’t leave the parking lot…. When time has come my wife, me, lawyer and translator went into cabinet…..after standard questions about not being a terrorist she let my wife go and sit a lobby and wait for me…..the interview went well(2hr), but u don’t even notice how fast time goes by in the office…..the officer asked very few questions(general questions…why,what and how), asked may be 1 incident from my case and that’s it…..the worst part is that she questioned me about 30minutes why i used a different word not like in my statement…..and it was a total translation error(not even a error) that i had nothing to do with…
After 2 weeks i got my NTA and denial(but not a denial)…..my lawyer was shocked that i got a denial and she said that the NYC asylum office is always a lottery…..and if i got a denial after such a good interview, that she has no idea who will get a approval…when i was waiting for my decision every single case was referred to court….idk what kind of cases, but it is what it is….different ethnicity people got the same answer….all NY immi lawyers tell me that Asylum office is almost impossible to get a approval, but courts are pretty good….
Applied in 2015 Arlington,end of 2018 moved to NH, and after in 2019 moved to NYC……didn’t expedite….it wss a random 2015 draft in NYC, cause my lawyer had couple cases there at the same month and date….
Thank you for this. I do not do many NY cases, but this is disheartening to hear and seems in line with the statistics listed above. I also recently had a denial in a case that makes no sense. The applicant was a woman’s rights activist in Afghanistan, she was threatened by the Taliban, and the officer found her credible. We have never seen a denial like that. I wonder whether the officers understand how much harm they cause when they deny (refer) such a case? In any event, such mistakes are usually corrected in Immigration Court, at least in my experience. And, in contrast to the NY asylum office, the NY court has one of the highest grant rates in the country. Perhaps this is becasue the Asylum Office is referring too many cases that should have been granted in the first place. Take care, Jason
Hi Cristina022,
Could you say which country are you coming from?
Did you fill out your case within one year you arrive to US?
Thanks
Hi Jason
I have an interview in March at the Chicago center. I also have a wife who is my derivative. I know she should come with me to the interview, but do you know if she is going to be interviewed as well? I mean asked question about the details of my case? Have you ever seen derivatives to be interviewed along with the principal applicant?
Hi Edverdo,
Congratulations for your interview.
May I know when did u file for asylum? My case is also in Chicago.
Thanks
Hi ALI,
Did you get your fingerprint appointment yet ? I am also filing to Chicago office.
Hi Edvardo,
I do not know about all asylum offices, but in New Orleans asylum office, he did interview my wife. He only asked her security related question from her, nothing about my case. He also asked me if I wish my wife to be with me in the interview room.
Can you tell me about your time frame at New Orleans ? How fast are they interviewing ?
Applied in early August 2018
Interviewed in mid September 2018
since then waiting for a decision
Was it a religion conversion type of case ?
The derivatives are usually only asked the “bar” questions – question that bar a person from asylum, such as “Are you a criminal? Are you a terrorist? Do you want to harm the US? etc.” However, the officer can ask her about the case and that happens on occasion. She should be prepared for that, just in case. And if there are parts of the case that she does know about, she should be prepared to explain why she does not know. Take care, Jason
Hi EDVARDO,
Happy to hear that you got the interview scheduled. Do you mind share after how long after your fingerprint appointment you got the interview scheduled ?
Hi WAITING;
I got my fingerprint last Monday. And my status for the interview is scheduled got changed this Tuesday. Have you gone to fingerprint?
Hi EDVARDO,
Thanks for the reply.
I did my fingerprint yesterday. Hopefully will get my interview scheduled soon.
Hi EDVARDO,
I have a quick question. Did you get to know your appointment scheduled by mail or by checking your case status online?
Hi Jason,
I am Derivative Asylee living in the USA. I will be apply for my asylum based GC soon. Before my asylum status, I was on J-1 Visa with two years home residency. I look at I-485 form and it asks if I have ever violated the terms of my non-immigration visa. Given that my asylum case get approved, I don’t need to go back to my country for 2-years home residency. Now, should I answer YES or NO to that question? FYI, I did meet all the requirements of J-1 visa while being on that VISA.
I think you can say no, but to be safe, you might circle the question and write “see cover letter.” In the cover letter, you can provide an explanation about what happened. That way, USCIS cannot accuse you of trying to hide what happened. Take care, Jason
Hi Jason,
If the asylum applicant is in legal immigration status, and the officer decides to deny the case, does the supervisory officer have to approve the decision before issuing it? In general, what types of decisions are subject to supervisory review? Is it limited to referrals, or does it include denials as well?
Thanks
As far as I know, all decisions must be approved by a supervisor. Take care, Jason
My hearing is coming up in March end.
I want to send some documents to my judge next week, is it advisable I send an updated narrative and update asylum form also because or recent happenings and due to the fact that I lost my Mum back home or it’s safer I just send the other documents I have at hand. Thanks for all you do.
There is a format for submitting documents to court, and you also need to submit a copy to DHS. Maybe you can Google “immigration court practice manual” and find info about that, but it is better to have a lawyer assist with this. As for submitting new documents, typically, those must be submitted 15 days in advance (some judges require that they be submitted earlier). If there are updates in your case, you can submitted an updated statement and evidence. You can also submit an updated I-589. Take care, Jason
Hi. i am an Asylee and appliefd for my family i730 recently.case is in process in NVC. in form i589 i added all my family members ie wife and all kids including my a daughter over 21 y. But for i730 i applied only for my wife and kids who were under 21 at the time of my applying asylum. My Question is that can i apply i730 for my daughter in my home country?
If your daughter was under 21 (and unmarried) at the time you filed for asylum, you can file an I-730 for her, even if she is now over 21. Otherwise, once you have a green card, you can file an I-130 for her, but that process is slow – maybe 6 or 7 years. Maybe you can think of other ways for her to come to the US, such as a student visa? That is not easy, of course, but it is faster than the I-130 process. Take care, Jason
Dear Salim,
Would you kindly share timeline of your I-730 ?
Thank you
Hi MARI,
i did applied petition i730 for my spouse about 8 months ago no updates until now. my petition is in Vermont service center. what about you.
Asylee,
I file i730 petition on July 2019 to Texas center, no updates. Two of my expedited request has been denied.
Hello Mr. Jason,
Than you for your great support and I hope you are doing well.
I have a question. I have applied for asylum in 2015 and still waiting for my interview. I have a Ph.D. and work in a great company. The company that I work with can apply for H1-B or green card for me. Is this possible? They are saying that I do not have a status in the USA and I can not use an address in the USA to apply for H1-B or green card. So they need to use an address in another country (like Canada) to apply for me. Is this the right thing to do? Is there any way that I can use an address in the USA? I’m from Iran and I’m scared if I go outside of the USA, my H1-B or green card gets rejected duo to travel ban restrictions and I can not come back to the USA again. Please advise.
Thank you in advance
Unfortunately, there is no easy way to do this. If you have no status aside from asylum pending, you would need to leave the US to get an H1b (or a GC based on employment). If you do that, you have to deal with the travel ban. There is a possible exception so you can get the GC (or maybe the H1b) in the US. I wrote about that on August 28, 2018. Maybe talk to the lawyer about that, but I do not know how often that could work and I have never tried it for a client. Anyway, it might be worth a conversation with the lawyer. Take care, Jason
Hi jason, thank you for spending time helping others.
We are truly grateful.
I have a general question:
1. When is the right time to do Medical Examination for Green Card Application? (I-693).
2. Should i prepare medical exam and file it together when i file for green card application or should i wait for RFe and take my medical exam reports what is the recommended method?
3. I was thinking of preparing ahead of time so i can send medical exam report together with green card application so there is no delay.
4. Does previous Marijuana and social alcoholism cause any problem?
Thank you my 1 year wait time is almost over, and i am preparing for my application ahead of time.
1, 2, 3 – You can do either, but if you submit the medical exam at the time of filing, make sure that it is dated less than 30 days before you mail the case (I forget whether the rule is 30 or 60 days, but 30 days should be safe). If you do the exam and wait too long before you submit it, it can expire and you will need to do it again. These days, we are mostly submitting the exam later, as that avoid any chance USCIS will ask us to do it again. 4 – That should have no effect on the medical exam, but if you have an arrest or conviction related to those, it could affect your case. Take care, Jason
Hello Mr Jason,
Thank you for supporting the asylum community and all your postings are lighting our hope.
Mr Jason, what do you advise asylum seeker to answer to the AO when he asks him: why do you think only US can grant you asylum even though you have US citizen child. Thank you in advance
Hello Mr Jason,
Thank you for supporting the asylum community and all your postings are lighting our hope.
Mr Jason, what do you advise asylum seeker to answer to the AO when he asks him: why do you think only US can grant you asylum even though you have US citizen child. Thank you in advance
I do not understand the question, and I have never hear an officer ask a question like that. The interview is about your fear of persecution in your country. Usually, having a US citizen child is not relevant to that, and they do not ask about it, but it depends on the case. Take care, Jason