The vast majority of Immigration Judges, DHS attorneys, Asylum Officers, and USCIS officers are professional and respectful. But what if they are not? What do you do then?
First off, I think it is important to understand that the bad officials are a small minority. I’ve been to many interviews and court hearings, and I’ve only ever made one complaint (against a USCIS officer at a Green Card interview). In other words, at least in my experience, government officials in immigration-world are generally pretty good.
Now admittedly, I am a lawyer and I know my clients’ rights and what to expect from “the system.” Pro se (unrepresented) applicants may not receive the same level of respect. They are easier to abuse, and it is more likely that decision-makers will cut corners in cases where the applicant is unable to protect herself.
That said, I am also involved in the BIA Pro Bono Project, where I review a dozen or so unrepresented appeals cases each month. I see the transcript of the Immigration Court case, and I can read how the Immigration Judge and the DHS attorney treated the applicant. While it is fairly common to see Judges and DHS attorneys moving quickly through a pro se hearing, it is also common to see these same officials taking extra time to ensure they are properly adjudicating the case. Once in a while, I see a case where the Judge steamrolled the proceedings to reach a quick decision, but that is the exception. In most cases, even those that were adjudicated quickly, the outcome seems fair, given the available evidence and testimony (one big caveat – many of these pro se cases are not well developed and are lacking in evidence. This is because the cases we review are for individuals who are detained. If these people had access to a lawyer and could better prepare their cases, many—even most—would achieve a better outcome).
While outright hostility and rule breaking seem quite rare, adjudicators can sometimes be testy, intimidating or unfriendly. What to do if you have the bad luck of encountering a hostile or impolite decision-maker?
The first thing to do is to remain calm. The demeanor of the decision-maker is often unrelated to the outcome of the case, and we have seen examples where an unfriendly officer issues a positive decision. Remember too that this person is not someone you will likely ever encounter again in your life. All you want from him is a favorable decision. Even if your experience at the interview is unpleasant or frightening, that won’t matter much if the case is granted. If you can keep your cool, answer all the questions, remain polite, and not lose your composure, you increase the likelihood of a good result. Getting angry, or arguing with the decision-maker is unlikely to get you the decision you want.
Second, make your record. This means, if you have something that you think is important to say, you should try to say it. In other words, don’t let an aggressive officer or judge intimidate you into silence. Court hearings and some USCIS interviews are recorded. Asylum Officers are supposed to write down everything you say (and if they do not write down what you say, you can complain to a supervisor). Even if you are ultimately prevented from saying something, if you indicate that you had something else to say, that exchange might be reviewed on appeal (or by a supervisor) and could result in a new trial or interview.
In making your record, you can be explicit. You can say to the judge or officer, “I think you are treating me unfairly because you are not allowing me to talk about X.” Say this politely and calmly, and it might soften the decision-maker’s stance. Say it aggressively, and you will likely harden the decision-maker’s position. I remember one case where the DHS attorney seemed (to me at least) to be taking a very aggressive position towards my asylum-seeker client. Finally, I simply asked (politely) why DHS was so opposed to asylum in the case. The attorney explained his motivation, which helped me better understand the case, and ultimately, the client received asylum.
Third, especially if you are unrepresented, you should write down what happened after the interview or court hearing. When things go wrong, it is important to try to understand what happened, and the more information you have, the better. If you write down what happened immediately, the information is more likely to be accurate. This will be useful if you later want someone else, like a lawyer, to review the case. It is also important if you need to make a formal complaint against the decision-maker.
Finally, if you feel you were subject to unfair treatment, you can make a complaint. Different forums have different procedures for complaining. For example, if you are with an Asylum Officer, you can ask to speak with a supervisor. You do this during the interview itself by telling the Asylum Officer that you would like to speak to a supervisor. For an Immigration Court case, you would typically contact the judge’s supervisor (called the Assistant Chief Immigration Judge) after the court hearing, or–more typically–you would just file an appeal to the Board of Immigration Appeals.
Periodically, I receive decisions that I think are wrong or unfair, but my clients have never been subject to treatment by an Asylum Officer or Judge that warranted a complaint. I did make a complaint once about a USCIS officer. I spoke to the officer’s supervisor immediately after the interview, and then sent a written complaint directly to the supervisor. I do not know whether the officer herself was informed of the complaint (I never saw her again), but I do know that my client’s case was approved in short order.
Most Immigration Judges and Asylum Officers are professional and respectful, and so hopefully, you will never encounter an official who is treating you unfairly. But if you do, keep calm, remain respectful, and politely make the points you need to make. This is the best way to maximize your chances for a positive decision.
Hey jason i always read your blog your answer is amazing so i have one question i apply asylum Houston September 2015 and i don’t got my interview so when i get interview i appreciate.
No one knows – I hope to do a post this week or next week about the backlog, and so that may give you more data, but basically, if you want to get an interview in an office like Houston, you have to try to expedite the case. I wrote about that on March 30, 2017. Take care, Jason
Hi Jason
Hope you’re having a good weekend.
As a result of NT my master hearing at the IC will be sometime next year. Meanwhile I am waiting for EAD and so far it has elapsed 100 days. But nevertheless over these days when I check on the clock ⏰ thru the IC’s toll free like it seems the clock has stop counting. Been checking on it and it just kept telling me the same thing without increments.
Would you please shade a light on this.
Hugely appreciated
A.
If the clock is stopped, there may be a reason – did you delay the case? If not, and you want to try to re-start the clock, you have to contact the court clerk and ask about the clock – usually a lawyer will do that for you. You can find the clerk’s contact info if you follow the link at right called Immigration Court. Take care, Jason
Hello Jason,
Thanks for your help
I requested to expedite my asylum application and it was not accepted. but i have sent/attached a letter that can explain the financial crisis i have faced here. I have a 4 years old child who is living in my country and he is in hardship right now and explained about him to the asylum office too. I’m very scared because he is in a politically unstable environment. Is there any way to bring him until my pending case will be heard, please?
regard!
Unfortunately, there is no easy way that I know of. If he is in danger, you can use that as a reason to expedite. Otherwise, he can try to come based on a tourist visa. You might also look into humanitarian parole – form I-131, available at http://www.uscis.gov. Usually, that is for a health issue, but theoretically, you could try it. I think it is very tough to get, and so talk to a trustworthy lawyer about that to see if there might be a way, but be careful about this, as it is a long shot at best. Good luck, Jason
Thank you for touching base.
form I-131, is to apply for re-entry, does this helpful for my particular issue?
tourist visa sounds good but how can i sent him invitation, do the embassy accept my invitation letter?
Best wish!
Form I-131 is used for different purposes – check the instructions. You can send an invitation, but that is unlikely to help. Anyway, you can try. Take care, Jason
Thank you Jason for all you are doing for asylum seekers. I wanted your suggestion in my case. My asylum case was denied(Final denial) for credibility issue while I was waiting for my TPS decision. Today, I received a denial for TPS as well and received a NTA. Since, this NTA is based on TPS denial, what can I do so that I can fight the asylum case in immigration court and reopen my case in EOIR? Since the TPS designation is ending very soon for my country, it doesn’t make sense to argue about my TPS denial but I want to fight for my asylum case.
Please let me know.
Thank you and god bless you
When you go to the first court hearing, you tell the judge that you are seeking asylum and you present a new I-589 to the judge and DHS. If the first hearing is not soon, you may want to file the I-589 with the court, so you can avoid any problems with the one-year bar and also to get the asylum clock started. Talk to a lawyer about this (hopefully, you can get a lawyer to help you, as that makes a difference in court cases). Take care, Jason
The reason my TPS was denied was due to some misunderstandings and assumptions by USCIS based on my asylum case. My asylum case was pending for 4 years before it was denied and since I was in pending TPS, my asylum case was not forwarded to court. Now that my TPS is denied for the same reason referenced from my asylum case, I wanted to reopen my asylum case as the materials and facts from that denied asylum case are key to my claim. The 1 year didn’t apply to me when I filed my case originally but now since it’s been more than 4 years and I am not sure if the 1-year bar will apply to me with the new case while if the old case is reopened or reviewed, the 1-year bar will not apply. So, could you please tell if instead of filing new asylum case and again waiting for 6 mos for the asylum clock, can’t I request my attorney(looking for one) to request to reopen the denied asylum case? Without the documents and evidence I submitted in my denied asylum case, the judge will not have a clear picture of why my TPS/asylum was denied in the first place.
I am not 100% sure (and maybe a lawyer can research this for you), but I think you need to open a new asylum case with the court, start a new asylum clock, and wait 150 days before you file for asylum. The old asylum case should be forwarded to the court, but it is closed, since it was denied (again, I am not 100% sure about this – and different judges might treat the situation differently). I also think you need to be wary of the one-year deadline. Most judges would likely accept the previous asylum application and/or the TPS application as excuses for the one-year bar, but it may depend on how much time has passed since those cases have been denied. In other words, I think you should file the new I-589 as soon as possible, just to be safe. Talk to the lawyer about that once you find one. Take care, Jason
Hello Jason, thank you for your great efforts.
I have been waiting for the decision after the interview in Chicago for five months now. I want to send an email to the asylum office to inquire about the case, do you personally recommend that?
Is there any certain cliché that I should use when contacting the asylum office for inquiries?
For what it’s worth, I applied for political asylum and I am from Syria.
Syrian cases seem to take longer than most, but you can email them to inquire. Make sure the email includes your name, Alien number, date of birth, country, and date of interview, and then just politely ask for an update on the case status. Take care, Jason
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Hello JAson.
Good morning and God bless u for all ur advice. I want to submit my EAD form. As a first timer and lives in Oxonhill , Maryland, which office do I address it to ?Please advice
IF it is based on a pending asylum case, the category is c-8. You have to check the form I-765 page, at http://www.uscis.gov, and look at the Direct Filing Addresses for your category. Take care, Jason